Dresden, planning for multimodality and measuring the results

Dresden (Germany) was named one of the three finalists in the 7th European SUMP Award that was presented by European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc on 21 March 2019. This is the second time that Dresden has been a finalist in the awards. Dresden’s approach to monitoring and evaluation was commended four years ago and the city has once again impressed the jury, this time with forward-looking planning which addresses multimodality in transport planning.

The city of Dresden adopted its first SUMP “Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan 2025plus” in 2014, which is currently in the evaluation phase. First results show that Dresden achieved most objectives, even exceeding some.

For more information click here.

Optitrans Peer Review and Partner Meeting in Thessaly, Greece

The Optitrans Peer Review meeting took place from 9th to 10th of July 2019, at the Region of Thessaly, during which the participants visited and discussed with the representatives of both Urban and Intercity Bus of the four Regional Units (Larissa, Magnesia, Trikala and Karditsa) as well as they had the opportunity to get familiar with similar European co-funded projects (EnerNETMob, Green Your Move). Accordingly, the Optitrans Partner Meeting took place at the premises of Region of Thessaly, from 11th to 12th of July 2019, during which the partners discussed the project’s progress, with particular attention to the Action Plans and the project’s upcoming Phase 2.

For more information click here.

Brexit and the transport sector

The United Kingdom submitted on 29 March 2017 the notification of its intention to withdraw from the European Union. This means that unless a ratified withdrawal agreement establishes another date or the period is extended by the European Council, all Union primary and secondary law will cease to apply to the United Kingdom from 30 March 2019, 00:00h (CET).

The European Commission proceeded in publishing notices to stakeholders, transport operators, etc regarding the legal repercussions, which need to be considered when the United Kingdom becomes a third country.

For more information click here.

LIFE GYM meets OptiTrans

OptiTrans project consortium visited on July 9th, 2019 UTH facilities to be informed about GYM project and discuss issues on urban mobility and transport. The meeting also attended the President of Urban KTEL of Volos, Mr. Nikolaos Evangelinos.

During the meeting Prof. Saharidis presented GreenYourMove application to the consortium of OptiTrans project, the data synchronization study performed and the forthcoming integration of real life data in the application. Then an interesting discussion on several topics covering aspects of urban mobility followed.

IMPACT>MOBILITY

IMPACT>MOBILITY  (24 -25 June 2019, Amsterdam, Netherlands)  aims to unite the urban transportation ecosystem to deliver on-demand low-emission mobility services and create a sustainable business model for its emerging players.

EU provides €200 million for sustainable and efficient transport and simplifies access to financing for transport projects

The European Commission (EC) together with the European Investment Bank (EIB) launched the new CEF Transport Blending Facility, an innovative financial instrument to support projects contributing to the environmental sustainability and efficiency of the transport sector in Europe.

2018 was a good year for EU Transport

In 2018, a number of EU mobility actions come to fruition as a result of effective cooperation and the continuation of work across more than one mandate.

A statement by Transport Commissioner Bulc, presented the year's achievements with the following:

23rd TAP Conference – 2020-2030: transport in critical transition

After the successful event organized in Zurich in 2017, this 23rd TAP conference will take place at 15-17 May 2019, in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is co-organized by the Labs of Applied Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering of Aristotle University Thessaloniki and EMISIA SA with the support of the European Commission Joint Research Centre.

The CIVITAS Forum Conference 2019 will be held in Graz, Austria, from 2-4 October 2019. The 17th edition of Europe's top sustainable urban mobility event will gather the leading figures in the field from across the continent and beyond.

CEDR Conference discusses Modal Choice in a Multimodal Transport System

This European conference will wrap up CEDR’s Research Programme on “User Needs in a multimodal context”, in which Polis is involved as partner. The event will discuss new tools to understand the impact of new technologies, walking and cycling measures, on modal choice and on road safety and will take place on May 9 in Brussels, with a pre-conference evening event on May 8. Registration is free and open until 26 April.

Milan launches Area B, Italy’s largest Low-Emission Zone

In a bid to tackle air pollution and congestion, Milan has restricted access to the city for gasoline and diesel vehicles, thus introducing the largest low emission zone in Italy.

ITS European Congress

One of the largest events entirely dedicated to smart mobility and digitalisation of transport is organised by ERTICO – ITS Europe, 3-6 June 2019 at Brainport Eindhoven (The Netherlands).
The event will include:

• International Programme sessions and presentations with top speakers from the industry
• Demonstrations of the current transport technologies developed and deployed throughout the world
• Exhibition of cutting-edge companies

The programme offers the opportunity to learn about ITS technologies, as well as new mobility concepts. Meanwhile, demonstrations will provide the opportunity for attendees to witness new innovations and future ventures.
For more information click here.

