PolisNewtork

Urban freight project Smartfusion kicked-off in London

Smartfusion: Smart Urban Freight Solutions is a public-private partnership (PPP) which will build upon the existing urban freight development strategies of three demonstration city-regions: Newcastle, Berlin and the Lombardy region. It will demonstrate smart urban freight solutions in urban-interurban supply chains.

Promoting open standards and specifications in traffic systems and ITS for cities and regions in Europe

A new European project, targeted at cities and regions, dealing with open standards and specifications in multimodal network management systems and traveller information systems has started recently.

Meeting of Polis working group on ITS, London, 12-13 April

More than 20 cities and regions representing Polis members attended the meeting of the Polis Traffic Efficiency & Mobility Working Group in London.

ITS investment decision support tool

A tool to aid decision making on ITS investments has been developed and was presented for the first time at the Polis Traffic Efficiency & Mobility Working Group meeting in London on 12-13 April

Pisa signs with five European capitals the Paper for the development of the fluvial transport

The Municipality of Pisa has joined to "Connecting with Waterways: to Choice Capital". The initiative targets greater use of the water courses in transport that cross the cities.

Member in the spotlight: Development of Demand Responsive Transport Services in Strathclyde

Member in the spotlight, May 2012: SPT, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport

Throughout Europe the issue of mobility for elderly and disabled people is a matter of concern. The development of Demand Responsive Transport Services (DRT) is now becoming recognised as a possible solution.

Potential of cycling along the Po River between Venice and Turin to be unveiled at conference on May 11

The VENTO research project led by the Polytechnic of Milan on exploting the potential of bicycling between Venice and Turin will unveil its results at conference on May 11 in Milan.

EBSF final event on 15 October 2012 in Brussels

The European Bus System of the Future project will present its findings, prototypes and recommendations in its final event, to take place in Brussels on 15 October.

Security Surge for Brussels' Public Transport

An additional four hundred police officers will be deployed in the Brussels public transport system to tackle the growing insecurity. This increase of security efforts follows an incident leaving a deadly victim.

The Brussels-Capital Region launches the Mobility Toolbox

The Mobility Toolbox is meant for citizens to inform, inspire and help them prepare a project to re-design their neighborhood towards more sustainable mobility.

Your opinions and experiences sought on ICT for transport FOTs and pilots

The FP7 project FOT-Net is keen to gather your views and experiences of field operational tests and pilot projects in the area of ICT for transport.

MOLECULES Interest Group kick-off meeting on June 26 in Paris

The workshop will gather stakeholders of the private and public sector in the field of ICT for electro-mobility who will actively contribute to check the transferability of MOLECULES results.

SUMP workshop in Bari: Planning “with” people

Ever since Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans were introduced in Italy 10 years ago, only few local authorities have adopted their own plan. To fill this gap, a workshop was organised in Bari on April 13 to foster the take up of SUMPs in the Southern Regions of Europe and Malta.

Integra portal to foster transnational travel across the Atlantic area beyond the START project

The Integra concept was developed in the START project to connect people and places across the Atlantic area. While the project is coming to an end the Integra concept and brand will live on through the Integra Association. Merseytravel and Burgos are among the cities that signed a letter of intent.

The SHAPES project on benefits and risk of urban cycling receives award in Belgium

The SHAPES project (Systematic analysis of Health risks and physical Activity associated with cycling policies) evaluates the benefits and risks involved in cycling in the city. This study was conducted at the interface of 3 domains: health, transport and environment.

The MOLECULES project held its second meeting in Valencia

MOLECULES is a project funded under the FP7 and aims to use ICT services to help achieve a consistent, integrated uptake of Smart Connected Electro-mobility (SCE) in built-up environments. Polis is partner in the project, it will lead dissemination and coordinate the MOLECULES Interest Group of stakeholders.

Member in the Spotlight: Innovations in online services at Transport for London

Member in the Spotlight, April 2012: Tfl, Transport for London
Transport for London is in the process of reviewing and improving its online services. The developments fall under three main headings.

