European Commissions' DG-TREN published two calls in the field of urban mobility
The Directorate General for Energy and Transport of the European Commission (DG-TREN) launched two calls for tender in the field of urban mobility:Study on urban access restrictionsStudy on public transport smart cards
Call for tenders - Study on urban access restrictionsIn view of the multitude of national, regional, and local regulations on traffic access restrictions, the Commission has raised the issue of harmonised rules for environmental zones in its Green Paper on Urban Mobility, with the view of possibly including a proposal in an Action Plan on Urban Mobility.Urban traffic access regulations could be an important tool for improving the environmental quality in urban areas. But there is also the risk of creating a fragmented patchwork of urban areas with new “border lines” across Europe. In the Green Paper consultations, many stakeholders have called for guidance and development of harmonised rules at the EU level for urban Green Zones, in order to enable a wide use of such measures without creating disproportionate barriers to mobility for citizens and goods. It was also considered that harmonisation and interoperability of similar technologies could reduce costs for public authorities wanting to establish Green Zones.This study should provide a comprehensive overview on all existing and planned urban traffic access restriction zones, established as Green Zones, Environmental Zones, Low Emission Zones, and similar. The different access and enforcement rules and the information of citizens locally and EU-wide on these rules should be documented. A full impact assessment on possible action on EU level should then be carried out. It should address the main environmental, economic and social aspects of environmental.Specifications can be found hereCall for tenders - Study on public transport smart cardsPossible actions at EU level regarding harmonisation of access rules and technical systems and standards should be identified and assessed in depth with respect to economic, social and environmental impacts, and compared with the present situation of unco-ordinated action at national, regional and local level.The rapid development of Information Technologies and Communication Systems offers increasingly sophisticated possibilites for transport tarification systems - ranging from dedicated smart cards, through internet pre-payment to mobile phone based systems. This has led to proliferation of different transport tarification systems across Europe and internationally. The Commission has raised the issue in the Green Paper Towards a new culture for urban mobility whether some level of harmonisation of rules and technical systems would be desirable - to help promote seamless intermodal transport and improved access to public transport. The introduction of harmonised standards, provided it did not inhibit innovation, could assure interoperability at city, regional and even at cross-border level. It would also help equipment providers to offer products addressing a wider customer base, thereby reducing costs through scale economies.More uniform tarification may even help promote tourism in cities adhering to common standards. Cities with efficient transport systems are also attractive destinations for industry. The study should therefore provide a comprehensive overview of existing and planned smart tarification systems in Europe and elsewhere, with supporting documentation. It should assess different options for smart tarification, including interoperability, with a view to identifying possible actions at European level that could provide added value in tems of promoting co-modality and public transport, having regard to accessibility and convenience for all citizens, as well as added functionalities such as demand management through differentiated tariffs. This should be supported by a full impact assessment considering socio-economic aspects of different tarification and ticketing schemes having different functionalities, as well as the impact on sustainable mobility more generally.Specifications can be found here
