Representatives from over 30 cities and regions from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa met at the ITS European Congress 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, for the Smart Mobility Summit of Cities and Regions.
Road space allocation and data were high on the agenda, with the summit highlighting that the transition towards sustainable mobility "requires a multifaceted approach, including education, infrastructure development and policy changes", says Ertico - ITS Europe in a statement.
Torsten Klimke, head of unit innovation & research at DG Move, emphasised the importance of supporting cities across Europe and beyond, and said the European Commission wants to understand what is needed to facilitate the uptake of frameworks in addition to the Trans-European Networks for Transport (TEN-T), Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) and the new Urban Mobility Expert Group.
The Commission is working on regulatory actions to accelerate the availability of sustainable mobility services "given the need to connect urban and rural mobility ecosystems, focusing on flexibility, user-friendly and demand-based solutions", Ertico says.
Within the EU Urban Mobility Framework, 424 cities with over 100,000 inhabitants will develop SUMPs. Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators are also being finalised to monitor the progress through data collection in seven sustainable mobility-related areas such as climate effects, safety, inclusiveness and affordability.
Ertico chairman Angelos Amditis and CEO Joost Vantomme confirmed Ertico's commitment to continue facilitating and promoting "an impactful network to support local and regional authorities’ agendas of driving innovation and implementing smart and sustainable mobility solutions for public benefit".
