NetZeroCities

The Mobility and Transport thematic area aims to phase out all fossil fuel-based modes of transport within the boundaries of the city, or ideally, the Functional Urban Area, and, simultaneously, facilitate the use of alternative, cleaner and more sustainable transport modes. To do so, the goal is on the one hand to prioritise walking, cycling, public transport and other mobility services (car sharing, micromobility) in order to reduce private car use, and on the other hand, to make use of the technological innovations such as electrification, Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) and Cooperative, connected and automated mobility (CCAM). The ultimate goal is that all transport needs are being met without generating carbon emissions.

In the following, the solutions, instruments and strategies to reduce emissions from road transport are presented following the A-S-I scheme: Avoid (i.e. reduce the need to travel or avoid travel by motorised modes), Shift (i.e. shift to more environmentally friendly modes) and Improve (i.e. improve the energy efficiency of vehicles technologies and transport modes.

INSTRUMENTS: A COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING FRAMEWORK

The starting point for any public administration to adapt its mobility system should be an overarching planning framework such as a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP), a concept strongly promoted by the European Commission. A SUMP is one of the main instruments used worldwide to plan mobility systems in an integrated way, looking at environmental and climate change aspects. An excellent package of guiding documents is available from http://www.eltis.org and is constantly being adapted and aligned to wider EU policies (Green Deal, Urban Mobility Framework, Efficient and Green Mobility Package). A SUMP combines technical planning with the social-political dimension and builds on relevant sector plans, e.g. urban development plan or climate plan. This comprehensive and overarching type of process and document is thus laying the foundation for future and green investments in the mobility sector in the city and/ or Functional Urban Area. A SUMP should include a common vision, strategic objectives, and an integrated set of short-, medium- and long-term measures from different policy areas, including regulation, promotion, financing, technology and infrastructure.

Reduced passenger transportation needs decrease also CO₂ emissions and externalities (air pollution, accidents, noise) from passenger transport (cars and public transport). This primarily occurs through urban planning activities but also through digitalisation of work and meetings to ensure that the key social and commercial services and infrastructure exist close to residential areas and that, for example, co-working spaces do not only exist in the city centre. This will reduce the need for white-collar workers to travel for work. The integration of land use planning and urban space management with mobility planning is a central strategy to reduce and avoid vehicle miles travelled and to shift motorised trips to zero or low carbon modes of travel.

Gender diversity considerations in urban mobility should be also taken into account for any mobility or transport planning.

VEHICLE SOLUTIONS

Electrification of passenger transport through electrified vehicles (EVs) is one of the most promising solutions in the long term. Electrification eliminates 100% of the tailpipe emissions (CO2, NOx, and PM) that come from the combustion of fossil fuels. It is, therefore, a solution with enormous co-benefits. However, the total abatement potential also depends on the carbon intensity of the electricity used and the carbon footprint of producing the vehicle (mainly the battery). Taking these factors into consideration is essential when evaluating electrification as a decarbonisation solution.

