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Document 52007DC0551
Green Paper: Towards a new culture for urban mobility
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Green Paper: Towards a new culture for urban mobility
This Green Paper aims to initiate the debate on issues specifically related to urban transport and to elicit applicable solutions at a European level. 60% of the European population is concentrated in urban areas, with these areas producing almost 85% of the gross domestic product (GDP). There are numerous issues in these areas, including traffic congestion and pollution, all of which costs the European Union 1% of its GDP. Faced with these issues, the EU needs to be able to fulfil the role of encouraging discussion, cooperation and coordination between local communities.
ACT
Commission Green Paper dated 25.9.2007 "Towards a new culture for urban mobility" [COM (2007) 551Â final - not published in the Official Journal].
SUMMARY
This Green Paper is the product of wide public consultation initiated in 2007. It opens up a second consultation process which lasts until 15 March 2008. With urban mobility being an asset for growth and employment, as well as an essential condition for a sustainable development policy, the Commission will use the consultation undertaken to subsequently propose an overall strategy in the form of an action plan.
The target audience for the consultation process is vast: it includes people living in towns and cities, transport users, transport company employers and employees, industry, public authorities and relevant associations. The resulting strategy will also be supported by the experience acquired by the Commission in this field with the CIVITAS initiative and with the 1995 Green Paper and its communication on "a Citizens’ Network".
A central idea of the forthcoming strategy is the need to integrate the various urban mobility policies in a single approach. Examples of European added value could be to:
The Commission proposes to encourage the emergence of a real "urban mobility culture" integrating economic development, accessibility and improvement to quality of life and the environment.
For this purpose, the Green Paper identifies five challenges:
Improve fluidity in towns
Congestion is one of the key urban issues. It has numerous repercussions: economic, social and environmental. The Green Paper mentions a number of possible actions:
Reduce pollution
Although technological progress has made it possible to produce vehicles emitting lower levels of pollution, urban areas remain a major and increasing source of CO2 emissions. Pollution emissions have been reduced, particularly as a result of the progressive application of EURO emission standards. A legislative framework also exists for the use of biofuels. Nevertheless, the ecological position remains unsatisfactory.
The Commission proposes to:
Intelligent urban transport…
The Galileo programme will permit the development of various applications for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). These already exist but sufficient use has yet to be made of them. The Commission proposes:
that is also more accessible
Elderly and disabled people, as well as people with reduced mobility, are calling for easy access to urban transport infrastructure. The parties involved in the Green Paper also consider that co-modality deserves more attention and that greater support should be given to integrated solutions.
In large built-up areas, there are trends towards suburbanisation and urban sprawl. If interlinking of the transport network does not take place, certain areas are at risk of social isolation. The Commission proposes the following points for consideration:
Safety and security
In 2005, 41 600 people were killed on the roads in the EU. Two thirds of these accidents and one third of deaths occurred in an urban area. More often than not, the victims are the most vulnerable people, namely cyclists or pedestrians. Furthermore, the issue of public transport safety often puts people off using certain modes of transport. From a range of possible options, the Commission proposes the following:
Towards a new culture for urban mobility
The Green Paper also stresses the need to elicit an urban mobility culture by means of education, training and raising awareness. The EU could initiate training and discussion activities, such as:
The Green Paper proposes several options for financing the proposed measures:
Last updated: 07.03.2008