Tag Archive: sustainable urban mobility

  1. Seville and Hannover join new sustainable urban mobility planning hub

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    Source: MMB

    Both cities have joined the Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab, a research initiative set up by ETH Zurich with support from shared mobility operator Bolt. The project is designed to accelerate sustainable transport planning across Europe.

    Seville and Hannover will work with leading academics from ETH Zurich to extensively study contemporary travel trends to optimise public transport and mobility hub investments.

    Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab’s work with Seville

    The fourth largest city in Spain, a prominent figure in sustainable urban mobility, will work with the research team to optimise mass transit infrastructure plans such as trams, additional metro lines and rapid bus transit. For the project, simulation modelling analysis will be conducted to balance technical feasibility and cost effectiveness, to ensure new services can work with active and shared mobility modes seamlessly.

    Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab’s work with Hannover

    Like Seville, Hannover has also made great strides in facilitating sustainable mobility with its Transport Transition Action Programme. The city will work with the Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab team on extensively studying current travel trends to enhance mobility hub deployment for regional train networks and shared mobility, as well as local public transport connections.

    Connections between shared mobility and public transport

    The research projects for both cities will also utilise shared mobility data from Bolt for their findings. Reportedly, 47% of Bolt e-scooter trips in Europe are used for connections with public transport, and an additional 20% of the users of its ride hailing journeys have no public transit alternative, demonstrating the role of shared mobility in connecting with city transportation networks and being used as an alternative for personal car use.

    It is anticipated that both projects will support Seville and Hannover’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) which the trans-European transport network, TEN-T, now requires from its 431 urban nodes.

  2. Cologne prepares new sustainable mobility strategy aligned with SUMP guidelines

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    Source: European Commission

    Cologne, the fourth-largest city in Germany, has taken the first step towards the development of its Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, with the completion of its mobility strategy in March 2025. It aims to enhance the city’s mobility over the next decade, building on its 2023 visions, which set out goals for 2035.

    At the heart of the Cologne SUMP is a target scenario, detailing seven action areas: walking, cycling, public transport, motorised private transport, connected mobility, commercial and delivery traffic, and spatial planning and land use. Each of these areas has been assigned a set of strategic measures; for example, for cycling, the strategy is to improve network connectivity and expand commuter routes, while for public transport, direct connections between city districts are the focus.

    24 performance indicators are included in the strategy, enabling progress monitoring and management towards the 2035 targets. For example, a significant indicator for public transport is punctuality and service reliability. The goal is to increase light rail punctuality from 79% to 90% and reduce service failures from 6.4% to below 2%.

    The development of the mobility strategy has seen extensive participation from a variety of stakeholders including experts, interest groups and Cologne citizens, with the development process receiving a national award for good citizen participation. Social acceptability of the strategy was key, ensuring that it addressed vital aspects such as accessibility, safety and affordability. The development process followed the European Commission’s SUMP guidelines.

    The strategy is now awaiting approval by the city council and, from autumn 2025, it will be further refined with specific measures to implement the strategy’s vision and objectives. During this stage, elements such as budgeting, priorities, timelines, resource needs, and responsibilities for implementation will be defined.