"Car Culture is our main challenge and creating a Green Culture is our next one": Andrea Colombo about sustainable mobility in Bologna

The city of Bologna actively thrives for more sustainable urban transport, is involved, among others, in Civitas Mimosa and called for cities to join a cycling challenge recently. In March Bologna won the 2011 European Mobility Week Award. It was presented in Brussels by Commissioner Kallas to the city’s Mobility Councillor Mr. Andrea Colombo. Interview with Andrea Colombo about the city’s challenges, creating a green culture and top priority for pedestrians.

TfL's real-time bus arrival information system shortlisted for 2012 Transport Achievement Award

London's real-time bus arrival information system "Countdown" is the largest in the world. Countdown has been shortlisted for the 2012 Transport Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the Summit of the International Transport Forum, 2-4 May in Leipzig.

Central MeetBikes promotes cycling in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia

The EU project Central MeetBike aims to improve cycling conditions in Central Europe using experiences made in former Eastern Germany, specifically in Dresden and Leipzig. Polis supports as associated project partner and highlighted the significance of European networking for sustainable transport on local level at the recent project meeting.

The ROSYPE project: a unique road safety campaign in Europe

Launched by Michelin, in partnership with the European Commission, the ROSYPE project (ROad Safety for Young People in Europe) aims at raising the road safety awareness of 730,000 young people.

Use of public transport increases in Catalonia and in Barcelona

The use of public transport in Catalonia has grown by 1.2% and reached 990.3 million trips in 2011. This is close to the record demand registered in 2008, which was 992 million trips. The area of Barcelona reached its historical maximum: 935.4 million trips in 2011 mean an increase of 1.4% compared to 2010. The demand rised specifically in Lleida, Tarragona and Girona continues, with an increases up to 1.7%.

Press release: Securing the benefits of active travel in Europe

The urban mobility network Polis calls for action on active travel and health in a position paper produced following the roundtable discussion on Transport & Health held at the 2011 Annual Polis Conference. The paper stresses the urgency of emphasising the link between transport and health in certain EU policy areas, and the need for more initiatives, including by the EU institutions, to actively promote the health benefits of active travel.

CityHush research results to reduce traffic noise in cities

The EU project CityHush published updates on research results in its third newsletter. Two workshops for local authorities to learn about the CityHush concepts to reduce traffic noise will be held later in 2012.

Polis Released Position Paper on Active Travel and Health

The paper calls upon European institutions and other European actors to take action, to ensure that the promotion of health benefits of active travel are maximised in all relevant European policies and programmes.

Instrumental role of Polis in successful project proposal on open ITS systems

Polis has been successful in bringing together our members, UTMC and OCA in a new project on specifications and standards for ITS.

Stakeholders exchange on vehicle developments for better urban freight delivery

On the 20th of February in Brussels, the CityMove workshop brought together 23 persons from various groups of stakeholders including local authorities, industry (freight operators, OEMs), and research organisations to discuss vehicles development to increase the efficiency of urban freight delivery operations in European cities.

Paper submission to 19th International Transport and Air Pollution Conference, 26-27 November

This year’s conference takes place in Thessaloniki and focuses on energy efficient transport and its implications for air quality.

CHAMP project kicks off peer review process in Burgos

At the beginning of March, the European project CHAMP kicked off its peer review process in the city of Burgos. CHAMP brings together champion cities in the field of cycling. By looking at their counterparts in Europe, the CHAMP cities want to find ways to upgrade and optimise their cycle policy and collect new ideas for making cycling even safer and more attractive.

QUEST: 50 European cities commit to improve urban transport

The EU funded Project QUEST (“Quality management tool for Urban Energy efficient Sustainable Transport”) will improve the quality of urban sustainable transport. Fifty cities in seventeen countries signed in to join the project. These fifty cities will develop action plans that will substantially improve urban transport, and urban live in general.

TRA 2012 programme available

This year's Transport Reasearch Arena (TRA) covers initiatives and innovation on urban mobility. This includes sessions on CIVITAS and on the European Bus Service of the Future (EBSF). TRA 2012 takes place 23-26 April in Athens.

