TRANSPOWER - Supervised Implementation of Sustainable Urban Transport Concepts
Overview
Background & policy context:
Technological progress in the area of transport has brought many benefits to mankind. Thanks to road, rail and air travel, distances have shrunk and travel time has been reduced. These benefits, however, come at a price. Amongst the consequences of increased traffic are congestion on roads and at airports, increased fuel consumption as well as rising pollution and noise levels.
TRANSPOWER enables major actors in the field of urban transport, such as municipal and regional authorities, to implement concepts for environmentally friendly, resource-saving, secure and efficient urban mobility. Avoidance of traffic, switching to other modes of transport and environmentally conscious land use planning are the main strategies for sustainable urban transport. Decision makers need properly evaluated scientific information about best practices and relevant experience so that they can quickly and efficiently implement urban transport concepts.
TRANSPOWER supervises the implementation of small, manageable and tailor-made projects and concepts. By facilitating the exchange of experience and personnel TRANSPOWER will enable participating institutions to build up relevant capacities.
Objectives:
A key aim of TRANSPOWER was to supervise the implementation of existing concepts in the field of urban transport by using innovative approaches.
The main objectives of TRANSPOWER were:
- to create a network of cities, businesses and science;
- to provide decision-makers in cities and municipalities with information on recent urban transport problems. This will enable them to guarantee a fast and efficient implementation of new or existing sustainable urban transport concepts;
- to support an exchange of know-how between transport SMEs, research centres and policy-makers;
- to coordinate existing activities of the partners in the field of urban transport;
- to build capacity in terms of technology and manpower by exchanging experiences, presenting best practices and disseminating the results to other regions.
Methodology:
The project activities are organised in five technical work packages which represent the core issues in the field of urban transport in old and new Member States as well as in accession and associated countries at municipal level. They will deal exclusively with passenger traffic as cities and municipalities have steering mechanisms available only in this field.
The following activities were pursued in each work package:
Public Transport (PT)
Transpower developed models and solutions for PT that are oriented towards the local demands. These models are cost effective and affordable in investment and maintenance as well as environmentally friendly.
TRANSPOWER aimed to give an overview on the complete range of PT aspects, including technical solutions, financial models and organisational structures.
Integrated Planning (IP)
TRANSPOWER assisted municipalities in the implementation of IP. Innovative ideas and pragmatic solutions were customised to the respective local context and finally implemented.
Traffic Management (TM)
TRANSPOWER understands TM as a tool to control the operation of transport systems while being embedded in the framework of planning and strategy development. A Municipal Case Study might aim at the improvement of traffic control by traffic-actuated signal control.
Non-Motorised Transport (NMT)
TRANSPOWER developed new and innovative concepts to increase the proportion of pedestrian and bicycle traffic, enhancing security and quality of life.
Mobility Management (MM)
TRANSPOWER encouraged soft policies such as campaigns to mould mobility behaviour. Each partner had the opportunity to get acquainted with successful case studies and was supported to put them into practice. Contacts with practitioners who actually implemented the projects presented were established.
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