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A research team from Queen’s University Belfast investigated the effects of sustainable mobility measures on a modal shift to sustainable modes in Northern Ireland. The motivation for their work was the car-centric mobility reality in Northern Ireland, where more than 80% of journeys are done by car, nd the capital Belfast ranking amongst the most congested cities in the United Kingdom.

The research report found that policies and measures that foster sustainable mobility deliver the desired impact. It references the Regional Transport Strategy, Belfast’s traffic masterplan “Belfast on the move”, Belfast’s Bus Rapid Transit system “Glider”, the regional public transport “Ulsterbus Urby”, and Belfast’s bike sharing service as positive examples. The results are visible in the increased passenger numbers of public transport operator translink, rising by 5.8 million passengers between 2016-2019, as well as in the reduction of car journeys by 4.8 million since 2016.

Professor Brendan Murtagh, Professor of Urban Planning at the Queen’s University Belfast, commented the research results: “We need to fund public transport in a fair and equitable way so that it gets the same support as other places in Britain and Ireland. The evidence shows that investment in public transport creates wealth, strengthens the economy, and builds social inclusion.”

The researchers also cooperated with the community development charity “Involve NI” to run a citizen’s jury on how to reduce car dependency in Belfast. The jury recommends a properly resourced public transport network, a cycling network with dedicated cycling lanes, support to accessible city-centre housing and public awareness work on the importance of reducing car usage.

The research was based on a broad multi-disciplinary approach involving experts in public health, systems science, urban planning, urban policy, economics, climate change and social psychology. It got support from external partners including Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance Innovation Lab, Department of Health and Department of Infrastructure, as well as Belfast Healthy Cities, Belfast City Council, Translink, Public Health Agency and Sustrans.

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Stavanger has become the first Norwegian city to offer free public transport to its residents. From 1 July 2023, residents of the city do not have to pay for their ticket when travelling by public buses, trains or boats in the Kolumbus “Nord-Jæren” zone, which covers Stavanger and the neighbouring towns of Randaberg, Sola and Sandnes.

With the decision to offer free public transport to residents, the local authorities hope to incentivise more individuals to choose public transport over private vehicles, leading to a greener and more sustainable transport system. Stavanger currently has one of the highest car use rates of major cities in Norway. The decision comes as part of the city’s broader vision to prioritise environmental consciousness, improve air quality, and enhance the quality of life for those who live there. The goal is that at least 70% of the current number of car trips in the city will eventually be made on foot, by bicycle or by public transport.

Stavanger’s Mayor, Kari Nessa Nordtun, underlines that the move also aims to provide relief to residents with tight budgets. While Norway has one of the highest average median income levels in Europe, the use of public transport can still be a costly affair. For a family of four, the cost of using the bus can easily exceed NOK 15,000 annually (some €1,350 euro), even with discounts.

While the use of transport is free to residents, it is not for the city authorities. The estimated cost of the policy is almost 200 million kroner, approximately €17.7 million.

“Our municipality has consistently posted strong annual results, which have enabled us to offer this free service,” said Stavanger Mayor, Kari Nessa Nordtun. The city has estimated that this budget should cover the costs of the ‘free service’ until 2024. Whether the city will provide additional funding once the current budget has been depleted, remains to be seen. It may depend on the outcome of local elections, scheduled for September 2023. The initiatives certainly seems popular with many residents, as some 40,000 have already ordered their free public transport tickets.

The German public transport company Südwestdeutsche Landesverkehrs GmbH (SWEG), which operates primarily in the southwest of Germany, has ordered up to 25 new electric buses from Dutch electric bus manufacturer Ebusco. The buses are the Ebusco 2.2 model in its 12-metre version, which will be put into operation in the region of Baden-Württemberg.

SWEG is well-established in the public transport sector and, along with its subsidiaries, boasts an extensive fleet of approximately 470 buses. The addition of these 25 purely electric buses from Ebusco marks a significant step towards sustainable mobility for the company. SWEG has not yet revealed the specific locations where the new buses will be deployed, but have confirmed that they are expected to cover around 60,000 km annually.

As the world continues to address the challenges of climate change, the adoption of electric buses is gaining traction globally and public-private relationships such as these set a positive example for other public transport companies seeking to make similar strides towards a more eco-friendly future.

Have you ever ridden in a self-driving car, shuttle or bus? Have you thought about what our world might be like with more self-driving vehicles?