Amsterdam has 881.000 bicycles

Amsterdam has got what it takes to be the most bicycle friendly city in the world! With the methodology “Wisdom of the Crowds" the number of bicycles in the city has now been estimated.

Registration open for Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans seminar in Bari, Italy 13 April

Polis has been invited to open the seminar organised by Eltis+ and the CIVINET Italy network on developing and implementing Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs).

Reduction on public transport rates for unemployed in Catalonia

200,000 unemployed people will have an 80% discount on public transport in Catalonia. The Government of Catalonia introduced this measure to facilitate mobility to find a new job. Catalonia became a Polis member this month.

ITS Summer School will assess ITS solutions

From 6-8 June 2012 an ITS Summer School in Ispra, Italy provides training on the evaluation of ITS measures. 40 Government employees, graduates and PhD students, engineers, researchers, consultants who wish to improve their understanding of the assessment of ITS solutions are welcome.

Polis attended first ITS meeting of UNECE

Polis was invited to UNECE’s first meeting on ITS for sustainable mobility on 28 February in Geneva.

Benefits of shift from car to active transport

Leaving the car at home and start bicycling and walking proves to have health and environmental benefits. One recent study estimates these benefits in financial terms.

Bologna wins Mobility Week Award 2011

Polis member Bologna won the European Mobility Week Award 2011! The price was presented by Commissioners Potocnik (Environment) and Kallas (Transport) on 5 March in Brussels. Kallas, at this occassion, announced the EC's new European Sustainable Urban Mobility Campaign, which will be managed by Polis, Eurocities and Mostra.

Getting better organised to deliver urban transport services: the EPTA project kicks off!

Accross the EU, local authorities are organising themselves to better answer to the new regulatory framework in which to operate public transport. The EPTA project has been designed to study the local institutional context, including elements such as Public Transport Authorities or PT executive agencies.

Shooting Stars across Europe

PRESS RELEASE: How to achieve cleaner transport in European cities and regions? The ECOSTARS scheme recognises fleet operators’ efforts to save energy and provides authorities with a method of environmental engagement with fleet operators of HGVs, buses, coaches and vans.

European Mobility Week award 2011: The nominees are..

Bologna (Italy), Larnaka (Cyprus) and Zagreb (Croatia) are the three finalists for the award of 2011 being the campaign central theme “Alternative Mobility”. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Brussels on March 5th.

Children aged 10-16 years can benefit from a free bus pass in Bologna

From 1 September 2011 children in Bologna (Italy) can travel by bus for free throughout the whole urban network.

Milan launches the campaign “Live, don’t drive”

A communication campaign to promote the use of public transport at provincial level rather than private cars has been launched by the Province of Milan (Italy), together with Autoguidovie.

TRA 2012 takes shape and negotiated airline discounts

The third newsletter of the 2012 Transport Research Arena (TRA) - 23 to 26 April in Athens - has been released. In addition on updates on the programme and an insight into waterborne transport modes practical information is given.

EPOMM Awards 2012: Call for entries

EPOMM PLUS presents an annual award for the most effective policy or best practice transfer on Mobility Management. Application is open until 13 March 2012.

PIMMS TRANSFER releases European Mobility Week and Legacy videos

London and Frankfurt were involved in the PIMMS TRANSFER project, which finished in December 2011, and increased the capacity of city and regional municipalities and authorities in Mobility Management. Videos including interviews about each project partner’s experiences and achievements and a best practice guide have been released.

Dresden's officials test electric cars

Dresden's mayors are using electic cars within the joint activity week on electromobility on 20-24 February.

PRESTO's Lessons Learnt brochure is now available in a number of languages

The document sums up the PRESTO cycling project’s main recommendations for different aspects of cycling infrastructure, cycling promotion and pedelecs (pedal-assisted bicycles), structured by “starter”, “climber” and “champion” cycling cities.

CHAMPion cities in cycling teaming up!

PRESS RELEASE: The bicycle is one of the corner stones in creating sustainable and liveable cities. To meet that challenge, 7 European champion cycling cities have joined forces. They aim to become even better at making the bicycle a key mode of transportation in their cities, while sharing know-how with other cities.

