Skip to main content

Sustainable urban mobility takes centre stage in Europe

The European Commission has indicated that it will step up its support to towns and cities, and encourage the development of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans. These initiatives form the cornerstones of the new Urban Mobility Package which the European Commission adopted in December 2013. Vice-President Siim Kallas, EU commissioner for mobility and transport, said, ‘Addressing the problems of urban mobility is one of the great challenges in transport today. With coordinated action we can be more successf
January 28, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The 1690 European Commission has indicated that it will step up its support to towns and cities, and encourage the development of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans. These initiatives form the cornerstones of the new Urban Mobility Package which the European Commission adopted in December 2013.
 
Vice-President Siim Kallas, EU commissioner for mobility and transport, said, ‘Addressing the problems of urban mobility is one of the great challenges in transport today. With coordinated action we can be more successful. Local authorities are the key decision makers. They are best placed to take important local decisions, but they should benefit from support at national and EU level.’
 
With the package, the Commission bolsters its supporting measures in the area of urban mobility by reinforcing the exchange of best practice and enhancing cooperation, providing targeted financial support and investing in research and development. It also identifies concrete initiatives in relation to urban logistics, access regulations and road user charging, intelligent transport systems (ITS) as well as urban road safety.

Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans play an important role in achieving the Commission’s aims. Following years of exchange and analysis of best practice that involved experts and stakeholders across Europe, a concept for Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans has emerged as an effective approach to stimulate a shift towards more sustainable mobility and a higher quality of life in urban areas.

A European platform on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans will be launched to coordinate all Commission-supported activities in this area and foster broader exchange. The present portal on Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, www.mobilityplans.eu, will be expanded into a virtual knowledge and competence centre and be integrated into the Eltis portal.

More information on the Urban Mobility Package is available on the European Commission’s %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal website http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/urban/ump_en.htm false http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/urban/ump_en.htm false false%>.

Related Content

  • July 4, 2012
    EC launches sustainable urban mobility campaign
    The European Commission yesterday launched its Sustainable Urban Mobility campaign, a three-year initiative aiming to support sustainable urban mobility campaigners in 31 countries, with the opening of a registration system to support outstanding actions for fostering positive change in attitudes and behaviour.
  • March 23, 2018
    Asecap: Road safety is a shared responsibility
    Road safety is a shared responsibility of roads, vehicles and users, according to a key message delivered at Asecap’s Annual Safety Conference, in Brussels. The event provided an opportunity for road stakeholders to discuss the main safety priorities of the new mobility package to be presented by the European Commission (EC) next May. Additionally, the conference found that modern toll roads are the safest roads in Europe. The European Parliament and the EC blessed the memorandum of understanding
  • December 4, 2012
    Europe calls for guidance on evaluating ITS projects
    A European Commission study report has revealed a lack of consistency or standard practice for evaluating the funding needs and fiscal performance of ITS projects. New guidelines are urgently needed for monitoring public funding of ITS schemes, says a recent report from the European Commission (EC). A specially-commissioned study has found no readily available comparative analysis of transport funding schemes and ITS investment methodologies to support project decision making. A survey of nine EU member sta
  • September 4, 2012
    European Commission launches first EU Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan award for local authorities
    The European commission has launched the first EU award to encourage the adoption of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) by local and regional authorities. Under the inaugural theme ‘stakeholder and citizen participation’, local and regional authorities can submit their applications for the award of EUR 10 000 (US$12,606) on www.dotherightmix.eu.