Zero emission electric cars can provide an opportunity to reduce global GHG emissions (UN Habitat, 2014) and increase air quality, if powered by renewable energy sources. Plus, the use of second life batteries and improved battery performance may in the future further reduce the need of raw materials and the related environmental impact. However, the adoption of EV depends on several factors, faces a lot of challenges (high capital costs, lack of charging infrastructure, grid impact, etc.) and the collaboration from various stakeholders. Some of these challenges can be overcome by using new solutions such as smart and flexible charging (schedule charging based on power constraints, price and priority, selling unused power back to the grid), smart energy management [1] (Improving EV and stationary load management, reducing the risk of grid overload), bi-directional EV charging (like in Amsterdam or Switzerland), or portable electric vehicle chargers (solving the lack of charging infrastructure in cities [2]).
Zero emission buses eliminate 100% of the tail-pipe emissions and come with comparable benefits to passenger cars. Some co-benefits may even be higher per tonne of CO2 abated, for example, PM emissions and noise. Electrified buses have experienced the fastest increase and, according to Interact Analysis, it is expected that in 2025 around 40% of new city buses registered in Europe will be battery electric buses. It has the potential of a significantly higher impact than the electrification of cars since buses have more operating hours per day and a higher annual fuel consumption (ELIPTIC Policy Recommendations, 2018). According to ELIPTIC project, “it takes 100 electric cars to achieve the impacts of one electric bus (but there is not 100 times the funding for electric buses)”. To ensure the service of BEB, rapid charging infrastructures are sometimes needed in (Rotterdam). In Stockholm a scientific study was made to decide which stops needed charging infrastructure and which ones not (only 10-25% of the stations will require charging infrastructure). In Rotterdam the optimisation of the charging scheduling was studied.
Electrified trucks could reduce most of the externalities associated with freight transport. Similar to the electrification of cars and buses, this solution eliminates tailpipe emissions when trucks shift from internal combustion engines to electric engines and batteries.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) could be also an option when electrification is not possible. FCEVs are complementary to full EVs, as FCEVs offer fast refuelling (3-5 minutes) and long driving range (500km+ on a single tank), which exceed the corresponding characteristics of BEVs. In the urban context, there are two vehicle groups, in which BEVs have challenges and FCEVs show great promise: garbage trucks and taxi fleets. Also, hydrogen busses have been deployed in some European Cities. Similar to the challenges of EVs, hydrogen needs the deployment of infrastructure, specially of “Hydrogen refuelling stations” which can be challenging (needs green hydrogen local production, compressors at different pressure levels, etc.) but interesting for industrial cities (to create an industrial-urban symbiosis). The project Zefer deployed 180 FCEVs in Paris, London and Brussels for the demonstrations of viable business cases. Lifengrabhy developed and demonstrated the use of 2 garbage trucks on hydrogen in Veldhoven and Eindhoven.

Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility (CCAM) refers to the exploitation of automated driving functionalities and connectivity capabilities towards the establishment of a cooperative and integrated transport system. In this way, CCAM is expected to transform the way we travel and has the potential to increase traffic safety and performance, reduce environmental impacts, and enhance the inclusiveness and resilience of mobility services. However, the envisaged benefits that CCAM might bring can only be fulfilled when local authorities have the capability of making structured and informed decisions to shape CCAM deployment to societal needs. Proactive planning approaches are required to ensure a positive roll-out of CCAM and its alignment with local policy goals. One CCAM solution is autonomous bus, tested e.g. in AVENUE project in Copenhagen, Geneva, Luxemburg and Lyon.

INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS

Cities can implement different measures to speed up electrified vehicles (EV) adoption, such as urban Vehicle Access Regulations, providing free or preferential parking for EV and priority lane access to car-sharing and ride-pooling companies using EV, introducing low or zero-emission zones (like for example in Brussels and Bergen), electrifying the municipal vehicle fleets, simplifying administrative processes to build charging points, establishing congestion pricing in transport, providing local subsidies for EV purchase or tax write-offs for companies or citizens willing to install charging points.

Furthermore, urban freight delivery can be also electrified, and logistics can be improved. Optimised logistics is one of the solutions that can reduce the negative impacts of freight transport in cities. By improving the utilisation of trucks (tonnes transported goods per truck) and optimising their routes, it is possible to greatly reduce the total vehicle kilometres and thereby the CO2 emissions, air pollution and noise. Plus, last-mile logistic points such as the one in Vienna could help.

Additionally, fostering walking is important. A walkable city requires consideration at different levels: 1) at the city-wide level: pedestrian axes, reduction of urban cuts and hierarchies of road; 2) at the neighbourhood level: traffic calming, parking management and reduction of motor vehicle through traffic; 3) at the street/square level: allocation of public space, reduction of speed, access for people with reduced mobility, quality and safety of sidewalks and intersections. Examples of walking interventions include: exploratory walks, citizen involvement in the design and management of public spaces, temporary or small-scale measures (e.g. car-free areas in front of schools, tourist streets, seasonal furniture and parklets), narrowed crossings (widened sidewalks, kerb bulges, mid-crossing refuge islands). Vitoria has created urban pathways for pedestrians linking the centre with the north of the city, tackling cultural change and a communication campaign. Rotterdam has developed more comfortable and safe green spaces investing in active frontages lighting and seating as well as connecting neighbourhoods with road crossings and promoting policies to reduce cars (by reducing parking spaces, and building outskirts of the city garages).