You will no longer be lost in the big cities

The “Augmented Reality“ of Google Maps is already available for so called “local guides” (registered users, supporting the development of the services of Google Maps). Limited access for the general public to the AR function is because the continuous development of it. The function is still in “Alpha” state and has been developed.

The meaning of the function is to help the navigation of the pedestrians in the densely built-up localities of the urban environments, where due to the high presence of ferroconcrete, which can jam the signal; it is sometimes problematic for Google Maps to define the exact position of the pedestrians. Also the disruptive influence of the electromagnetic emissions from all others electronic devices can´t be neglected, because of their great quantity in high populated city districts. It is often not possible to define the exact location of the pedestrians, which are moving nearby massive buildings (skyscrapers for example), so happens their actual locations to be displayed on spot different than it should be. Than the proposed route can be also mismatched, or at least will be not the optimal one.

Prague to offer free public transport during smog warnings

The Municipality of Prague has announced that public transport will be free during declared smog emergencies, in the hope that commuters will leave their cars at home. Air pollution and smog are frequent concerns in major cities throughout the Czech Republic.

Why a ‘city first’ approach to mobility services is key to transport improvement

Why new mobility service providers need to take a ‘city first’ approach to solving transport issues, or risk becoming part of an even larger problem?

Free2Move’s Scott Shepard explains why mobility must be safe and efficient and why the planning has to be cohesive in order to benefit the general public.

For more information click here.

Urban Mobility Partnership presents "Action Plan in Brief" and "Actions in a Nutshell"

The Urban Mobility Partnership has presented its final Action Plan in November 2018 which includes the following actions:

• Reinforcing multi-level cooperation and governance
• Reinforcing the uptake of sustainable urban mobility planning
• Evaluating best practices in convenient access to public transport
• Scaling up innovative clean buses
• Developing guidelines on infrastructure for active mobility supported by relevant funding
• Promoting sustainable and active mobility behavior
• Reducing diversity of Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVAR)
• Exploring the deployment of New Mobility Services
• Setting up a European framework for fostering urban mobility innovation

A summary of the document - the Action Plan in Brief - showcases the Partnership's milestones.

For more information click here.

The Partnership on Air Quality delivers tools to help cities and Member States overcome the challenge of air pollution

After almost three years of intense cooperation, the Urban Agenda Partnership on Air Quality has recently delivered a suite of integrate tools to help cities and Member States overcome the challenge of air pollution and reduce its negative impact on health.

Roadtrains of the future

A new vision of personal city transport related to the understanding of the needs of modern urbanization and respecting the green thinking is the goal of the new European project called „ESPRIT“. ESPRIT means Easily diStributed Personal RapId Transit and is a model of future car sharing in city centers and suburbia. The solution will be a roadtrains of electric vehicles. Coupling systems of the vehicles will help to redistribute them more effective according to the passenger’s needs. It is possible to connect up to 7 vehicles, which will be delivered by the service operator; anywhere they will be needed – any public transport stations.

Free public transport is no more a dream from the future

The new formed coalition government of Luxembourg with the Prime Minister Xavier Bettel after the last elections took plans to make the public transport free of charge. This is a reaction of growing traffic congestions, which are leading to big air pollutions.

Fact sheets reveal innovative mobility measures in five European cities

Fact sheets have just been released showcasing innovative mobility measures currently being implemented in ICLEI Member cities Stockholm (Sweden) and Turku (Finland), as well as Madrid (Spain), Munich (Germany), and Ruse (Bulgaria).

Stanley Black & Decker encourages employees to use sustainable modes of transport

As part of its CSR Strategy, Stanley Black & Decker has set the ambitious target of reducing its carbon footprint intensity by 20 percent by 2020, compared to the 2015 baseline. The company’s MOBILITYACTION is one of the ways the team is working toward this goal.

European Commission announces sustainable mobility award nominees

The European Commission revealed the finalists of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards and the Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP). The EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards showcase local authorities that demonstrate significant efforts in promoting sustainable urban mobility, while the SUMP Award recognises outstanding sustainable urban mobility planning.

Pilot project in Munich highlights how to reduce air pollution hotspots

A real-world pilot project in Munich has been completed by Siemens Mobility, ryd (a platform by ThinxNet) and Hawa Dawa, demonstrating that individual vehicle drivers can be influenced to take an alternative route, and air pollution hotspots subsequently reduced.

