Overview
The project builds on a combination of rewards and disincentives to induce a change in mobility behavior, using parking space management in combination with mobility management measures. By introducing paid parking, increasing parking fees, reducing or restraining parking supply or implementing comparable measures, car drivers will be pushed to use more sustainable transport. At the same time, the income generated from parking space management can be used to promote alternatives, thus pulling or attracting users towards public transport, walking, cycling and other sustainable modes, thus generating a funding stream for mobility management measures. Pull & Push seeks to:
- Save energy through a modal shift from lightly-occupied car to public transport, walking and cycling and potentially also carpooling. A crucial aspect of this objective is the link between revenues from parking and sustainable consistent and reliable financing for mobility management measures.
- Create favourable conditions for sustainable transport by identifying and spreading knowledge of ways to make the implementation of parking management measures more politically acceptable; and also by institutionalising parking management as a source of revenue for sustainable transport measures.
- Build the capacity and skills to implement measures to manage car parking in tandem with mobility management measures, which will help their cities to remain accessible and competitive in an era of steeply rising fuel prices.
- Further build capacity and skills by preparing a kind of “catalogue of measures” for cities and municipalities that meet the requirements of each of them with respect to parking management in particular, depending on whether they are beginners (to launch the topic), advanced cities (more structured work needed) or already “champions” (with a strategic approach that should end up in a comprehensive system); and to show how this menu of measures can be used in the development of a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP).
- Inform stakeholders and foster their commitment by spreading the knowledge generated within the PUSH & PULL consortium in the broadest and most comprehensive way.
The mobility management activities, campaigns and measures are carried out to influence the perception of options for alternatives (to inform and raise awareness) and then, together with parking management, to give car users the opportunity to try out new travel choices (experimental behaviour). Additionally, the introduction of mobility management measures at the same time as parking management measures is intended to enhance the public acceptability of the latter.
Target groups
The three major target groups of the project are
- authorities / municipal staff,
- decision makers & politicians and
- end users.
For them information and arguments are provided with the aim to develop skills and capacities.
Stakeholder involvement
To maximise the impact of the practice and exchange of views between the stakeholders Urban Local Support Groups ULSGs are installed at all cities with the aim to ensure that ideas emerging from the project are implemented – especially regarding the design and the implementation of the core-funding mechanism between parking space management and sustainable transport measures and concept for establishment of a self-sustaining process are realistic and acceptable from all players.
Core funding mechanism
The main strategic objective of PUSH & PULL is that the revenue earned from parking management should be used for the implementation and promotion of sustainable transport measures.
Capacity building
Within PUSH&PULL a number of training sessions are to be delivered in up to 16 countries. Training materials that can be used at these sessions are to be developed and collected but which is also capable of stand-alone delivery for self-study via the internet or by third parties.
Results
The following results are expected to be achieved in the course of the project:
- Energy savings in the implementation cities by reducing car travel (modal shift from car to other more sustainable modes): Predicted energy saved (toe) during the project of between 28,115 and 68,916 (i.e. CO2 reduction of between 95,123 and 233,166 tonnes toe) and after the project to 2020 of between 93,356 and 228,892 toe (i.e. between 323,780 and 794,000 tonnes).
- Identify new financing sources and raise additional money from parking for mobility management measures, and institutionalize this;
- Create new green jobs, in average 3 per city, in parking and mobility management;
- Increase spending in partner cities on mobility management, funded from parking management, by 20% or 20,000 Euros per year (whichever is the larger) and ensure that by the end of the project 7 partners have committed to long term funding of mobility management from parking management revenues.
- Building capacity of project partners and followers to implement measures to manage parking and increase the political acceptability of parking management.