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5G-MOBIX is releasing a survey (available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Greek, French, German, Italian) to assess user acceptance of automated vehicle functionalities using 5G connectivity.

The 5G-MOBIX research project is co-funded by the European Commission to evaluate the benefits of 5G connectivity for connected & automated mobility services in cross-border areas.

This survey’s purpose is to assess people’s opinion about different issues related to automated vehicle functionalities using 5G connection. There are no right or wrong answers and when unsure, please select the alternative that comes closest to your own beliefs.

Answering the survey will not take much of your time (maximum 10 minutes): it consists of a series of statements for which to indicate whether you agree or disagree (don’t be deterred by the long introduction, which includes several illustrations and explanatory text for each scenario provided as reference to answer the survey).

Links to the survey in:

English

French

German

Greek

Italian

Portuguese

Spanish

This article showcases the achievements of three European cities that have gone beyond all expectations. Through a short description, timeline and video, discover how Barcelona, Mechelen and London established ambitious UVARs that transformed urban public space and improved people’s quality of life.

Barcelona is using its iconic grid plan structure to create livable urban pockets. By grouping 9 blocks together, that’s approximately 400 x 400 meters, the Spanish city created “superblocks” (superilles). These areas of public space prioritize active travel modes and limit motorized traffic vehicles.

Barcelona’s superblock implementation timeline

• To find out more about the history and layout of superblocks in Barcelona and Vitoria-Gasteiz, and how they could be implemented in the United States, watch Vox’s 5 min video How Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

The Belgian city of Mechelen has changed a lot. With the participation of citizens, the city centre become a cycle zone with 179 cycling streets. They give cyclists priority over motorized vehicles or are all together car-free. Therefore, the urban freight industry switched to cargo bikes to increase the flexibility and accessibility of their activities. This shift happened through the city of Mechelen and the CIVITAS City Changer Cargo Bike project’s awareness campaigns, electric bike cargo sharing scheme, and the inclusion of cargo bikes in the city’s fleet.

Mechelen’s cycling zone timeline

• To hear short interviews about the CIVITAS project on cargo bikes in Mechelen, watch Eltis’ 3 min video The shift to sustainable urban freight

London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and pollution charge are famous. In a nutshell, vehicles in the capital’s city centre – up until the North and South Circular Roads – need to either meet the ULEZ emissions standards or pay a daily charge. Although organized through multiple public consultations, the ULEZ faced equity issues resulting in exemptions, discounts and financial incentives. However, the ULEZ did lead to remarkable results in air pollution reduction.

London’s ULEZ and Pollution Charge timeline

• To learn more about London’s air pollution problem and how its ULEZ works, watch WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities’ 4 min video London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone

The article’s content and visuals were extracted from Jente Versigghel and Koos Fransen’s (Ghent University) unpublished research work.

As a reminder, London and Vitoria-Gasteiz are ReVeAL case study cities.

To become a world leader in clean mobility, the municipality has aligned, over the years,  political and financial resources to shift the way its residents move. Its most recent plans – the City’s Agenda (2019-2023) and the new Sustainable Mobility and Public Space Plan (2021-2025) – lay out ambitious sustainable mobility targets, with clear timelines and milestones, to gradually give public space back to pedestrians, bicycles and public transport.

Vitoria-Gasteiz has thoroughly documented its mobility transition, and the data walks the talk. Between 2006 and 2019, the modal share of private motor vehicles decreased from 36.5% to 29%, whilst the share of public transport increased from 43% to 49.5% and cycling from 3.3% to 8.5%.  Moreover, annual public transport passengers grew from 12.7 million in 2008 to over 24.5 million in 2019.

These shifts are the result of the city’s strategic plans and investments in mobility services and infrastructure, like the introduction of a tram system and cycling networks.

In February, the Spanish Government revealed that the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz will receive 11 million euros from the EU recovery package “Next Generation EU”. These funds will be used to further anchor the city’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and develop other sustainable mobility projects.

Between 2022 and 2023, residents of Vitoria-Gasteiz will witness the extension of the city’s cycling network and bicycle parking spaces, improvements in pedestrians’ accessibility to the Central Superblock, modernized and digitalized parking regulations, the creation of last-mile micro-logistics hubs for sustainable deliveries and the development of the Electric Mobility Center, amongst others. 

Overall, the comprehensive mobility package will lead the way to the city’s transition to sustainable mobility, reduce greenhouse emissions and improve public health in Vitoria-Gasteiz, as well as protect the Medieval Quarter.

5G-MOBIX recently interviewed the Institute of Communications and Computer Systems (ICCS) which is based in Athens, Greece. The interview highlights ICCS’s role within the project consortium, presents the Greek-Turkish cross-border corridor, and expands on the latest developments and upcoming steps in the cross-border corridor.

Together with several other partners, ICCS is working on the Greek-Turkish cross-border corridor, which presents the unique characteristic of corresponding to a so-called “hard-border” where authorities enforce a stop-and-go mobility model, which presents a different set of mobility-related challenges. At the same time, it provides an environment for experimental evaluation of other types of applications related to the broader domain of 5G-enabled IoT and logistics e.g., in the form of customs inspection.

Having performed full-scale trials including various network configurations which will shed light on technical aspects related to e.g. inter-PLMN connectivity e.g., Leased Line vs. Internet-Based, and various handover schemes, the Greek-Turkish cross-border corridor is organising a public demonstration on 10 May 2022.