FOT-Net seminar on FESTA for beginners

FOT-Net project is organising a seminar on the FESTA methodology for beginners in Pisa on 9-10 May. FESTA is a methodology for running large-scale tests of information and communication technology-based (ICT) solutions, otherwise known as Field Operational Tests (FOTs) in European jargon.

Enhanced features and design for Navigo

Revamped Paris Smartcard will have NFC technology

New measures to reduce traffic disruption in London

Measures include enhanced travel information, use of Twitter and improved coordination of roadworks.

Sustainable Energy Week 2012: Call to organise Energy Days and to apply for the award

This year’s sustainable energy week takes place from 18 to 22 June 2012. In addition to a 3-day policy conference for a more sustainable energy future in Brussels, hundreds of events will be organised across Europe. Application for the Sustainable Energy Europe Awards is open until 29 February.

Urban hub "BentoBox" fosters cargo bike deliveries in Berlin

Last week, the city of Berlin presented the “BentoBox”, Europe’s first prototype of a flexible collection station for packages, little packets and smaller sachets. The station was combined with the deployment of innovative cargo bikes to achieve quick, cost efficient, emission free and almost silent distribution of goods.

Call for cities to join Bologna for a cycling challenge

The city of Bologna and the local transport authority SRM will launch a contest of European cities to challenge each other on transport cycling mileage in May 2012. Cities interested to join should get in contact before 15 February 2012.

The health benefits of cycling: the case for public bikes schemes

A study from CREAL, the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, analyses and demonstrate the health benefits of the Barcelona bike sharing scheme.

Towards clean, safe and sustainable city logistics

A workshop for cities and regions on improving urban freight deliveries will take place at Polis in Brussels on the 21st of February. The workshop will aim at installing a dialogue around the development of new operations and vehicle technologies.

MOLECULES project uses ICT for an integrated uptake of smart connected electromobility

The MOLECULES kicked off in January in Barcelona. Three large scale pilots in Barcelona (ES), Berlin (DE) and Grand Paris (FR) aim to use information and communication technologies (ICT) based services to help achieve a consistent, integrated uptake of Smart Connected Electromobility (SEC).

I-Sup2012: Call for Abstracts - deadline extended

The 3rd international conference i-SUP2012 (Innovation for Sustainable Production), held in Bruges from May 6-9, 2012, invites transport experts to submit an abstract for presentations. Deadline is 29 February. The conference is organised by VITO, the Flanders Institute for Technology and Research.

SYNAPTIC Awards for Excellence in Seamless Mobility: Call for Entries

Many local authorities and organisations are undertaking initiatives toward seamless mobility in Europe. The INTERREG Northwest Europe cluster project SYNAPTIC has established the SYNAPTIC Awards for Excellence in Seamless Mobility to recognise initiatives leading toward seamless mobility in Europe. If you have implemented an innovative mobility initiative, this is your opportunity to gain recognition (and win prizes!) for your work.

One in Three commutes by bicycle in Amsterdam

On out of three in working inhabitants of the city of Amsterdam commutes by bicycle. In total this makes 128.000 cyclists. A large part of this group (120.000) works within the city boundaries, 8.000 cycle to their job outside the city.

New measures for cleaner air in London in 2012

Within the London Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy, a package of measures to improve air quality in London has been launched to cut harmful pollution coming from road transport, to benefit Londoners' health and to clean up the city ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The public transport authority of Toulouse receives the best network of the year award

On November 29th 2011, the public transport authority of the Greater Toulouse, Tisséo-SMTC, received the Pass d'Or 2011 from the French transport magazine Ville, Rail et Transports, rewarding the best network of the year.

Registration open for TRA 2012

The 2012 Transport Research Arena (TRA) will take place from 23-26 April in Athens. The draft programme has been released, the second newsletter and the early registration with lower fees is open until 23 January 2012.

Rotterdam and Edinburgh set up ECOSTARS schemes

The EU-funded project ECOSTARS Europe sets up seven new local ECOSTARS schemes in six European countries to foster the shift to cleaner road transport fleets across Europe. The first newsletter is now available released.

