The European Commission presented today its plan for green, smart and affordable mobility ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy’ together with an Action Plan of 82 initiatives that will guide their work for the next four years. This strategy lays the foundation for how the EU transport system can achieve its green and digital transformation and become more resilient to future crises. As outlined in the European Green Deal, the result will be a 90% cut in emissions by 2050, delivered by a smart, competitive, safe, accessible and affordable transport system.
According to the strategy, all transport modes need to become more sustainable, with green alternatives widely available and the right incentives put in place to drive the transition.
Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, said: “To reach our climate targets, emissions from the transport sector must get on a clear downward trend. Today’s strategy will shift the way people and goods move across Europe and make it easy to combine different modes of transport in a single journey. We’ve set ambitious targets for the entire transport system to ensure a sustainable, smart, and resilient return from the COVID-19 crisis.”
The strategy states that seamless multimodality enabled by digital solutions is vital in urban and sub-urban areas. Increasing pressure on passenger transport systems has boosted demand for new and innovative solutions, with various transport services being integrated into a service accessible on demand, following the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) concept. Simultaneously, many cities are witnessing a shift towards shared and collaborative mobility services (shared cars, bikes, ride-hailing, and other forms of micromobility) facilitated by the emergence of intermediary platforms, thereby enabling the reduction of the number of vehicles in daily traffic.
The strategy also aims to make connected and automated multimodal mobility a reality – for instance by making it possible for passengers to buy tickets for multimodal journeys and freight to seamlessly switch between transport modes.
