It is only one year until the ITS Community meets face-to-face again at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg (11- 15 October 2021). On this auspicious occasion, the ERTICO City Moonshot will present its final survey and a complete review of  the urban mobility status, needs and ambitions of 300 cities from across the world.

‘We have an insanely ambitious goal of interviewing 300 cities from when the ERTICO City Moonshot started in May until the ITS World Congress in Hamburg next year, but we are stepping up to the challenge, ’ says Zeljko Jeftic, ERTICO Deputy Director of Innovation and Deployment. ‘This survey will deliver concrete facts, never compiled before, on cities, their policies and work on sustainability (climate crisis and air pollution), data sharing and Mobility as a Service, (MaaS).  These points are highly important to understand and to enable the ITS community and industry provide what these cities require.  And there is no time to lose, if we as a society are to boost sustainable mobility!  What is sure is that we couldn’t do this without the great teamwork we have at the heart of ERTICO.’

So far, the ERTICO Moonshot has carried out direct surveys with cities in the following countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ethiopia France, Germany, Greece, Iceland,  Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, Uruguay and the US. The cities of Dubai, Essen, Madrid and Rome are just around the corner.

The interviews have revealed some interesting insights already:

  • The general trend of COVID-19 re-defining urban mobility is re-confirmed.
  • Active modes of transport are being promoted heavily in some parts of Europe, less in others, but definitely, this is a trend on the rise.
  • Dealing with mobility challenges (in combination with COVID) is achieved by managing demand such as for example shifting school start times by 1 hour, to take the pressure off peak traffic times.
  • Cities are willing to share data with other stakeholders, as long as they do not have to create new data, process it or guarantee quality. They also welcome data from mobility providers, especially travel origin-destination.
  • The concept of MaaS is still not defined in the same way by cities. Many cities identify MaaS as e-scooter/e-bike sharing services.

If you are a city and want to share your needs, experiences and eventual needs in the smart mobility sector and play a role in the ERTICO City Moonshot please don’t hesitate and reach out to Zeljko Jeftic or here for more information.