Action Plan on Urban Mobility

The European Commission’s Action Plan on Urban Mobility aims at accelerating the take-up of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans in Europe by providing guidance material, promote best practice exchange, identify benchmarks, and support educational activities for urban mobility professionals. Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans received a further significant push when the EU transport ministers adopted conclusions on the Action Plan on Urban Mobility in Luxembourg on 24 June 2010. The Council of the European Union “supports the development of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans for cities and metropolitan areas [..] and encourages the development of incentives, such as expert assistance and information exchange, for the creation of such plans”.
The Action Plan on Urban Mobility proposes that:

• The Commission will support local authorities in developing Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans covering freight and passenger transport in urban and peri-urban areas.

• It will provide guidance material, promote best practice exchange, identify benchmarks, and support educational activities for urban mobility professionals.

• The Commission could take further steps, for example through incentives and recommendations.

• Whenever possible, the Commission will encourage Member States to provide platforms for mutual learning and sharing of experiences and best practices that would foster the development of sustainable urban mobility policies.

• The Commission will also introduce an urban mobility dimension in the Covenant of Mayors in order to promote an integrated approach linking energy and climate change with transport. It will encourage the incorporation of transport and mobility issues in the Sustainable Energy Action Plans to be prepared by the cities participating in the Covenant.

                                               [Action Plan on Urban Mobility COM(2009) 490/5]