About: urban transport

Cities’ backlash against big tech is only starting

American tech giants like Google and Uber are facing backlash from regulators across Europe---and increasingly from city governments.

Sharing is caring. So why are European cities falling behind?

New mobility services like Uber and Lyft offer the potential to get cities moving, improve quality of life and reduce emissions. But this will only happen if new and traditional mobility services can be integrated to make a more attractive offering that finally persuades drivers out of their cars, write Greg Archer and Yoann Le Petit.

Does car sharing really reduce car use?

Concerns that sharing schemes do not deliver a net reduction in car use are not supported by evidence, writes Greg Archer. Now, digitisation and the sharing economy provide an opportunity to reduce the number of vehicles in our cities even further, he contends.

Oslo, London, Amsterdam lead push for ‘greener’ transport

Oslo, London and Amsterdam are leading the race to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from transport, a study showed on Tuesday (25 April).

Lisbon, Malmö and Skopje announced as sustainable mobility city finalists

Cities from Portugal, Sweden and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have made it through to become finalists for the European Mobility Award 2016.

Czech MEP: Europe needs harmonised standards for smart cities

According to Dita Charanzová, smart cities are about bettering the lives of Europe's citizens. They'll not only improve urban life but the environment too, she told Euractiv.com

‘Netflix-like’ city transport app could mean people buy less cars

The European Commission is pushing local authorities to digitise cities and make them more efficient—one radical plan bubbling up could minimise the number of cars on city streets.

Jeremy Rifkin: ‘What’s missing from UN climate talks is a new economic vision’

The UN climate change summit (COP21), which opens in Paris next week, “will be meaningless” if it doesn’t include a positive agenda for economic growth, warns Jeremy Rifkin.

Transport Committee greenlights emission-capping urban mobility report

The European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) approved a report on sustainable transport in cities today (10 November) that includes measures on digitising transport infrastructure and capping emissions. The bill will be voted on in a plenary session on 2 December and is intended as a set of recommendations for the European Commission ahead of a legislative proposal expected in 2017.

Expansion of German HGV toll to revitalise national road network

Federal Minister of Transport Alexander Dobrindt believes that the expansion of the HGV toll on 1 October will bring in revenues of over €300 million. An additional toll on light transport between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes has also been called for. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Piazza Schuman!

How can we expect Europeans to cherish the European Union and its capital, if the public space that symbolises it is nothing but a shabby roundabout on a traffic axis? And yet former president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, said in 2001 that Rond-point Schuman should become "the meeting point of Europe; the piazza of the continent". Philippe Van Parijs gives his vision on how to embellish the heart of Europe's capital.

EU public transport could learn from Bogotá, road lobby suggests

SPECIAL REPORT / The road transport lobby is casting admiring glances at Bogotá’s rapid bus transit system as it looks to vastly increase the number of people using public transport in the EU by 2025.

IEA: Transport efficiency gains could save $70 trillion by 2050

Improving the energy efficiency of urban transport systems could save as much as $70 trillion (€54.6 trillion) in spending on vehicles, fuel and transport infrastructure by mid-century, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The lessons of London’s bicycle network

Lack of central coordination and inconsistency between mayoral terms have undermined London's bicycle network, says Shin-pei Tsay of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Commission tables action plan on urban mobility

The European Commission's long-awaited Urban Mobility Action Plan was adopted yesterday (30 September) in a move designed to help local and national authorities make urban travel "easier, greener and better organised".

Bicycles touted as ‘first modern post-fossil vehicle’

Cycling is not only good for the health, but can also help tackle global challenges like climate change and oil dependency, specialists argued at the world 'Velo-City' conference in Brussels this week.

Cities and climate change

Home to 80% of EU citizens and 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, urban areas play a key role in fighting climate change; but cities' access to funding for green policies is proving a major stumbling block.

EU to help cities go ‘green’, buy clean buses

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is developing a financing facility to help cities improve their energy efficiency and buy cleaner bus fleets. An initial 15 million euro is foreseen to assist cities in developing the projects, but actual financing could reach "billions", EURACTIV has learnt.

Urban mobility: Parliament takes ‘unusual’ initiative

While the European Commission continues to squabble over its draft urban mobility proposal, the European Parliament yesterday (21 January) presented a draft action plan on the issue, setting out measures to make public transport more attractive.

Parliament takes lead on EU urban mobility plan

After the European Commission failed to produce its promised action plan on urban mobility in 2008, MEPs have taken the unusual step of reclaiming the initiative, with a report due before the June European elections.

Sustainable Cities

The climate change imperative has put the spotlight on Europe's cities, which are home to 80% of Europeans and consume a disproportionate share of natural resources relative to their surface area. 

EU delays urban transport plans as Mobility Week begins

The Commission yesterday (16 September) celebrated the launch of the 7th European Mobility Week aimed at encouraging citizens to give up their cars and make cities less polluted. But a much-anticipated EU action plan on urban mobility is being held up.

Transport ministers back optional road tolls

Meeting in La Rochelle on 1-2 September for an informal session, EU transport ministers showed some reserve towards Commission proposals to charge truck drivers for the costs they impose in terms of congestion, noise and air pollution.

Urban mobility research

Urban-specific research on intelligent transport systems, interoperability and land use planning is being carried out to resolve the multiple problems faced by Europe's bustling cities.