Strasbourg, 25/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - With 25 questions forming the basis of the urban mobility action plan scheduled for autumn 2008, the new Green Paper adopted on Tuesday 25 September by the European Commission poses a number of questions about the EU's role in an area that has hitherto been the preserve of national and regional policies. The document “Towards a New Culture of Urban Mobility” does not include new instruments for financing urban policies, but encourages optimisation of existing resources. As we previously pointed out (EUROPE 9507), it is proposing solutions relating to the decongestion of cities, pollution reduction, better traffic management and planning, as well as an increase in transport security and access. Given that urban mobility ought to ensure the economic development of cities, the quality of life of their inhabitants and the protection of their environment, the Commission is advocating an integrated approach, incorporating all means of transport (public, private, individual and collective) for passengers, freight, infrastructure, planning and behaviour. Five challenges are to be met:
For cities with more free flowing traffic. Congestion is one of the main problems identified during consultation between January and June 2007. It is on this point that EU efforts should initially focus - traffic jam solutions. These jams mainly occur on the outskirts of cities and are becoming more drawn-out. They are expected to require combined policy solutions. Policies should make alternative means of transport to individual cars more effective and safe. Municipal authorities should encourage walking, collective or two-wheeled transport (mopeds, bicycles or scooters) through the development of suitable infrastructure and involvement of the stakeholders concerned in the elaboration of this policy. Schools, companies and local associations should get involved in action promoting bicycles and walking, particularly through games to get people used to traffic or learning road safety rules. The Green Paper also suggests that an official responsible for walking and bicycles could be appointed in the biggest cities.
Another solution may consist of adapting our life styles to make them less car dependent. Car pooling (ad hoc car hire systems), car sharing, virtual mobility (tele-working, tele-purchasing etc) can become the means to help reduce road congestion. A planned and organised parking policy could also help to reduce traffic in town centres. Parking prices could be differentiated (free on the outskirts, dearest nearer the city centres) to take into account the limited number of spaces. Relay parks (Park&Ride) could be built to encourage people, as in Munich for example, to combine individual and public transport. Urban tolls, such as those used in London and Stockholm, as well as intelligent transport could help journey planning and traffic management. This could also help to improve use of infrastructure without necessarily requiring investment in new roads. Rather than using heavy lorries from long distances, goods transport in cities could be organised using smaller vehicles. Grouped distribution could be envisaged, on the condition that journeys are well planned in order to prevent unnecessary journeys or wasteful parking. The logistic question concerning freight will be tackled in detail as part of a logistics action plan scheduled for October.
For less polluted cities. By spending time on this point, the Commission sought to go further than the voluntary agreement it reached with representatives from the car industry in 1995, and supersede the new legislative framework for emissions level per vehicle to reach 120 grams per kilometre by 2012 (EUROPE 9458). To this end, it is hoping to introduce pollution criteria in the calculation of external transport costs (energy consumption, CO2 emissions and other polluting emissions such as NOx). Price criteria will therefore not be the only thing to be taken into account by the public authorities when buying a vehicle.
At the same time, the commercialisation of new technologies could be the subject of increased promotion, thanks also to economic instruments (purchase incentives, clean car linked markets) and non-economic instruments such as restrictions imposed on the most polluting vehicles. The Commission has clearly taken a position in favour of joint public markets for procuring clean and energy saving vehicles.
This measure is not yet implemented in Europe (see EUROPE 9415) but would allow local authorities to procure less polluting vehicles and to propose economic advantages to private operators.
More intelligent urban transport. This option would require adjustment to existing infrastructure in order to take account of growing freight and goods transport in urban areas, thanks to the setting in place of Intelligence Transport Systems (ITS). Based on data transfer and the sharing of information, such systems would allow interoperability between different modes of transport. Passengers would have information on availability, departure and arrival times and transport connections. New payment methods would complete the system. Payment by smart card could be used for every kind of transport (metro, tram, bus), ensuring interoperability between the different kinds of transport and between different functions. Electronic cards could be used either for payment due for the use of public transport or for services other than transport, such as car parks or subscriptions.
More accessible urban transport. As Jacques Barrot, Commission Vice-President responsible for transport, stressed during a conference on 4 June this year, easy access to urban transport services and infrastructure must be available for everyone (especially people with reduced mobility or disabilities, older persons or children - see EUROPE 9441). In addition to accessibility, transport must be rapid (the duration of the journey must not be longer than the duration of the journey by car), flexible, frequent and affordable, the Commission stresses. Transport according to request could therefore be available for outlying areas. Such areas, being scarcely populated, often have a less frequent public transport service, which only contributes to their remoteness and isolation.
Cars, which are smaller than buses, or even taxis, could therefore be used for request transport, which would make it possible to ensure a door-to-door service or simply to provide a transport connection with key locations on the route. The creation of intermodal stations combining several modes of collective transport could also be a solution used more often by municipal authorities. At European level, the Commission may finally promote the use of less costly transport means, such as express buses. The two “public procurement” directives (2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC) and the new regulation on public passenger transport services by rail and road (see EUROPE 9505) could provide an appropriate legislative framework to ensure public transport is profitable and effective.
Safe, reassuring transport. Solutions may be sought not only at the level of infrastructure but also at the level of the vehicles used, and even at a behavioural level. The exchange of best practice, education and information campaigns are an absolute priority not only for cyclists (for example, compulsory wearing of helmets) but also for drivers (respect of the Highway Code). There could also be restrictions on oversized vehicles and heavy vehicles in towns. Improvements made to infrastructure - such as pavements, better visibility (street lighting), more obvious presence of traffic police - could enhance security for the most vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians or cyclists. The Commission also intends to set out recommendations for security and safety standards applicable to urban infrastructure. A communication due in November will examine urban transport safety in the context of counter-terrorism. Finally, another issue regarding mobility and security in towns concerns the creation of an observatory responsible for collecting and using statistical data. Such information would then be communicated to professionals in the transport sector, or to the general public, to improve their knowledge of urban mobility. The same kind of observatory could be created for information on road safety.
No new instrument has been proposed on financing. While acknowledging the many needs to be met (over 40% of all vehicles used in tramways and light metro lines in the EU15 and 67% of these vehicles in the new member states are due to be replaced by 2020), the Commission prefers to make the most of the programmes already existing at European level (Structural and Cohesion Funds, loans from the European Investment Bank, ERDF, CIVITAS, etc). Further funding possibilities could be examined at local level or in the context of public-private partnerships. Revenue could come from urban parking fines and payments, extension of the Eurovignette directive on urban transport, recourse to the emissions quota exchange system, and also public subsidies, the Commission noted. Consultation on this Green Paper will continue until 15 March 2008. (aby)
European Parliament Plenary Session