European Transport Innovation Challenge 2017

The EU is committed to cutting CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030 and by 80% by 2050. With transportation accounting for one quarter of CO2 emissions, there is a need to radically transform the way people and goods are transported.

The European Commission launches the European Transport Innovation Challenge 2017, a new award offered to young transport innovators for creative solutions for goods and services that will contribute to reducing CO2 emissions in transport. This Challenge will help move the EU along the path of decarbonisation and sustainable growth.

The solutions can be the result of research, can be in any transport mode, and in many different sectors linked to transport, such as solutions in healthcare, retail or food sectors. The key word is innovation.

The prize will be an all-expenses trip for 12 young innovators aged 18-35 to Strasbourg (France) for the ITS Congress and Exhibition in June 2017.

The deadline for applications is 2 May 2017 at midnight.

For more information: click here.

Rewarding behaviour change from EPOMM

Making individual travel behaviour more sustainable is a difficult task. The ordinary management strategies are based on punishment and enforcement. However, it is accepted that people are more motivated when rewarded rather than punished, because of the creation positive associations with the behaviour. According to NBS report on Driving Social Change, people should have three elements in order to achieve changing behaviour: the ability, the opportunity and the motivation to change. It is clear that for triggering motivation, rewards are an excellent tool and could be either material (money) or virtual (rankings).

Warsaw opens office for mobility and transport policy

The city of Warsaw last month opened the Policy Office for Mobility and Transport which seems to be an excellent example for other cities as well. The new office will be composed of three divisions: security and traffic management, mobility and transport strategy, as well as road infrastructure and organisation. 

The first will be responsible for road safety policy and transport programs, and security audits, validation of traffic as well as control of the roadway.  

The mobility and transport strategy will deal with, among others, Warsaw implementation of mobility policy and transport strategy, standards for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, strategic co-operation with the Office of Architecture and Planning, as well as the preparation and analysis of the communications service and the concept of transport solutions. 

For more information: click here.

Brussels asks public for mobility plan’s feedback

The city of Brussels last month launched the process of citizen participation in the development of the region’s mobility plan. Its main objectives are to reduce the pressure of incoming and outgoing traffic in Brussels by 20 per cent, create 25 000 parking spaces and increase intra-city travel with public transport.  

The Brussels minister for mobility, Pascal Smet, launched a website, goodmove.brussels.fr, to encourage the people of Brussels to express themselves on the current mobility situation in the city. In particular, Smet hopes to mobilise the younger generation into having a say on the future mobility of Brussels.

The website is open for feedback until October 2017. But if the initiative proves popular, the period may be extended.

For more information: click here.

New page on highways in Greece

"The country is changing page due to a range of new  projects, projects which will contribute to the productive reconstruction of the country and to the equitable development", the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Chris Spirtzis, stated in the  Athens News Agency.

Mr Spirtzis said that the effort of the completion of the projects has been efficient and delivery of the new major highways to circulation will begin by the end of March. The first project, the tunnel of Tempi at Platamon and the circumvention of Maliakos will be fully at the beginning of April. Furthermore, according to the schedule, the highway Corinth-Patras will be also delivered until Easter and the highway of Central Greece, E65, and Ionia Odos will follow afterwards. 

Finally, Mr Spirtzis noted, that all highways will have been delivered by August.

​For more information: click here.