Final Report Summary - DEMOCRITOS (Developing the mobility credits integrated platform enabling travellers to improve urban transport sustainability)
The DEMOCRITOS project introduces the 'Mobility credits model' as a transport specific platform that will enable travellers, mobility providers, technology providers and transport planners to understand the implications of climate policy and increasing prices for greenhouse gas emissions and to identify new opportunities in urban mobility first and in extra-urban mobility later.
The rationale of the Mobility credits model is based on setting as quantitative target the 'sustainable load of Greenhouse gases (GHG)' of the study area. Subsequently, the GHG load is converted into a 'total amount of mobility credits' distributed to all the travellers of the area. Based on their mobility behaviours, individuals 'consume' their initial endowment of mobility credits. In addition, depending on their mobility habits, people could have needs higher or lower than the mobility budget assigned: as a reaction, exchange mechanisms develop in the system, regulated through a sort of bank where credits are bought by the individuals or returned with monetary benefit in case they have been unused.
Capturing the requirements of the topic 'to enable travellers to understand and reduce greenhouse emissions related to mobility and consumption choices', we notice that providing information is not enough. That would leave travellers without a compelling proposition to adjust their behaviours and choices. That could may be enough to 'understand' but surely not to 'reduce'. On the contrary, we believe it is necessary to create a behavioural context where the travellers can experience the effects of changing attitudes and choices in mobility. The Mobility credits model' allows to create this context within a range of possible implementations, from a 'pedagogic tool' to a 'mandatory demand management scheme'.
The mechanism of this context is to set a quantitative target (e.g. an allowable threshold of CO2 production), to make the approach path to the target measurable (how much CO2 is not produced on account of a different mobility behaviour) and to apply a driving force (incentive or obligation) from the current status to the target.
In the first project year, the following main activities have been carried out:
- a complete definition of the theoretical framework of the Mobility credit model, taking into account ontology, taxonomy and the basic 'four pillars' of the model: defining the charge area and quantifying its 'sustainable GHG load', assigning credits to 'sustainable load' and distributing credits, rules of consumption, exchange mechanism and price law for extra-credits;
- mobility credits platform definition in a modular architecture, allowing different schemes to be implemented;
- assessment of the long-term effects on local system and climate changes: analysis of impacts on GHG emissions and analysis of all types of effects that might concern policy makers when considering the application of mobility credits system, including local pollution and congestion;
- setting up of the website for social networking, which allows internet users to simulate the application of a mobility credits policy in the four test case cities;
- publication of project website, newsletters and other dissemination tools; presentation of the project in different occasions.
At the end of the project, the following results will be obtained:
- Municipalities and regional authorities of the consortium will have a sound basis to decide upon the adoption of the 'Mobility credits platform' as a mean to influence the travellers' choices in order to reduce greenhouse gases;
- Consultancies will have a clear understanding of the concept and of the associated technologies to assist public administrators, municipalities, enterprises, interest groups, communities and citizens in Europe and outside Europe to implement the platform.
The Mobility credits model will provide a paradigm change in transport, addressing impact on climate change and energy dependency, through the following mechanisms:
- It applies a pull mechanism to the supply chain of the transportation industry, instead of the push on some rings of the chain (e.g. carmakers to meet unlikely targets in CO2 production), starting from the citizens, their choices and their behaviours. In this case the carmakers will have to supply products allowing the citizen to cope with the rules in a truly competitive market where size and off-design performances in actual conditions will make the difference. The externality meter shifts emphasis from specifying the products to governing the actual final effects, whatever the product. In principle, this would allow to extend the Kyoto protocol on CO2 to transportation.
- It applies a constant pressure to deliver efficiency and cleanness acting upon the 'sustainable load of externalities' which can be progressively decreased in order to achieve specific moving targets.
- It applies to all modes of transport, each considered for its contribution to the generation of externalities with particular emphasis on greenhouse gases.
- It allows to constantly assess the effects of the different policies and to fine tune the rules even through self-adaptive mechanisms.
- It recognises that in large metropolitan areas it is necessary to take into account externalities generated in wide areas, not only in the central areas and that cordon crossing is just the entry level of charging (change from access charge to use charge).