Another development path is the modal shift from car transport to public and active transport. Favouring public transport, walking, or cycling can significantly decrease travel emissions. Cities may achieve this by enhancing the appeal of alternative means of travel, for example, by improving roads and routes for bicyclists and pedestrians as well as the availability, quality and cost of public transportation options. The former tends to be a very cost-effective solution for society as it, like the previous one, reduces both CO2 emissions and externalities (air pollution, accidents, noise) and thereby generates significant health benefits, especially when switching to active mobility (walking/cycling).

The IEA has introduced behavioural change (e.g. by switching regional flights to high-speed rail, reduce the use of cars in cities, etc.) as one of the key issues in cutting emissions from the mobility sector. Furthermore, changing patterns in mobility will also lead to implications in materials demand. Cycling has a large potential to replace car journeys up to 5-8 km in urban areas. For journeys up to 15 km, for cities with hills and for cities with high temperatures, pedelecs (bicycles that provide electric support while pedalling) are an option. Cycling (whether electrically supported or not) also offers more flexibility than public transport for trip chaining (a practice more common for women than men). Another area with great potential is the use of cargo bikes (or a bike with a trailer), like in Vienna and many other European cities, both for private use to transport children or bulky items or in large-scale use for last-mile urban logistics. In some cities, even electric cargo bikes are now available to rent. In the same line, Amsterdam is carrying out a long-term pilot to promote shared bikes (normal and cargo). Of course, if cycling is increased, this will lead to emissions associated with the construction of cycle lanes, but it is estimated that these emissions would be less than 5% of the emissions avoided by lower car use. The transformation will require the reallocation of space from car facilities (parking, traffic lane) to cycling, the reduction of speeds, the limiting of motorised traffic and the creation of more secure parking facilities for bicycles. Furthermore, there is also potential to increase social inclusion by enabling more people cycling (older people or those with physical disabilities), like in UK, and to encourage people to cycle more (e.g. winter cycling in Gävle or Turku).

Figure: Global CO2 emission savings and car ownership change due to behavioural change in in the Net‐Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario

Congestion pricing is a transport demand management measure adopted to reduce the impacts of traffic congestion on cities, by implementing tolling systems to influence short-term demand choices, forcing travellers to switch to low impact road routes and sustainable transport modes.

SERVICE SOLUTIONS

Car sharing systems and collective passenger transport provide access to a car for users who might not own a car, because they do not need it for daily journeys or cannot afford a private vehicle. Car sharing models present a reliable, flexible, and cost-efficient alternative to car ownership that supplements the sustainable modes of walking, cycling and public transport. Though they are generally not run by the city in which they operate, the municipality can set up a supportive infrastructure, and establish appropriate policy and legislation to integrate car sharing into the city fabric and with public transport [3]. Different forms of car sharing are station based and free-floating systems.

Increased carpooling (a group of people travelling together in a car) can increase the utilisation of cars (average number of passengers per car) independent of the transportation need and thus reduce the overall vehicle kilometres and the associated emissions and negative externalities. In addition to the benefits to society, carpooling reduces the up-front investment need for car users on average, as more people share the same cars. Carpooling has been used, for example in the University of Cracow [4], by creating an on-line carpooling system data base that allowed the students to look for travel companions. In Bremen, an action plan to provide support for the car-sharing development was established, allowing to substitute more than 6000 cars. Furthermore, in the main Bremen website there is information available of the different type of models for sharing cars available and a map with the station spots. Together with carpooling, also micromobility vehicles (bicycles, scooters, etc.; which can be electric or not) can be shared in a city. Shared micromobility sometimes needs special infrastructure (e.g., available parking places to leave the devices) across the city. However, shared micromobility poses some challenges to cities, e.g., the invasion into public space and unregulated parking, vandalism and short lifecycle of devices, emissions from shared vehicle transport for repositioning or recharging, user safety or the use of data generated by shared micromobility. To tackle these challenges, cities might consider to regulate speed limits, individual protection equipment, and minimum age (like in Romania), parking, technical features, or data exchange. New technology, such as swappable batteries (like in Paris), may help to optimize the logistics of collecting electric vehicles for charging. Micromobility can be integrated with public transport through the use of APPs, smart cards, integrated ticketing systems and multi-modal marketing campaigns.

While the new services are growing in popularity, they ought not to replace but rather complement public transport systems and active modes. In that way, multi-modal, integrated, and robust public transport systems that function as the backbone of mobility is central to sustainable mobility systems. There are three important drivers that can increase the viability of multimodal transport. The first is multimodal digital platforms, the second is multimodal ticketing and the third is mobility hubs.

