General News: European Commission releases Green Paper on urban mobility

Date: 19 October 2007

EC opens debate on urban mobility.

"Towards a new culture for urban mobility” is the title of the European Commission's new Green Paper on urban transport. It was adopted on 25 September 2007 and opens a debate on the key issues of urban mobility: free flowing and greener towns and cities, smarter urban mobility and an urban transport which is accessible, safe and secure for all European citizens.

With this Green Paper the Commission wants to set a new European agenda for urban mobility, while respecting the responsibilities of local, regional and national authorities in this field. The Commission intends to facilitate the search for solutions by, for example, sharing best practices and optimising financial means.

ITS and the Green Paper
Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (ITS) are mentioned throughout the Green Paper, and identified as potential means to help in solving all five key challenges identified for European towns and cities. The five challenges include:

• Free-flowing towns and cities
• Greener towns and cities
• Smarter urban transport
• Accessible urban transport
• Safe and secure urban transport

Background information: the preparation of the Green Paper
The preparation of the Green Paper has taken place in partnership with the stakeholders concerned. A number of key events and meetings were organised and also a public consultation took place. Detailed reports on the meetings can be found online. The results of the public consultation are integrated in the Staff Working Document that accompanies the Green Paper.

Overview of urban mobility in Europe
A large majority of European citizens lives in an urban environment. They share in their daily life the same space, and for their mobility the same infrastructure. Urban mobility accounts for 40% of all CO2 emissions of road transport and up to 70% of other pollutants from transport.

European cities increasingly face problems caused by transport and traffic. The question of how to enhance mobility while at the same time reducing congestion, accidents and pollution is a common challenge to all major cities in Europe. Cities themselves are usually in the best position to find the right answer to this question that takes into account their specific circumstances.

But at the same time, urban transport policy is of increasing importance for the EU. Efficient and effective urban transport can significantly contribute to achieving objectives in a wide range of policy domains for which the EU has an established competence. The success of policies and policy objectives that have been agreed at EU level, for example on efficiency of the EU transport system, socio-economic objectives, energy dependency, or climate change, partly depends on actions taken by national, regional and local authorities.

Existing EU legislation, for example on public service obligations in public transport, air quality and noise and vehicles standards, does have a direct impact on the transport policies of Europe's cities. EU policy and financial programmes for regional development and research provide significant resources for the renewal and innovation of urban transport infrastructures, technologies and services in many European cities.

How to take part in the follow up to the Green Paper
The Green Paper marks the start of a new consultation phase and will be discussed by the European institutions. Stakeholders are invited to share their views with the Commission until 15 March 2008. An Action Plan on urban mobility will follow in the autumn of 2008. For each proposed action that it includes, the Action Plan will indicate a time line for implementation and identify the responsibilities of the various actors. All interested parties are invited to contribute and reply to the 25 questions in the Green Paper and also to the general issues it addresses.

For further information, please visit the European Commission website at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/clean/green_paper_urban_transport/index_en.htm