- It can be easily extended to the whole territory including extra-urban routes and enabling a new taxation scheme based on externalities to parallel current taxation based only on income. The multiple possible schemes imply that several aspects of mobility, society, demography, politics, economy and laws will be addressed.
The rationale of the Mobility credits model is based on setting as quantitative target the 'sustainable load of Greenhouse gases (GHG)' of the study area. Subsequently, the GHG load is converted into a 'total amount of mobility credits' distributed to all the travellers of the area. Based on their mobility behaviours, individuals 'consume' their initial endowment of mobility credits. In addition, depending on their mobility habits, people could have needs higher or lower than the mobility budget assigned: as a reaction, exchange mechanisms develop in the system, regulated through a sort of bank where credits are bought by the individuals or returned with monetary benefit in case they have been unused.
Capturing the requirements of the topic 'to enable travellers to understand and reduce greenhouse emissions related to mobility and consumption choices', we notice that providing information is not enough. That would leave travellers without a compelling proposition to adjust their behaviours and choices. That could may be enough to 'understand' but surely not to 'reduce'. On the contrary, we believe it is necessary to create a behavioural context where the travellers can experience the effects of changing attitudes and choices in mobility. The Mobility credits model' allows to create this context within a range of possible implementations, from a 'pedagogic tool' to a 'mandatory demand management scheme'.
The mechanism of this context is to set a quantitative target (e.g. an allowable threshold of CO2 production), to make the approach path to the target measurable (how much CO2 is not produced on account of a different mobility behaviour) and to apply a driving force (incentive or obligation) from the current status to the target.
In the first project year, the following main activities have been carried out:
- a complete definition of the theoretical framework of the Mobility credit model, taking into account ontology, taxonomy and the basic 'four pillars' of the model: defining the charge area and quantifying its 'sustainable GHG load', assigning credits to 'sustainable load' and distributing credits, rules of consumption, exchange mechanism and price law for extra-credits;
- mobility credits platform definition in a modular architecture, allowing different schemes to be implemented;
- assessment of the long-term effects on local system and climate changes: analysis of impacts on GHG emissions and analysis of all types of effects that might concern policy makers when considering the application of mobility credits system, including local pollution and congestion;
- setting up of the website for social networking, which allows internet users to simulate the application of a mobility credits policy in the four test case cities;
- publication of project website, newsletters and other dissemination tools; presentation of the project in different occasions.
At the end of the project, the following results will be obtained:
- Municipalities and regional authorities of the consortium will have a sound basis to decide upon the adoption of the 'Mobility credits platform' as a mean to influence the travellers' choices in order to reduce greenhouse gases;
- Consultancies will have a clear understanding of the concept and of the associated technologies to assist public administrators, municipalities, enterprises, interest groups, communities and citizens in Europe and outside Europe to implement the platform.
The Mobility credits model will provide a paradigm change in transport, addressing impact on climate change and energy dependency, through the following mechanisms:
- It applies a pull mechanism to the supply chain of the transportation industry, instead of the push on some rings of the chain (e.g. carmakers to meet unlikely targets in CO2 production), starting from the citizens, their choices and their behaviours. In this case the carmakers will have to supply products allowing the citizen to cope with the rules in a truly competitive market where size and off-design performances in actual conditions will make the difference. The externality meter shifts emphasis from specifying the products to governing the actual final effects, whatever the product. In principle, this would allow to extend the Kyoto protocol on CO2 to transportation.
- It applies a constant pressure to deliver efficiency and cleanness acting upon the 'sustainable load of externalities' which can be progressively decreased in order to achieve specific moving targets.
- It applies to all modes of transport, each considered for its contribution to the generation of externalities with particular emphasis on greenhouse gases.
- It allows to constantly assess the effects of the different policies and to fine tune the rules even through self-adaptive mechanisms.
- It recognises that in large metropolitan areas it is necessary to take into account externalities generated in wide areas, not only in the central areas and that cordon crossing is just the entry level of charging (change from access charge to use charge).
- It can be easily extended to the whole territory including extra-urban routes and enabling a new taxation scheme based on externalities to parallel current taxation based only on income. The multiple possible schemes imply that several aspects of mobility, society, demography, politics, economy and laws will be addressed.