EU Launches Action Plan on Urban Mobility
The European Commission’s Urban Mobility Action Plan was presented on 30 September in a move designed to help local and national authorities make urban travel ”easier, greener and better organised”. The action plan encourages cities to exchange information and good practices, eventually leading to a “set of voluntary commitments”. The plan proposes 20 actions, divided among 6 thematic areas. Action 10 addresses “Research and demonstration projects for lower- and zero-emission vehicles” that mentiones continuous support for research and demonstration projects for lower and zero emission vehicles, through the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and the Green Car Initiative. The plan announces that the Commission will fund new projects related to electric vehicles, covering batteries, electric power trains and auxiliaries, information and communication technologies and an “electromobility” demonstration project. It will be focused on electric vehicles and related infrastructure in urban areas and will integrate national initiatives and support the standardisation of recharging infrastructure. In addition the Commission will set up an internet based guide on clean and energy-efficient vehicles, with an overview of the market, legislation and support schemes and a support for the joint procurement of vehicles for public services while market developments will be monitor closely. This action will facilitate the implementation of the new Directive 2009/33/EC on clean and energy-efficient vehicles. An important element of the Plan is the planned discussion of the Commission with stakeholders from the health sector on mobility issues. The EHA has contributed to the consultation on the communication on the “Future of urban mobility” indicating that electric transport in Europe will battery powered and fuel cell cars.