Shenzhen and Istanbul welcome new training centres specific to transport

Shenzhen Bus Group and Marmara Municipalities Union have partnered with UITP on two new Regional Training Centres for three years, and will each organise at least four training programmes per year.

The training programmes will be delivered in cooperation with UITP Regional Training Centres and will help people fulfil their career potential in the sector of public transport and sustainable mobility.

The trainings planned for 2019 under the Shenzhen Regional Training Centre include topics such as service excellence; on-demand bus and shared services; bus planning and execution; and electric buses.

For more information click here.

Sofia signs deal for e-ticketing revolution

Sofia has just signed a EUR 42.5 million contract for the introduction of smart e-ticketing in public transport. The project is financed by the Center for Urban Mobility, Sofia’s municipal company in charge of public transport.

Trikala: pioneering urban mobility solutions

The City of Trikala is built upon an ancient agricultural settlement and has evolved over time into a modern, forward-thinking city. With over 85 000 residents, the city centre covers a small area which is intersected by natural features (the Rivers Lithaios and Agiamoniotis) as well as railway tracks, creating urban mobility challenges as transport routes funnel over narrow crossing points.

For more information click here.

Moovit, TomTom and Microsoft introduce comprehensive multi-modal trip planner

Moovit and TomTom have aligned with Microsoft to launch the first comprehensive multi-modal trip planner, a solution to reduce congestion in cities and enable developers to build better travel apps.

New digital platform improves travel for passengers with reduced mobility

The £1.4 million TOC Ability research and development project has released its final report, which demonstrates how digital technology can be harnessed to enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of rail services for customers with reduced mobility.

SAVE THE DATE! 2019 Polis Conference in Brussels on 27-28 November

After a successful 2018 edition in Manchester, the Polis Annual Conference comes back to Brussels for the 2019 edition.

Don't miss your chance to attend Europe's leading event on sustainable urban mobility in cities and regions.

The call for exhibitors and sponsors opens in February, the call for speakers opens in March and registrations open in June.

For more information click here.

Breakfast at Sustainability's gathers Europe's SUMP community to reshape key guidelines

The latest Breakfast at Sustainability's gathered over 50 people from Europe's SUMP (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans) community to discuss the forthcoming update of the EU SUMP Guidelines.

Organised as part of CIVITAS (City VITAlity and Sustainability) SUMPs-Up, the event took place in Brussels (Belgium) on Wednesday 12 December 2018.

Luxembourg set to make all public transport free

Shortly before the New Year, the Government of Luxembourg announced their plans to abolish all fares on public transport.

The plan to abolish all fares on public transport is expected to come into force in summer of this year, with part of the cost being covered by removing a tax break for commuters.

The move will save on costs associated with the collection and processing of fares, and it is also hoped it will encourage a shift away from private cars and ease traffic congestion, which is especially high in the capital, Luxembourg City.

For more information click here and here.

Cities invited to join peer-exchange activities on sustainable urban mobility

City representatives are invited to apply to participate in peer-exchange activities on sustainable urban mobility, organised by the CIVITAS (City VITAlity and Sustainability) Initiative in 2019.

Hosted in seven locations across Europe and beyond, these practice-oriented learning activities enable participants to learn from cities engaging in pioneering transport initiatives, whilst also gaining direct insight into how they are managing the transition towards sustainable urban mobility.

For more information and to find the application forms, click here and here

ITF: Multi-sector effort needed to decarbonise urban passenger transport

Urban passenger transport should become autonomous, shared and electric in order to bring down carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, says the International Transport Forum (ITF). But above all, multiple policy sectors need to be involved. The OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) - affiliated think tank asked 36 experts about their views on the decarbonisation of urban passenger transport. Their key points are listed in the report Policy priorities for decarbonising urban passenger transport.

EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK 2018: Mixing transport modes to improve quality of life

From 16 – 22 September,  the 17th time EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK took place with the aim to improve quality of life by promoting clean mobility and sustainable urban transport with over 2,400 towns and cities from 50 countries.

This year’s EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK:  “Mix and Move!” has been defined by the multimodal transport - the mixing of transport modes within the same journey or for different trips, as 2018 has been declared the ‘Year of Multimodality’,   encouraging people to rethink the way they move about the cities, and having the willingness to try out new forms of mobility.

Local authorities that made significant efforts to promote sustainable urban mobility during the campaign could apply for the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards and for the SUMP Award, which recognizes local and regional authorities for excellence in sustainable urban mobility planning.

For more information click here.