[NEWS]
Action Plan on Urban Mobility
The Commission indicates PTWs as a way to optimise urban mobility
Responsibility for urban mobility policies lies primarily with local, regional and national authorities. Nevertheless, decisions adopted at local level are not taken in isolation but within the framework provided by national, regional and EU policy and legislation. Hence the Commission's belief that much is to be gained from collaboration to support action at local, regional and national levels and to provide for a partnership approach while fully respecting the different competences and responsibilities of all actors involved.
As a way to optimise urban mobility, Powered Two Wheelers are included in the Action Plan as vehicles contributing to achieve the modal shift as a valid alternative to less fuel efficient and environmentally friendly means of transport.
The Commission’s recent Communication "A Sustainable Future for Transport" has identified urbanisation and its impacts on transport as some of the main challenges in making the transport system more sustainable. It calls for effective and coordinated action to address the challenge of urban mobility and suggests a framework at EU level to make it easier for local authorities to take measures.
In 2007, 72% of the European population lived in urban areas, which are key to growth and employment. Cities need efficient transport systems to support their economy and the welfare of their inhabitants. Around 85% of the EU’s GDP is generated in cities. Urban areas face today the challenge of making transport sustainable in environmental (CO2, air pollution, noise) and competitiveness (congestion) terms while at the same time addressing social concerns. These range from the need to respond to health problems and demographic trends, fostering economic and social cohesion to taking into account the needs of persons with reduced mobility, families and children.
Urban mobility is of growing concern to citizens. Nine out of ten EU citizens believe that the traffic situation in their area should be improved. The choices that people make in the way they travel affects not only future urban development but also the economic well-being of citizens and businesses. In recent years cities have experienced a boom in PTW use with increases of 400% for cities such as Rome and Barcelona.
Drawing on the consultation following the presentation of the Green Paper, this Action Plan aims at setting out a coherent framework for EU initiatives in the area of urban mobility while respecting the principle of subsidiarity. It will do this by encouraging and supporting the development of sustainable urban mobility policies that help to achieve general EU objectives, for example through fostering the exchange of best practice and providing funding. The Commission is conscious that urban areas across the EU may face different challenges, depending on their geographic location, their size or their relative wealth. It maintains having no intention of prescribing one-size-fits-all or top-down solutions.
The Action Plan proposes short- and medium-term practical actions to be launched progressively from now until 2012, addressing specific issues related to urban mobility in an integrated way. The Commission offers a partnership to local, regional and national authorities based on their voluntary commitment to co-operate in selected areas of mutual concern. It invites also other stakeholders in the Member States, citizens and industry, to closely co-operate, paying particular attention to the mobility needs of vulnerable groups such as elderly, low-income groups and persons with disabilities, whose mobility is reduced due to a physical, intellectual or sensory disability or impairment, or as a result of age.
Links:
[INDEX]
EESC PUBLIC HEARING ON EUROPEAN PTW INDUSTRY
THE PTW SECTOR AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS
SPAIN'S STRUGGLE TO FIGHT THE CRISIS IN THE PTW SECTOR
WHO ADOPTS DECLARATION ON ROAD SAFETY
ELECTRIC PTW PRESENTED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ESUM PROJECT