Polis is seeking to recruit a project officer

Polis is seeking to recruit a project officer for 2012 for a one year contract with possibility of extensions. Please send your application to shaon@polisnetwork.eu before the 5th of January 2012.

Read the full vacancy notice here.

Flanders Region commits to innovation for sustainable transport

Polis member Flanders Region (B) reconfirms the VIM (Flemish Institute for Mobility) to be a centre of excellence for the region with regards to sustainable and innovative mobility solutions. The Institute will continue its activities at least until 2015.

Reducing Noise from European vehicles

On 9 December 2011, the European Commission published a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the sound level of motor vehicles (cars, vans, buses, coaches, light and heavy trucks).

CATCH conference - presentations online

The final CATCH conference: Carbon Aware Cities: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Low Carbon Transport Systems was held on 13 December, and the presentations are now available online.

Airquality: CITEAIR 'products' online

The CITEAIR II project finishes at the end of December. The final output from the porject are now available online.

A European vision for Passengers:Communication on Passenger Rights in all transport modes

The European Commission published n 19 December a communication on passenger rights in all modes of transport.

Amsterdam: fair parking charges scheme

The city of Amsterdam is testing a new approach for parking charges for its off-street facilities. The system is called Real Time Parking (RTP). Car drivers will not pay per hour, but per time block of eight minutes. The city hopes that that car drivers will find this system more fair, and will choose more often for off-street parking.

Right into the heart: new cycling lane on Prospekt Svobodi in Lviv

The City of Lviv is the first Ukrainian city which features a cycling lane on the central street. It has been created taking away road space for private cars.

Goods Transport in Urban Areas Conference, 6-7 February 2012: agenda and registrations on line

Difu (German Institute of Urban Affairs) Polis and LET (Laboratoire d’Economie des Transports) organise an international conference in Berlin.

Towards a new concept for electrical light duty vehicles for urban freight

The DELIVER project (Design of Electric Light Vans for Environment Impact Reduction) kicks-off in Aachen, 14-15 December 2011

Transferring Best Practices on Urban Freight: SUGAR final events

A training event for the SUGAR Enlarged Transfer Programme and the project Final Conference were held in Bologna on the 12 and 13 December, 2011

Autolib’ electric car sharing network launched in Paris

Following the great success of Paris’ bike sharing program Vélib’, the car sharing program Autolib’ was launched. The Bolloré Group inaugurated the Autolib’ electric car sharing service and 250 electric vehicles on 5 December.

Car2go initiative launched in Amsterdam

300 electric Smart cars can now be rented from Car2go in Amsterdam. The city is the fifth city in the world where Car2go is offered and the first city in Europe with a fully electric fleet.

Best conference paper from North Brabant

Aisha Siahaija from North Brabant won the Eltis Award for her presentation on educating teens and adolescents in road traffic.

Bologna and Perugia team up for CIVITAS ITS training - Register now!

Bologna (CIVITAS MIMOSA) and CIVITAS VANGUARD will hold a training workshop on advanced telematics for urban transport improvement on 14-15 December in Bologna. Perugia (CIVITAS RENAISSANCE) invites you to an interesting site visit in conjunction with this training.

Bilbao celebrates its 10th conference on citizen's and mobility focusing on accesiblity for eldery people

The city of Bilbao promotes transport accesibility for eldery people. Polis presented its activities on the 10th anniversary of Bilbao's conference on that topic.

Survey: the perception of the urban parking problem - deadline 15 February

This survey is a joint project of the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), POLIS and the European Parking Association (EPA). The aim of this project is to understand how different stakeholders involved in urban mobility perceive the urban parking problem.

See photos of 2011 Polis Conference

Find photos of the sessions you attended, see the winner of the Eltis award and see what happened in the corridors during the 2011 Polis Conference on 29 and 30 November in Brussels. See photos here.

2011 Polis Conference: Presentations online

The presentations given at the 2011 Polis Conference on 29 and 30 November are available online. Download the presentations you followed and those you missed: http://www.polisnetwork.eu/presentations

Flow? Destination! Polis EPA Parking Paper available now!