Much research is being done on the topic, but there is more to trustworthy, explainable and accountable self-driving vehicles than just their technical features. We need your help to better understand the needs, concerns and expectations of people across Europe around self-driving vehicles.

The AIthena project has created an anonymous survey looking at human-centered autonomous mobility. The survey should take 10-15 minutes (deadline for completion is 15 August 2023) and can be found here:

• English: https://qeurope.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_39oxIPQV2EeDgP4
• German: https://qeurope.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_afuS0PofH1GFt5A
• Spanish: https://qeurope.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_etkOZwjbFDtW5q6
• Portuguese: https://qeurope.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2bnesFaKa016GtU
• Romanian: https://qeurope.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6LpfPy2OAliLss6
• Turkish: https://qeurope.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0uCE87QbysKML6S
• Polish: https://qeurope.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_diBP8xIay6HnIEK
• Dutch: https://qeurope.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6fC60OrgSqWnAiO
• Italian: https://qeurope.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3k52sqL9moUdccm

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As cities and regions seek to move away from car dependence and prioritise active travel, many are turning to Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVARs) for support.

From 4-6 October, Urban Mobility Days heads to Seville, Spain, where – amongst other topics – UVARs will be on the programme, exploring cutting edge developments and what is yet to come.

Ahead of the conference, here is a quick recap on what the future may hold for UVARs.

The ABCs of UVARs

Broadly defined as ‘measures to regulate motor vehicular access to urban infrastructure’, they are a useful tool to support cities in becoming healthier spaces for their inhabitants and to reduce climate impacts due to transport-related issues.

These regulations determine the conditions for vehicle access in parts of urban areas, prioritising sustainable mobility, limiting access to certain types of vehicles and creating liveable cities made for people, not cars. UVARs can take many forms including Low Emission Zones (LEZs), congestion charges, Limited Traffic Zones (LTZs), and changes to the road layout, amongst others.

An UVAR regulates under what conditions motorised vehicles are allowed to access a defined location. Those conditions are, inter alia, the weight or the size of the vehicle, its emission level, its occupancy rate, or specific time periods, current air pollution level in the area, or again the driver status as resident of the area, as taxpayer or paying the local traffic congestion fee.

From Rome’s Limited Traffic Zone, to Brussels’ Good Move Regional Mobility Plan, Leuven’s Circulatieplan and Paris’ zone à faibles émissions mobilité, cities across the globe are increasingly turning to UVARs for help. Meanwhile, smaller cities are also using them successfully. Superblock development in Vitoria Gasteiz and Helmond’s Brainport Smart District – where locally led reallocation of space to prioritise active travel and public transport is changing mobility from the bottom up.

Cities of all shapes and sizes have begun to deploy and develop UVARs, with spatial measures, differential pricing (congestion charges for example) and regulatory changes supported by a range of projects including ReVeAL, UVAR Box & UVAR Exchange, and Dynaxbility4CE.

Implementing UVARs: Many options, many players

Cities in Europe and all over the world have set ambitious goals for reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality and making streets safer. To this end, UVARs are measures that contain the massive potential to rethink how we can repurpose urban space, but also significant challenges in their adaptation to various local contexts.

“The issue of UVARs has matured over the past decade, and Europe is at the brink of solving practical issues with regards to satellite navigation and digital enforcement,” says POLIS’ Ivo Cre, who will moderate the session at Urban Mobility Days.

It is not just cities; regions too are key players in UVAR dialogues and implementation processes. Commuter flows, tourist traffic and many other movements of passengers involve travel across municipal boundaries.

“In many cases, UVARs are planned within a city context, but they hold a key role in wider regional governance,” said Laura Babio, Project Manager, POLIS.

UVARs are also being deployed to decarbonise urban freight, encouraging more sustainable last mile solutions – an element this session at Urban Mobility Days will examine in depth. Indeed, Zero-emissions Zones for Freight (ZEZ-Fs) – areas in cities where only zero-emission delivery and freight transport vehicles may enter – have been explored and implemented by many cities (e.g. Santa Monica, USA and Shenzhen, China).

For example, the city and business community of Rotterdam have partnered for a local ‘green deal’ called “010 City Logistics”. Over 600 parties are involved with this voluntary initiative. To also comply with national climate targets, Rotterdam is developing a binding ZEZ-F to launch in 2024.