Multimodal digital platforms allow for a variety of mobility services made available to users via an app. These apps usually include functions such as route planning and navigation as well as ticketing. The means of transport that can be accessed through these platforms should be as wide as possible (such as public transport, ride-sharing, car-sharing, bike-sharing, scooter-sharing, taxi, ride-hailing etc.) and include also private mobility providers. An advanced version of this is "Mobility as a Service (MaaS)". For example, Helsinki, Vienna, Antwerp and Birmingham have MaaS offering available through Whimapp, but also other service providers can be used (see https://maas-alliance.eu/homepage/what-is-maas/).
Electronic ticketing, Multimodal ticketing and smart cards (combining multiple operators) can facilitate boarding and transaction but also the integration of different modes under one card or system (such as MaaS). The electronic ticketing can either be a contactless ticket card, a bank card, a multi-application card or an NFC (Near Field Communication)-enabled mobile device or online remote loading. Multimodal ticketing requires a strong cooperation between the different operators. London in the U.K and Tallinn in Estonia have been the forerunners in electronic, multimodal ticketing (smart cards).
Mobility hubs are a means to seamlessly link various modes of transport in order to enable inter-modal trip chains as an alternative to the private car (e.g. in Dresden). Mobility hubs link the use of traditional means of transport such as bicycles or cars with public transport (e.g. Bike & Ride or Park & Ride at train stations). Nowadays, mobility hubs also allow easy access to new forms of mobility or shared transport due to the widespread use of digital or smartphone-based information and mobility services.

Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (C-ITS) constitutes an effective instrument for existing over-burdened traffic systems to implement innovative, sustainable visions tackling traffic movements and at the same time visualizing, monitoring and constantly evaluating traffic situations. As exchange of data and information are made possible through C-ITS, facilitating a more harmonized intermodal traffic infrastructure, services like dynamic lane changing, alternative route choice, improved traffic signalization, could be established. C-ITS capabilities can significantly improve road safety, through the cooperation of the different road users and the implementation of support functionalities to minimise human-errors resulting in traffic accidents. Another way to improve logistics is the Drone delivery system, but it has not been widely adopted, although it has been tested in Dublin.

Also, other policies, services and instruments can be considered to complement urban mobility planning. Examples of these are digital services like smart parking, Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVARs) and Mobility Management. Smart parking can be planned with the help of modelling and simulations, where optimization, e.g., of potential parking locations, can be applied to urban design decisions. Furthermore, there are tools available for the parking policies, management and fees such as apps (PaaS), IoT/sensor technology, the use of real-time data for parking availability, etc. They can contribute to behavioural change through emission-based parking fees, as an incentive to use lower or zero-emission vehicles, more efficient mobility planning leading to shorter journeys and thus easing congestion of traffic, as less people are circulating to look for parking. The above-mentioned apps can connect to digital twinning platforms to deliver additional data. Furthermore, simulations in the digital twin can be used to quickly evaluate scenarios e.g. for the assessment of multiple parking policies, such as an app that can choose suitable parking fees to achieve the desired behavioural change. Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVARs) are means to reduce the number of vehicles entering a given geographical area, by means of regulatory measures (e.g. low-emission zone, like in Stockholm, Milano, Madrid, etc.), financial measures (e.g. congestion charge, like in London) or spatial measures (e.g. creation of a superblock or reallocation of road space to create a pedestrian zone, like in Barcelona). Low emissions zones are generally introduced in stages, meaning that they become gradually stricter over the course of several years. This allows citizens and businesses time to adapt to the changes by purchasing lower-emitting vehicles, retrofitting existing vehicles where possible or finding alternative modes of transport within the LEZ area (e.g. walking, cycling, public transport, e-scooters). Mobility Management refers to the promotion of sustainable transport and managing the demand for car use by offering services with the final objective of changing travellers’ attitudes and mobility behaviour. At the core of mobility management are "soft" measures such as information and marketing campaigns (like in Romania), awareness raising (e.g. personal cards in Lahti), mobility education, mobility info points, and school and company travel plans. “Soft” measures most often enhance the effectiveness of "hard" measures within urban transport (e.g. new tram lines, new bike lanes or charging infrastructure). Compared to "hard" measures, mobility management measures do not necessarily require large financial investments and may have a high cost-benefit ratio in a short time frame. Some examples can be found here.