EURFORUM sets out urban mobility vision for the future
European cities and towns form vibrant centres of cultural and social interaction and are at the heart of transport networks for people and goods. Thanks to technical progress and regulatory changes, these urban areas are able to cope with the negative side effects of transport. This is the vision of future urban mobility drafted by EURFORUM, an EU funded project. The vision is part of a larger report on the state of urban mobility in Europe. The aim of the report is to identify the gaps between the solutions and strategies which exist now, and what research is needed to make this vision a reality by 2020. Pollution, road congestion and accidents are just some of the consequences of today's unsustainable and inefficient urban transport systems. In newer EU Member States, the situation is aggravated by a rapid increase of car ownership, an aged infrastructure and scarce public funds. In addition to recommendations on political action, the report points to a need for research in several key areas to solve the problems of urban mobility. The sector should prioritise research to: - develop European standards for urban transport data collection and analysis in order to allow European benchmarking of cities and better monitoring of locally applied strategies and measures; - develop more a reliable, fair and intermodal system to fund investments in, and maintenance of, the transport sector; - develop cleaner and more cost-efficient vehicles and technologically standardised concepts for inner urban freight, transfer solutions and solutions for intermodal transport; - understand the effects of information and mobility strategies based on human behaviour models, as well as to ensure the acceptability of future mobility concepts. Based on these initial areas of research, EURFORUM will develop a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) by November 2007.