White Paper

Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area

In March 2011, the European Commission released its White Paper Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system (COM(2011)0144 final). It calls for cities to follow a mixed strategy involving land-use planning, pricing schemes, efficient public transport services and infrastructure for non-motorised modes and charging/refuelling of clean vehicles to reduce congestion and emissions. It specifically encourages cities above a certain size to develop Urban Mobility Plans bringing all these elements together. The Transport White Paper asks for an examination of the possibility to make Urban Mobility Plans a mandatory approach for cities of a certain size, according to national standards based on EU Guidelines. It also suggests to link regional development and cohesion funds to cities and regions that have submitted a current, independently validated Urban Mobility Performance and Sustainability Audit certificate. Finally, the Transport White Paper states that the possibility of a European support framework for a progressive implementation of Urban Mobility Plans in European cities should be examined.