Cities, particularly the largest agglomerations in Europe, are struggling to reduce traffic congestion and transport-related emissions, as they try to improve mobility and air quality for residents and tourists. Each day, a significant proportion of trips in urban areas is made using diesel-powered trucks, which deliver different kinds of goods to private sector customers throughout the day. However, it is not only the goods delivered to private businesses that contribute to increased traffic flows, as the public sector is one of the main customers for the products that trucks deliver.
The European Court of Auditors is conducting an audit of EU action to improve the mobility of people in cities and densely populated areas. The auditors are examining how the European Commission and Member States use the EU funding available to put into action their urban mobility policies and whether the Commission provides effective support to Member States. The auditors will also assess the progress that has been made in recent years in managing traffic congestion.
While vehicle manufacturers invest in research, authorities are working to improve charging infrastructure to support consumers’ growing interest in the sector. The day when electric cars dominate the passenger transport market no longer seems quite so distant.
The global connected car market is forecast to grow by 270% by 2022 according to findings from Counterpoint Research’s Internet of Things (IoT) tracker. In addition, almost all cars in the major European economies including Germany, UK and France are expected to be connected by 2020. Media attention mostly focuses on IoT devices in smart homes but in the last few years, IoT has been rapidly changing how our cars function.
IoT and car repair
A new report published by the International Transport Forum (ITF) benchmarks the road safety performance of 72 urban areas and puts forward recommendations to improve urban road safety.
Data for the report were collected directly from local governments in 31 areas, 19 of which were in Europe. The report also includes two case studies conducted in the Portuguese capital Lisbon and the capital of Latvia, Riga, between 2017 and 2018.
A number of recent studies, highlighted by the European Commission's Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS) Digest have provided insights into the capacity of innovative technologies and solutions to respond to the challenges of urban freight transport (UFT). But how is urban freight transport changing?
As cities continue to work towards achieving Europe’s policy goals, it is becoming increasingly important that systems for monitoring and reporting progress are put in place. Through making use of sustainable urban mobility indicators, policymakers will be able to assess the success of current mobility measures, as well as ensuring that upcoming solutions are tailored to respond to the issues which are most pertinent to the cities in question.
A new study has estimated the social cost - and social benefits - of automobility, cycling and walking with the aim of improving cost-benefit analyses in the European Union.
5G networks no doubt have the technological specs necessary to power smart cities, but without careful design and planning the complexity of integrating everything from traffic to health care could prove overwhelming
Long-touted advances of smart cities may finally become reality with the increases to wireless network speeds and bandwidths promised by the switch to 5G. Seamless integration of our homes, cities and utilities can change the way we interact with everything from grocery stores to doctors.