Pilots in place: findings from the ReVeAL project

The Horizon 2020 project ReVeAL (2019-2022) – Regulating Vehicle Access for Improved Liveability- examined UVARs, supporting cities to develop new mobility management strategies, as well as pricing mechanisms and regulatory measures.

The project, which ran from 2019-2022, piloted measures in six cities: Helmond (NL), Jerusalem (IL), London (UK), Padova (IT), Vitoria-Gasteiz (ES) and Bielefeld (DE), developing 33 building blocks for others to learn from these actions, and tailor similar approaches to their own urban contexts.

“This project took an incredibly comprehensive approach to UVARs, acknowledging the specific social, political, economic and geographical context of a city, to explore how the process of UVAR development and enforcement can be best implemented, with many lessons for others,” says Juliette Thijs from POLIS, who worked on the project.

Indeed, compliance remains a key issue when it comes to UVAR. These measures can often face pushback from residents, causing decision-makers to fear their implementation due to the opposition they might bring. Here, effective communication is critical: if residents are to follow UVARs, they must first be aware of their existence in a clear, accessible, and consistent way.

“While effective UVAR implementation requires cities to digitalise their UVAR measures, these will only be successful with the acceptance and buy-in of citizens: this requires communication to ensure a shared understanding of the UVAR’s goal and a willingness to be part of achieving it, resulting in a more attractive and liveable city,” says Bonnie Fenton, Sustainable Mobility Consultant at Rupprecht Consult GmbH

This especially becomes key in a European context that is continuously more interconnected, thus involving various local and regional policies that users, vehicles, and mobility providers must be aware of. It is within this background that digital tools become incredibly useful to inform all stakeholders of the presence and the features of a specific UVAR, in a way that is both fast, cost-effective, and relatively easy to implement.

“This has been a learning process, we have been learning from the very beginning, and we continue to do so today!” Juan Carlos Escudero-Achiaga, from the Spanish city Vitoria-Gasteiz told ReVeAL’s Final Conference.

New technologies are changing the game

As data and digital technologies and services become increasingly important in the monitoring and enforcement of UVARs, such technologies will be ever more important. In Rome – like many cities – electronic gates are being installed and controlled through a System Data Centre, while other cities are beginning to utilise new technologies like Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), Advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) and geofencing.

However, one complexity facing cities and regions is ensuring understanding and compliance. This can be a challenge, especially in the case of non-local visitors who (potentially) wish to access a restricted zone. Language is sometimes an obstacle, as information on traffic signs is often only available in the local language.

UVAR Box – an EU funded project – took the first step by creating an exhaustive database of UVARs from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Italy and standardising it to a single format. This enables cities to provide this key information to navigation service providers who can in turn inform users of their presence. Once drivers are aware of such measures through the navigation tools that they use, compliance is expected to increase. UVAR Box’s legacy carries on in the UVAR Exchange project, with efforts to harmonise such measures on an EU-wide scale by fostering cross-border data exchange.

“Due to the intricacy of rules related to urban vehicle access regulations, up-to-date UVAR data needs to be readily available on navigation services and smartphones to facilitate vehicle access to urban areas. This first crucial step was achieved by UVARBox.” Says Niklas Schmalholz, Project Manager on UVARbox.

“UVARBox provides an opportunity for cities to digitise urban vehicle access regulations by using a dedicated platform that allows cities to submit data in various formats, which will be later integrated in a common EU-wide database in the machine-readable DATEX-II format.”

The aim of the digitisation efforts across this project was also to comply with data production requirements for the Single Digital Gateway (SDG), which facilitates online access to information, administrative procedures, and assistance services that EU citizens and businesses may need in another EU country.

What’s next?

As UVARs continue to expand and develop, with cities testing new ways of implementing, monitoring and regulating changes, the session at Urban Mobility Days will provide the latest updates on best practices, the promises of new technologies and fostering citizen engagement.

Cities manage a variety of UVARs while seeking to comply with EU air quality standards and to limit congestion and traffic-borne emissions. This session will bring together voices from across the sector to find solutions to some ever-pressing challenges, reflecting on the then recently published UVAR recommendations by the Expert Group on Urban Mobility (EGUM).