In its 2011 Parking Paper, Polis addresses five challenges cities and parking operators have to cope with when establishing a sustainable urban parking policy. The paper is now available for download.

Release of the Polis position statement on research/cooperation needs for urban & regional network management and ITS

Following intense consultation of its membership, in particular with the working group on mobility and traffic efficiency, Polis has prepared a position statement which provides an overview of the needs of local authorities (cities and regions) for research, cooperation and knowledge transfer in the area of transport network management and ITS.

Low carbon transport to be discussed in Bristol

What's the best way to communicate about low carbon transport? The CATCH project has studied this question, and developed tools to help in communicating about the need to move to a low carbon transport system, as well as how to do so.

Reducing Transport Noise in Cities: Seminar presentations available

On 23 November, results from the EU funded project CityHush to reduce transport noise in cities took place in Brussels. Presentations on different concepts to reduce noise can be downloaded.

Enhancing passenger mobility services in Toulouse

Enhancing passenger mobility services in Toulouse Tisséo-SMTC, the public transport authority of Greater Toulouse, has always been a pioneer in the development of innovative ticketing solutions: from its magnetic-based system to its current contactless technology-based solutions.

New confirmed speakers at 2011 Polis Conference

Additional high-level speakers from both the European Commission (EC) and industry have been confirmed for this year's Annual Polis Conference:

Fotis Karamitsos is Director Innovative and Sustainable Mobility at DG MOVE in the EC; Andras Siegler is Director Transport at DG RTD in the EC; Keir Fitch is Deputy Head of Cabinet of Vice-President Kallas, European Commissioner for transport; and Patrick Oliva, Corporate Vice President in charge of prospective and sustainable development at Michelin.

Momentum to share outcomes with the users: Final OASIS User Forum on 15 and 16 November 2011 in Milan, Italy

OASIS, a research project partially funded by the European Commission under FP7, promises to revolutionize the interoperability, quality, breadth and usability of services addressed to older persons through ontologies and semantic web services.

EU City Modal Split Database launched

EPOMM, the European Platform on Mobility Management, has launched TEMS - an online modal split tool allowing access to modal split data from currently more than 150 cities across Europe.

PIMMS transfer conference

Polis presented at the conference: Sustainable Mobility in European Regions - Sharing Experiences from the PIMMS TRANSFER project and EPOMM.

Low Carbon Transport Conference, 13 Dec: draft agenda online

The conference: Carbon Aware Cities: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Low Carbon Transport Systems will be held on 13 December in Bristol, UK. View more details and the draft agenda here.

Tools and news to reduce noise in city environments

The EU project CityHush works on noise reduction in urban areas and reports about its solutions and tools in the 2nd project newsletter. First project results will be shared in a seminar on 23 November in Brussels.

Repairing potholes and road defects

ERA-NET investigates durable pothole repairs. Local experiences can be shared completing an online survey.

Turning traffic management and ITS KPIs into a policy impacts prediction tool

ITS and traffic management KPIs developed in CONDUITS project to be developed further to make them a tool to predict the impacts of measures on policy objectives.

Workshop on automated transport systems in Brussels

The closing event of the CityMobil project will take place in Brussels on 1 December.

Polis Position on EC Transport White Paper published

Polis responds to the European Commission's transport white paper published earlier this year. To view the position, click here.

Polis members Aalborg, Perugia and Bologna join the CIVITAS Political Advisory Committee

The Political Advisory Committee (PAC) is a small group of leading and highly motivated politicians, from within CIVITAS cities.

Polis member Utrecht wins CIVITAS Award for Innovation and CIVITAS City of the Year Award

Utrecht was recognised as CIVITAS "City of the Year" City on 17 October at CIVITAS Forum 2011 in Funchal and dominates the EU Awards for Sustainable Public Transport Solutions. Ghent (Belgium) was the winner in the third category Public Participation.

MERCX project to optimise cycle policies

The MERCX project (Managing Energy Reduction through Cycling eXcellence) had its kick-off meeting in Groningen, October 12-14, 2011.

