The Italian Ministry of the Environment announced the investment of 500 million euros for the construction of urban and interurban cycle paths and the promotion of bike sharing services. The fund is part of the country's Cycling General Mobility Plan, a project coordinated by the government, the regions and the Ministry of the Environment itself.
In recent years cycling has entered the urban mobility agenda in many regions worldwide, demonstrating a growing policy and academic interest, pushed by a global commitment towards the transition to post-carbon societies.
The European Startup Prize for Mobility unveiled the list of 50 finalists selected in the 2019 edition of the Prize.
The 3rd Hungarian PROSPERITY SUMP professional conference, organised by Mobilissimus in cooperation with Magyar CIVINET is welcoming urban mobility practitioners to attend.
Participation is free but subject to registration. The capacity of the venue is limited, so it is recommended to register in due time and at the latest on March 18 at 12:00. Register here.
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, which are summarised below:
The European Commission has revealed the finalists who are in contention for its major mobility awards: 7th Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) Award; and the 2018 EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award. The SUMP Award recognises outstanding sustainable urban mobility planning, while the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award showcases local authorities that demonstrate significant efforts in promoting sustainable urban mobility.
SUMP Award
A new experimental crossing has been designed to help prevent accidents between pedestrians and drivers at pedestrian crossings. It is thought that both pedestrians and drivers are now less aware of one another than ever before thanks to smartphones and in-car infotainment systems.
A tram that will run itself around the city of Moscow is currently being developed by a Russian urban electric vehicle manufacturer and developer of artificial intelligence for autonomous driving systems. This fully autonomous tram will begin closed facility testing imminently, prior to street tests along the tram routes.
The Portuguese government plans to invest 300 million euro by 2030 in the construction of new bike lanes, linking already existing ones, in order to encourage the use of bicycles at the expense of cars, as announced by the Minister of the Environment, Mr John Matos Fernandes.
Eltis recently celebrated 20-years as the repository of information, knowledge exchange and sharing of practical experiences in the field of sustainable urban mobility in Europe!
Children are amongst the most vulnerable users of our cities’ traffic systems. After a fatal accident involving a child using a zebra crossing in Vienna, there has been much debate in Austria about how to improve the protection of, and safety for, children in urban areas.
The European Commission this week announced the finalists of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards and the Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP).
Adjusting the starting times of teaching hours at has worked very well against overcrowded trains and buses in the City of Nijmegen (The Netherlands). Even on the main access roads to the Campus Heyendaal, the location of three major educational institutes, the impact is noticeable.
Overcrowded public transport and congestion
A new policy brief from the STARS project sheds light on what policymakers can do to implement better car sharing practices in Europe.
Cars already make use of navigation systems to find their way, including using real time data to avoid congestion as much as possible. Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Viennese start-up “Parkbob” have teamed up to develop satellite-based services for traffic management and urban planning. One of the aims of the cooperation is to transfer well-developed trip navigation approaches, which have been proven to work, to the search for a parking space.
A new system of digital markers in the Spanish city of Murcia makes it easier for visually impaired people to locate bus stops. Users can also receive information on their smartphone about the crossing times of the lines at the desired stop. The signage and mobile App system have been applied to guarantee accessibility to public transport for visually impaired people.
The 6th edition of the European Conference on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans will be held on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 June 2019 in Groningen, The Netherlands. The focus of the conference is on providing support to sustainable and active cities within the SUMP context, i.e. how to make cities more walkable and cycle-friendly.
The city of Umeå, in northern Sweden, has developed its first integrated freight plan for the city centre. With a population of around 85 000, Umeå is the largest urban community in northern Sweden. Due to a fast-growing population and the boom of e-commerce, the city centre has been facing increasing traffic problems linked with the delivery of goods and services. A clear strategy for sustainable urban freight in the city centre was therefore essential.
A pan-European Master Plan for Cycling Promotion will be published in the autumn of 2019. The aspiration of the Plan is to double the amount of cycling in the pan-European region, which consists of the 54 countries covered by the European region of the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). For many of these countries, once completed the guidance will be the first step in promoting cycling at the national level.
Currently, the Master Plan is in draft form and contains five policy objectives that it would like to see met by 2030:
Trains should run every ten minutes between nine large cities. Passengers should be able to change seamlessly from the train on the metro, tram or bicycle. All public transport will be zero-emission and customer satisfaction ratings should reach an average of eight out of ten.