“I am happy to discuss these issues with key stakeholders at the conference. Cities, member states, professional drivers, the vehicle rental and parking sector will bring insights forward, that can bring us closer to an accepted European concept for UVARs.” says Ivo Cre.

For more information on the Urban Mobility Days, view the programme here: urbanmobilitydays (europa.eu)

A recent study conducted by the University College London (UCL) finds shared e-scooters can contribute in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it depends on their use and efficiency of their operations.

Shared e-scooters have been promoted by some as new mobility solution that could help make urban transport more sustainable. At the same time however, critics have pointed out that many e-scooters trips replace trips previously made with more sustainable modes, i.e. walking and cycling. In addition, the efforts to collect, redistribute, service and repair e-scooters left by users across a city, have also raised questions over sustainability.

In a new study commissioned by the e-scooter company Voi, researchers at UCL have assessed the environmental impacts of shared e-scooters, based on use data from a trial conducted in Bristol and a Life Cycle Assessment based on raw data provided by Voi and independent reports.

The use data were obtained from e-scooter operations in Bristol, encompassing some 190,000 e-scooter trips over a three-month period in 2021. Participants in the trial were also asked to complete in-app surveys, allowing researchers to gauge the modal shift and gather insights into user experiences and preferences.

According to the survey results, shared e-scooters have largely replaced trips that would have been taken by other modes of transportation. Specifically, 37% of the trips examined would have been taken by foot, 19% by car, 14% by bus, 10% by cycling, 2% by another public transport mode, and 2% by motorbike. Some 5% of the trips that were done by the e-scooter would otherwise not occur. The study did not consider the potential impact of e-scooters on intermodality. E-scooters could increase accessibility of public transport, acting as a first/last-mile solution for longer trips, replacing private cars or taxis.

To assess the environmental impact of this modal shift, the study used scenarios modelling with differing carbon intensities of shared e-scooters depending on e-scooter kilometre lifespans and operations distance travelled per e-scooter distance travelled. The study shows that with an average lifespan (6,500km) and operations impacts (e.g. 0.06 operational km/e-scooter km), the shared e-scooters lead to a reduction GHG emissions of some 28%. In case the lifespan could be increased to 10,000km, the emission reduction could increase to 46%. At the same time, the analysis also shows that when operational distances shift towards the higher end (e.g. 0.15 operational km / e-scooter km) and / or the e-scooter lifespan is shorter (in this case 3,000 km), the impact of e-scooters on GHG emission reductions quickly diminishes and may even lead to an increase in GHG emissions.

The findings highlight that when considering potential environmental benefits from shared e-scooters, attention should be paid to the type of e-scooters being deployed by operators, including their recycled content and material management, fleet utilisation and kilometre lifespan, and the operations necessary to support this deployment. Potential variation in the sustainability of e-scooter fleets and their operations is thus an important element for city authorities when planning, monitoring and regulating shared e-scooter programmes.

Read the full report here: Study: Estimating the emissions savings of shared e-scooters

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The 2023 TRB annual Automated Road Transportation Symposium (ARTS) took place on July 9-13, in San Francisco. ARTS symposia bring together thought leaders from industry, government, and research communities from around the world to discuss the ongoing research and development, technological progress, and the deployment results related to road transport automation.

Dr Stephane Dreher, Senior Manager of Innovation and Development at ERTICO, and FAME coordinator was attending the event in California to present the state of play of CCAM in the EU, as well as updates from the CCAM Partnership and some of EC-funded CCAM-related projects .

Dr Dreher’s participation in the Symposium highlights FAME’s commitment to international collaboration. The project endeavours to strengthen ties with partners from around the world, engaging in fruitful knowledge exchange and cooperative efforts to tackle shared challenges in CCAM. Partners in FAME’s consortium have been supporting the ARTS organisation for several years now by bringing EU experts into the sessions and establishing contacts between similar research initiatives in the EU and US. In particular, the project has been supporting the trilateral EU-US-Japan cooperation in ARTS but is now also focussing on identifying cooperation opportunities more globally with the objective to establish concrete cooperation areas and counterparts in several world regions (Asia, Middle East, South America), fostering a global approach to CCAM advancements.

Source: ERTICO

Local and national governments across Europe – if not the globe – are seeking to increase the share of trips taken by bike. From cutting carbon emissions to reducing congestion and supporting healthier living, pedal power offers a huge array of benefits for cities and their residents.