Cycling training in Bremen

On the 12-14 October, representatives from cities, consultancies and the bicycle industry gathered to attend the final PRESTO onsite training in Bremen, Germany.

Large scale survey prepares the new Flanders Regional Mobility Plan

A large scale survey held in the Flanders Region shows that road safety is the main concern of the respondents. Speed comes second. The survey was held in preparation of the new regional mobility plan, to be launched in 2012.

Berlin top of European ranking on policies for clean air

Reviewing a range of policy measures to help improve air quality in European cities, Berlin has come out on top.

ECOSTARS for cleaner freight and passenger fleets

The ECOSTARS project kicked off in June 2011 and will set up seven fleet recognition schemes until 2014. Today, the project website www.ecostars-europe.eu has been launched.

European capitals commit to further use waterways for freight movement

Five European capitals signed the charter ‘Connecting with waterways: a Capital Choice’ in Brussels in the presence of the European Commission.

First Autolib’ stations and vehicles operating in Paris

Some 33 Autolib’ stations, offering between 4 and 6 parking bays, are now open in Paris. The 33 stations along with 66 Autolib’ vehicles, called BlueCar, were opened to the public on 3 October following a public demonstration on 2 October

Registration open for CityHush 1st Dissemination Seminar: Reducing Transport Noise in Cities

On Wednesday 23 November, results of the CityHush project will be presented for the first time! Partners will share intermediate results on Q-zones, noise score rating models, low-noise vehicles, low-noise road surfaces, and noise barriers from 2pm - 5.15pm in Brussels.

A new extranet platform for professionals in Toulouse

In September 2011, Tisséo, the public transport authority in Toulouse, has launched a platform dedicated to commuter plans where companies and administrations can share experience, facilitating the development and the implementation of workplace mobility plans.

Integrated demand-responsive transport produces cost savings in Glasgow

A joint project involving Glasgow City Council (GCC) and the regional passenger transport authority, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), has been short-listed for the UK Transport Awards following recognition at the Scottish Transport Awards earlier this year.

"Team Polis" cycling in Dresden

"Team Polis” from the City of Dresden will compete in a German-wide bike competition called "Stadtradeln" from 16 September till 6 October.

Your opinion on the European mobility portal www.eltis.org

The mobility web portal www.eltis.org has been created more than 10 years ago to become Europe's main portal on urban mobility. To further improve it a survey has been set up.

Cities discussed transport challenges of large events

Cities from the User Group of the STADIUM project met for the third time in September in Italy to discuss transport challenges for large events they will host - such as the Olympics and FiFA World Cups.

Car-sharing project: presentations online

"European cities boost Car-Sharing: 600,000 less cars mean more space for people": the European project on car-sharing MOMO held its final conference in Brussels on 15 September 2011.

Can a telecom company buy an emblematic central metro station in Europe?

It happened in Lisbon earlier this month. The Baixa-Chiado station branding and naming rights were sold to Portugal Telecom, a private company. The now renamed Baixa-Chiado PT Bluestation was the first in the world to have its branding and naming rights sold to an institutional entity.

QUEST Audits: Total Quality Management for urban transport policies

The QUEST project – Quality Management Tool for Urban Energy-efficient Sustainable Transport – commenced in May 2011and will run until October 2013. The project will audit and certify mobility policies in 50 cities across Europe.

Polis president at EPA congress: the parking sector is ready for the new deal

The European Parking Association's congress in Torino, Italy, reached its objective to reach out to people outside the parking operations sector, to establish parking as a key factor in urban transport management and to prepare ground for action to improve the image of the parking sector. Jörn Marx of the city of Dresden, Polis President, presented the city's case for public and private cooperation.

Dresden: Electronic Schedules at Public Transport Stops and E-Bikes in an E-Mobility Model Region

Member in the Spotlight, September 2011

What’s new in mobility in Dresden?

The September Member in the Spotlight comes from the city holding the Polis presidency, Dresden. It provides an update on many of the new and running projects in Dresden, including many innovations in public transport, planning, mobility management and education.

