DEMOCRITOS - DEveloping the MObility CRedits Integrated platform enabling travellers to improve urban TranspOrt Sustainability
Overview
Background & policy context:
European cities are facing a continuous increase of passenger mobility and freight transport. The project brought the "Mobility Credits Model" to the foreground as a flexible instrument to manage urban mobility demand towards a sustainable level. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, congestion and air pollutant emissions were the topics which could, amongst others, be afforded through the Mobility Credits Model.
The Mobility Credits Model is a transport specific platform that would enable travellers, mobility providers, technology providers and transport planners to understand the implications of climate policy, changing attitudes and mobility choices. It enabled the identification of new opportunities in urban mobility and in extra-urban mobility.
Objectives:
The objective was to build the model. The concept of this Mobility Credit Model was based on the following pillars, shaped on the behaviours and choices of travellers:
- Set a target: define a sustainable load of greenhouse gas ("GHG") in an urban area;
- Distribute credit budgets: convert this load into credits. These credits will act as currency. Credits would be distributed to all travellers in the area;
- Define a set of rules to use these credits: the rules would define the consumption of credits, based on the behaviours of travellers;
- Exchange credits: travellers with a negative balance would be allowed to buy credits from travellers that have a positive balance.
The Mobility Credits Platform allowed for the creation of a behavioural context where the travellers could experience the effects of changing attitudes and choices in mobility with a range of possible implementations: from a pedagogic tool to a mandatory demand management scheme, from a social network to enterprise applications.
Methodology:
The project proceeded through the development of a comprehensive and consistent theoretical framework in order to provide a solid background, addressing all the implementation issues and effects of the integrated platform: the definition of the system and technology architecture, the assessment of the long-term effects of the Mobility Credits Platform, in particular, the impact on local competitiveness due to re-location effects.
The theoretical framework was tested in the urban areas of Genova, Stuttgart, Lisboa and Craiova through simulations and a demonstration pilot. These results were compared.
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