Recently we have seen some incredible progress:

• Cyclists outnumbered drivers this year in London;
• In Paris the Seine has been transformed into a cycle friendly district;
• In Lisbon the ‘cycle train’ is supporting children and their families cycle safely.

However, change on the ground is often complex. Despite significant advances, in many cases prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, many cities are far behind their modal shift goals and struggling to bridge the gap.

Radical transformations in urban and peri-urban road networks are now critical in order to make cycling more appealing to exis­ting and future travellers.

To support municipalities in achieving this, Cerema, a French public agency for developing and capitalising on public expertise in the fields of planning, regional cohesion, and ecological and energy transition, has produced a detailed guide to ‘infrastructural adaptations and recommendations for their implementation’.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution for cities- and regions- when it comes to cycling infrastructure and services,” says Andréia Lopes Azevedo, POLIS Network’s Active Travel and Health Working Group Coordinator.

“A new cycle lane which works for Bologna, may not be right for Groningen; a bike share scheme which is successful in La Rochelle’s condensed city centre, may not work in London’s larger proportions. Progress means taking a tailored approach, and understanding different social, geographical and political contexts.”

Why is this needed?

Cycling is an efficient transport solution with proven individual and collective benefits. Many European countries have made this form of mobility a central feature of their urban development strategies. The key to achieving a massive uplift in cycling is to encourage a modal shift away from car transport, by facilitating safe cycling whilst also restricting car use.

However, this is often a complex process, requiring comprehensive behaviour change and a cross-disciplinary approach which combine infrastructural adaptations such as cycle lanes, new traffic flows, slower speed streets, and adapted intersections.

In an effort to demonstrate the wide variety or actions available to municipal planners, architects and policymakers, Cerema’s guide examines:

• measures to build efficient cycling infrastructures, reclaiming space from cars;
• the general trend for traffic calming measures;
• limitations on motorised through-traffic in residential neighbourhoods;
• development of comfortable pedestrian areas to ward off potential conflicts.

The cycling framework plan is the core planning tool for ensuring that routes are continuous and suitably meshed. Versions of this plan can be produced at local, department/county, regional, national and European scales.

What do cities need to consider?

The notebook supports decision makers and planners with key actions including the choice between segregation and sharing when developing cycle lanes.

“Three main criteria must be considered in parallel, before choosing whether cyclists and motorists should share a particular space: the volume of motor traffic, the actual speed of travel, and the desired cycle traffic,” say the authors.

Traffic circulation is also given specific focus and the notebook explores how traffic flows can be adapted to support cycling, while minimising confusion for drivers and creating cohesion between modes.

The framework also examines intersections, where user interactions and potential conflicts are frequently concentrated. Advice includes:

• Mutual visibility must be ensured on the approach to the junction, in particular by removing obstacles.
• Imposing tight bends on motor vehicles helps to control their speed during turning movements.
• Easily-read junctions give users an accurate, readily-understood representation of the behaviour required of them, in terms of speed, trajectory, priority schemes, etc

Financial investments are critical

Cerema advise that the plan may be produced as part of a broader mobility planning approach, and may for example be the subject of a concrete measure in a simplified mobility plan, or a regional plan for planning, sustainable development and territorial equality.

The framework plan also includes a multi-year investment plan, governing the actual implementation of the planned improvements.

Indeed, as the European Cyclist Federation (ECF) asserts in their advice to cities for boosting cycling, cycling is a low-cost transport mode, but it still requires sustained financial investment. The Netherlands, for example, has on average invested €35 per capita in cycling annually over many years, with cities like Groningen and Utrecht leading the way here.

“For cycling to play a greater role as part of a just transition, it must be treated as a fully-fledged mode of transport and given the priority it deserves in terms of policies, budgets, and road space,” ECF’s CEO, Jill Warren told POLIS’ Leadership Summit last month.

Cerema will be exploring this topic further at the “Accessibility and Connectivity of the 15-minute-city”, a conference dedicated to issues of accessibility and connectivity, especially in the context of 15-minute-city urban model, for both goods and people.

Adapting to size and geography

Given their smaller size, Small and Medium sized cities have a unique opportunity to expand their active travel infrastructures, and encourage a major modal shift away from private car travel. They are in fact, by their very nature, “15-minute cities”.