Read the full interview

The plans for the longest high-speed bicycle route through the German capital Berlin are taking shape. On 6 April authorities in Berlin revealed their plans for a new 38-kilometre-long high-speed cycle connection in the capital. The so-called “East-West Route” connects the areas of Hönow in the east to Spandau in the west of Berlin and runs right through the historic city centre. It should help promote cycling as a clean and healthy alternative to car travel.

The planned high-speed cycle route will cross six of Berlin’s urban districts, covering a catchment area of around 513,000 inhabitants. The route will be clearly marked, well lit, built with a high-quality surface and be at least 3 metres wide in each direction on most sections. In addition, cyclists will have priority at crossings and intersections over motorised traffic as much as possible.

Berlin’s State Secretary for Mobility, Dr. Meike Niedbal said: “The aim of the rapid cycle connections is to create a highly attractive offer for cyclists. Bicycle traffic should be able to move comfortably, safely and quickly here in order to be a real alternative to the car, even over longer distances. The planned east-west route offers a lot of potential for this”.

The “East-West Route” has the potential to achieve a modal shift from car to bicycle of some 6,700 people per day. This would result in a CO2 saving of around 1,000 tons per year. The route is one of several high-speed cycling routes being planned at the moment. According to the Mobility Act, Berlin is to have a total of around 100 kilometres of high-speed cycle routes by 2030.

Responsibility for improving cycling infrastructure lies with InfraVelo, a state-owned organisation charged with planning, construction, management and operation and maintenance of cycling infrastructure throughout Berlin. Gabriele Gluth, Head of infraVelo stated: “Planning and building 100 kilometres of high-speed cycle connections in urban areas with limited space is a challenge. With the “East-West Route” we show however that we can succeed in reallocating road space in favour of climate protection, safe mobility and attractive cycle paths.”

The total cost of the East-West Route is estimated at around 58 million euros. The planning documents for the western route (central to Spandau) will be submitted for the planning approval process from 2023 and for the eastern route (central to Hönow) from 2024.

For more about Berlin’s high speed cycle connections see InfraVelo’s website.

European cities are increasingly using UVAR to transition from car-centric mobility systems to more diversified, sustainable, and accessible ones. Is this shift fair, equitable and inclusive? The answer is yes – if UVARs are well-designed.

As Koos Fransen and Lucy Sadler lay out in their article in Thinking Cities, reduced car traffic leads to better air quality. This reduction benefits low-income neighbourhoods – which are disproportionally impacted by high concentrations of health-harming air pollutants; it also favours vulnerable groups (children, the elderly, people with health issues, etc.). CurieuzenAir, a citizen-led initiative in Brussels, found that nitrogen dioxide levels were the highest in the capital’s low-income areas.

If designed improperly, UVARs can impact lower-income households who live either further from the city centre or have older cars. However, these can be mitigated through targeted measures to ensure UVARs are inclusive. For example, in Brussels, if you scrap your car, you are eligible to receive a monetary premium called Bruxell’Air that is measured according to your income. It can be spent on a range of mobility services, including public transport passes, shared vehicles, bicycles, and more.

Finally, UVARs are not stand-alone policies. They are put in place by local governments in conjunction with a “package of accompanying or interlinked measures” that improve mobility for all in a cleaner, safer and more inclusive way. When Milan introduced its congestion charge scheme in 2012; the city introduced a range of complementary measures including additional public transport lines and frequencies, upgraded cycling networks, P&R facilities, and free parking for loading and unloading. To find out more, read our UVAR Guidance Mobility Concepts.

POLIS have now launched the Call for Sponsors and Exhibitors for the 2022 Annual POLIS Conference, their flagship event, taking place on 30 November and 1 December 2022 in Brussels, Belgium. Do not miss the chance to showcase your innovative solutions at one of Europe’s leading events on urban mobility in cities and regions!

As a sponsor and exhibitor, what would be in it for you?

Being a sponsor and exhibitor at the POLIS Conference entails multiple opportunities and benefits for your business, such as:

• Connecting with up to 600 committed transport innovation professionals;
• Becoming a strategic partner of Europe’s premier urban transport innovation conference;
• Hosting a “Meet & Greet” at your booth and personalising your exchange with delegates.

Moreover, at the POLIS Conference, you will meet:

• Decision-makers from European cities and regions;
• Urban transport practitioners and experts;
• Industry, SMEs, start-ups, and, mobility services providers;
• High-level EU representatives and experts.

Are you interested?

Check the Sponsorship package to get all the necessary information to be a part of the upcoming POLIS Conference.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with Sebastien Nolens (snolens@polisnetwork.eu), Communications Manager at POLIS.

For further updates, check the dedicated event page.

Would you like to discuss a tailored sponsorship package? Do not hesitate to contact Julie Lucca (jlucca@polisnetwork.eu), HR and Finance Manager at POLIS.

As part of the Interreg EfficienCE project and its online repository tools4efficience.eu the project’s consortium is incorporating an open marketplace that fosters the exchange of new technologies and pieces of equipment.

The implementation of energy efficiency measures in public transport requires hardware and often hard-to-acquire, complex technological equipment and special solutions.

The EfficienCE marketplace aims to give an overview on niche hardware and solutions supporting planning and monitoring energy-efficient public transport infrastructure.

Therefore, we are calling to providers in the field to populate the marketplace to allow finding new technologies and pieces of equipment in and outside Central Europe. If you are interested in presenting your technologies and solutions on the EfficienCE marketplace, please contact Lisa Blondrath (l.blondrath@rupprecht-consult.eu) with the name of your company, a short description of your product(s), its application area and target groups.