During the Urban Mobility Days, organised by the European Commission (DG MOVE), earlier this month, Seville became the epicentre of innovative dialogues and knowledge exchange for the future of European Urban Mobility. Interesting sessions took place and plenary discussions were well attended. The meetings of the Expert Group on Urban Mobility (EGUM) and CIVITAS initiatives also took place adjacent to the UMDs. We were also delighted to witness the European Commission’s adoption of the EU Cycling Declaration on the first day of the event.
Sharing knowledge and expertise for future sustainable mobility
Through the focus area on Urban Mobility, ERTICO actively supports the widespread deployment of a new generation of cooperative, connected and personalised mobility services. The vision for 2035 is to achieve full integration of all these mobility solutions to reduce traffic congestion and increase usage of low-carbon and low-emission solutions, contributing to high-quality travel for all citizens and businesses. Sharing knowledge through expertise, best practices, and lessons learned is an essential pillar for ERTICO, and the Urban Mobility Days’ focus on ’Transport Skills’ offered a great opportunity to advance this mission further. It also mirrors the joint vision of ERTICO’s Partnership and external cooperation to drive the digitalisation of transport and seamless mobility.
Emphasis on unlocking the full potential of cycling in Europe
During Urban Mobility Days, the European Commission adopted the EU Declaration on Cycling, a proposal recognising cycling as a sustainable, accessible, inclusive, affordable and healthy means of transport. ERTICO values this declaration as an important component in creating a more sustainable, smart and efficient mobility landscape. When first introduced at the European Cycling Industry Summit earlier this year, Mr Joost Vantomme, ERTICO CEO, had the great honour of attending the event and seeing this declaration’s significant progress to advance the opportunities and potential of urban mobility space. “Since the European Cycling Industry Summit in March, we have seen great support for creating a more sustainable urban environment, and this echoes ERTICO’s commitment to facilitate greener, cleaner and more sustainable mobility solutions for all cities across Europe and beyond. We are also pleased to showcase this through some of our European co-funded Partnership projects and innovation platforms covering multimodality, mobility network management, mobility-as-a-service, active mobility modes and micro-mobility. This topic will be at the heart of the discussion during ERTICO’s FOCUS ON Partnership event taking place at the end of the year in London”.
ERTICO also welcomes the New European Urban Mobility Framework presented by the European Commission end of 2021. This is where ERTICO’s innovation approach, together with our 120+ Partners, contributes to the ambitions and priorities. We are also pleased to be selected to participate in the Urban Mobility Expert group for which we have the leadership with the city of Bremen on the Working Group dealing with the future of mobility and the use of space.
Inspiring dialogues spark new ideas and innovations in Urban Mobility
The Urban Mobility Days also offered many insightful discussions, and Mr Joost Vantomme and Dr Johanna Tzanidaki, Chief Innovation Officer were invited to share some of the key initiatives in two of the panel discussions. They highlighted urban space, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), and e-mobility infrastructure, but also ERTICO’s role as thought leader and how we can further leverage the exchange of knowledge, skills, and education in transportation with the ERTICO Partnership and collaboration with external stakeholders.
Mr Vantomme took the stage during the Strategic Session on ‘Linking Urban Mobility and Urban Space for Climate Neutrality’. He highlighted the need to connect local authorities with citizens’ needs and the important role of logistics and goods in Urban Mobility. This raised an important question on how cities can better use data and technology to reallocate urban space. Mr Vantomme also talked about how data space needs transferability, inclusion, interoperability, and accessibility, which is still missing in the use of public space. Transport mode should be aware of all the spaces around it, and there is a clear need for developing and encouraging more skills, education and upscaling of citizens’ knowledge to ensure legacy, not necessarily new features.
Another key concept in this discussion focuses on MaaS, a central cornerstone to integrate seamless multimodal mobility, for example, streamlining ticketing across various modes. Mr Vantomme expressed that leveraging data and smart traffic management are crucial for dynamic usage, such as bike sharing, e-scooter systems, EV charging points, or parking solutions. His final remarks shed light on the essential need for governance orchestration, which plays an important role in ensuring the proper derivation and provision of this valuable data.
On the second day, Dr Tzanidaki presented in the session on ‘All You Ever Wanted to Know About the Common European Mobility Data Space’. The discussion highlighted the potential of data as an essential element in transitioning towards a more sustainable and smarter transport and mobility system. Building a common European mobility data space will enable better access to transport and mobility data. Dr Tzanidaki mentioned the importance of CIVITAS Initiative during her presentation and described the aim to unite organisations for robust community building where training is essential for public authorities and industry players. She also highlighted ERTICO’s involvement in some of the key partnership projects and innovation platforms within this field, including PrepDSpace4Mobility, NAPCORE, TN-ITS, DeployEMD, and the ERTICO Academy.
Another key initiative, driven by ERTICO and its Partnership is the City Moonshot which was another main discussion point. It brought forward the increasing relevance of urban nodes as hubs for mobility data collection, as stated by the proposed revision of the TEN-T Regulation. City Moonshot will work closely with the European Commission to encourage the cities that are part of its knowledge ecosystem to exchange their data on gas emissions, traffic congestion, road incidents and casualties, modal share, mobility services and air and noise pollution through these nodes. This initiative will enhance coordination, empowering cities and stakeholders to make data-driven decisions regarding traffic management and shared mobility, with a positive impact on safety, sustainability, and the overall user experience.
Learn more about ERTICO’s role in the field of Urban Mobility.