Johanne Collet from Cerema joined POLIS’ recent Small and Medium sized city meeting in La Rochelle to work with cities from Sweden, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain, Cyprus and others to explore the options available, and how these may be adapted to suit their specific geographical and social contexts.

Indeed, La Rochelle, a city on the West coast of France has radically enhanced their cycling provisions, with many lessons for others. Now hosting an extensive bike share system and numerous bike lanes which connect the city centre and areas beyond the core, bike counters in the city how count thousands of cyclists passing each day.

“Despite the differences cities and regions coming together to discuss and exchange will always support them in moving forward by learning from one another,” says Azevedo.

While many may look to the Netherlands, where cities like Groningen, Emmen and Eindhoven have achieved unparalleled shares in cycling, cities across Europe such as Bologna, Vic, Strovolos and others are rapidly catching up – often in very different, but effective ways.

Find out more here: https://acute-uera-antwerp.sciencesconf.org/

The Clean Cities Campaign has published a ranking of cities’ commitment to shared and zero-emission mobility. The study looked at 42 European cities and used a set of indicators in the areas of “shared bikes and e-scooters”, “shared electric cars”, “zero-emission buses” and “electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure”.

The Danish capital Copenhagen leads the ranking with a score of 87%. It also received the maximum score under “shared electric cars” and “EV charging infrastructure”. Second and third in the overall list were the Norwegian capital Oslo and Paris (France), with Oslo helped by its strong performance in the areas of “EV charging infrastructure”, while Paris received the maximum score for its actions under “shared bikes and e-scooters”. By implication, a city’s score and ranking also reveals where they need to progress, which is evident by their low score compared to other cities.

The report concludes that progress in shared and electric mobility services largely stems from consistent political choices and timely investments, such as the effective regulatory frameworks to manage shared mobility and zero-emission buses that have been put in place in Milan, which is ranked 7th in the list. In addition, the report underlines that shared and electric mobility is a viable alternative to private car ownership, even in areas that lack good public transport services and so are considered to be “car-dependent”. In addition, the report notes that shared and electric mobility solutions are a more cost-effective and “quick-to-realise” alternative to expensive investments in sustainable urban mobility, such as underground public transport.

Barbara Stoll, director of Clean Cities Campaign, said: “City leaders that show leadership and ambition are able to make wise and nimble investment decisions which can super-charge their efforts towards a zero-emissions urban future. It’s not primarily about having more money – cities that are not among the richest have far outperformed their peers through good regulatory frameworks and forward-looking planning”.

The report is available at the Clean Cities Campaign website.

Bucharest City Hall has launched in public consultation a project for the new General Urban Plan (PUG), that includes the largest expansion of the tram network since the Revolution, according to the Metrou Ușor Association. The route, subject to public debate, is the main traffic ring and has a length of 11km between Giurgiului road and Basarabiei boulevard (the project details are available here).

On 13 June, the City Hall of the Romanian Capital published the documents for the initiation of the public consultation stage of the project to expand the tram network on the Southeast Median Ring. The initiation phase ended on 28 June. The route under debate is between Bd. Bessarabia and Șos. Giurgiului, which is 11km long and crosses the arteries of Bd. Nicolae Grigorescu, Str. Iuliu Hatieganu, Sos. Vitan-Bârzești, Str. Sgt. Ion Iriceanu, Str. Turnu Măgurele and Str. Luke. The route mirrors line 41 in the west of the Capital, also located on the middle ring. The Metrou Ușor Association has campaigned for years for the implementation of this project.

The Metrou Ușor Association proposes to maintain green surfaces by adopting green-track technology with grassy rails, where possible, to avoid the decrease of green surfaces, to increase the efficiency, comfort, safety and accessibility of public transport and to ease the correspondence between the future tram and other means of transport. This could be done by keeping the tram at ground level in intersections with Bd. Metalurgiei and Sos. Berceni, and placing the tram platforms next to the metro stations entrances.

Another benefit of keeping the tram at ground level is to facilitate the correspondence between the tram and the metro at the Aparătorii Patriei (M2) station, with the possibility of creating direct pedestrian access passages, in order to ensure passengers’ safety at this public transport exchange node.

The association also proposes the same green-track technology for the Nicolae Grigorescu overpass (bridge over the Dâmbovița River).

Finally, a tender has been launched for the modernisation of line 5 (approximately 45 km of the old line) and the bids submitted are currently under evaluation.