MiM reports back: Urban Mobility Conference Brussels

European cities, and Brussels to begin with, were the buzzing scene of European Union Sustainable Energy Week last month. At the urban mobility conference of February 11th, the following sessions were on the menu:

• Green zones – which we highlighted in our preview of the conference
• Public procurement
• European mobility research
• Integration of transport modes into urban mobility
• Added value of EU action on urban mobility

Public procurement
HySolutions
The public procurement session started with a presentation by managing director Heinrich Klingenberg of HySolutions GmbH. He covered:

• HyCity Hamburg, with its HOCHBAHN and demonstration projects HyFLEET:CUTE and Zemship (apart from their yelling capitals, appealing projects indeed);
• the Hydrogen Bus Alliance, which is already replacing twelve-hundred buses per year, thus creating potential for a buyers’ consortium for H2 buses;
• and last but not least, the need for a clear technical specification of what constitutes a 'green' vehicle, as stressed by LowCVP's Jonathan Murray in an MiM interview last month.

Car manufacturers
What followed wasn't necessarily the most insightful presentation ever. Roman Meininghaus, Environmental Policy Director with European Automobile Manufacturers' Association ACEA, pointed out that “a vehicle provides access to culture, amenities, et cetera.” He overlooked the fact that an excessive amount of vehicles, and the infrastructure that comes with it, may just as well keep non car-drivers from fulfilling their needs. (Read our interview with Dr Udo Becker.) The ACEA didn't have more to offer than 'dialogue' and the conclusion that “green public procurement can be an instrument.”

If solutions won't come from the car manufacturers, then, where will they come from? Money, research and technology, and the European Union must bring relief.

European Investment Bank
First, let's talk money: four billion euros to be precise. The European Investment Bank (EIB), through its Clean Buses Financing Facility, provides long-term financing to urban transport operators replacing or expanding their bus fleets with new vehicles outperforming existing environmental regulations. The EIB can help develop financial facilities, but also offers project development support and loans of up to 75 per cent of total project costs. And not just for the largest cities.

The EIB focuses on clean buses, implementation of integrated public transport systems in metropolitan areas and innovative solutions for optimising urban freight logistics.

Objective criteria
Just as Klingenberg before him, EIB's Mario Aymerich named the development of EU criteria for clean buses as one of the primary things to be done. Later on, during the discussion between panel and audience, Jeffrey Seisler of Clean Fuels Consulting, accused the car industry of resisting development of a clean vehicle label. And the results of a European Commission funded clean driving scheme, Seisler added, disappeared in bureaucracy. “To what degree could a green vehicle label help implement clean vehicle programmes?” he asked. Klingenberg pointed out that with EVs on a rise, “we need to pay more attention to where primary energy comes from, which makes it complicated to compare various vehicles.”

European mobility research
Claire Niclause, of the French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research pleaded for a 'coordination and integration forum' for stakeholders involved in urban mobility – well, here we are! – and for data collection and harmonisation.

She also stressed the importance of a 'human being-focused approach' which, other than just car drivers, considers citizens, passengers, drivers, pedestrians, users, non-users, and so on.

Integration of transport modes into urban mobility
Cars, cars, cars
Ms Niclause was not the only one who felt that the focus is too much on car drivers. Similar complaints were uttered after Herman Meyer of ERTICO had talked about intelligent transportation systems, or ITS. (Think: vehicles communicating directly with traffic lights and with nearby vehicles; or traveller support such as parking guidance and traffic information; or assistance to network managers distributing traffic.)

Meyer assured that he was talking about the “connected traveller, not motorist. He can be on a bicycle as well.” Will traffic lights call cyclists on their mobile phones in the future? Karl-Heinz Posch, of the European Platform on Mobility Management, wondered whether the technical stuff won't overwhelm travellers. And “what about human behaviour? In Drachten traffic lights are taken down,” said Posch.

EUROCITIES
Miguel Angel Camara Botia, mayor of Spanish Murcia and chairman of Mobility Forum EUROCITIES, explained a new plan in which intermodality is key. It encompasses:

• more energy efficiency
• encouraging people to walk and cycle
• integrating land use and spatial planning with transport planning
• private cars only when there is no good alternative.

Mr Camara Botia talked about combining passenger and freight transportation. Has he heard of Hugh Frost's Freight Bus?

Added value of EU action on urban mobility
The closing presentation came from Sir Albert Bore, Rapporteur on Urban Mobility for the European Committee of the Regions. He proclaimed we must “shake the future of our civilization.” Part of this responsibility, he said, lies with the European Union. But a large part of it lies with municipalities themselves. Bore proposed an equivalent of the 'safe swimming' blue flag, for cities that deliver on urban mobility plans. And indeed, 'safe travelling' and 'safe breathing' is what everyone who was present is striving for.

Read the complete presentations here.