Polis to speak at Intelligent Cities Expo Conference 2011 in Hamburg

Polis Executive Director, Sylvain Haon, has recently joined the speaking faculty at the Intelligent Cities Expo Conference 2011, taking place in Hamburg in November. Polis will share its knowledge and expertise during a session focusing on Intelligent, Multimodal Transport Solutions.

Registration open: Carbon Aware Travel CHoice Final Event

The CATCH (Carbon Aware Travel CHoice) project will hold its final conference on 13 December in Bristol, UK. The event is entitled "Carbon Aware Cities: A Multidisciplinary approach to Low Carbon Transport Systems".

Co-Cities: Cooperative Mobility Services to Improve Urban Traffic Management

Pilot project Co-Cities incorporates travellers’ feedback to existing mobility services to offer better transport information services.

Emergency Call System for Road Accidents to be in place by 2015

The European Commission wants the eCall system to be fitted to all new models of cars and light vehicles from 2015.

Boosting advanced public transport systems conference, 29 September 2011, Darmstadt

Learn about the measures implemented to improve public transport service quality in cities around Europe

Dutch national ecodriving programme opened

On 31 August, Melanie Schultz van Haegen, the Minister for Infrastructure and the Environment, officially opened the Dutch national ecodriving programme Het Nieuwe Rijden - Electric Vehicle Centre in Rotterdam.

Welcome to new Polis member: Puglia Region

Puglia’s main expectations from Polis membership are the participation in European projects and exchange of experiences as well as an active participation in European policy discussions.

Utrecht: bicycle x 2 by 2030

The city council of Utrecht has committed to ambitious targets for modal split: the use of cycling should have been doubled, and the car use should be halved by 2030.

Two new high-speed bicycle routes in London

London has recently inaugurated two new high-speed bicycle routes through the city. Two routes that have been in use since summer 2010 prove their success.

Bologna’s review of upgrading public transport stops to be presented at Annual Polis Conference

The draft programme of the Annual Polis Conference is available. Polis presents members who will share their experience at the conference.

Workshop on exploitation of FOT results, 28 November 2011

FOT-Net workshop on expectations from various stakeholders, including policy makers, from results of Field Operational Tests

Register now for courses to improve capacity in cycling

Registration is open for 7 free e-learning courses and one onsite training in Bremen, Germany.

Resources from clean vehicle event online

In June, CIVITAS VANGUARD, CIVITAS ARCHIMEDES and BIOSIRE organised a conference on deploying clean fuels and vehicles in European cities.

Video clip on the European Green Capital 2011

The city of Hamburg is this year’s winner of the European Green Capital Award. A video clip illustrates the qualities that helped the German city of Hamburg become the 2011 European Green Capital.

IRF Environment Study Day on Green Public Procurement

The International Road Federation organises a study day on Green Public Procurement and Technology Advancements in the Road Sector. It will take place on 20 September 2011 in Brussels.

Get ready to mainstream urban transport innovation: NICHES+ tools now available

Now that the NICHES+ project has come to an end, we’d like to offer you an overview of the tools, strategies and guidance that can help you to introduce innovative transport solutions at the local level.

First taxi-motorcycles in Brussels to run from autum 2011 onwards

The Brussels Capital Region will experiment with Taxi-motorcycles. A first test phase will include 15 motorcycles.

Flanders Region launches ambitious lighting plan

The Flanders Region has launched its vision on nocturnal lighting of highways and regional roads. The plan will save money, decrease light pollution and will not impact negatively on road safety.

CIVITAS workshop on effective solutions for green urban transport in Brussels

The CIVITAS Initiative will hold its first workshop in the effective solutions for green urban transport - Learning from CIVITAS cities series, which will take place on 13 September 2011 in Brussels.

The traveller is always right

ENERQI monitors and listens to public transport users to improve the quality of public transport. First monitoring activities are to start.

New certification schemes for biofuels announced

Biofuels play a prominent role in reducing the dependence on fossil fuels, but there are questions as to their sustainability, and to their contribution to CO2 emission reduction in the transport sector.

Presentations from Air Quality Conference now online

Rome hosted the CITEAIR II Final Conference on 24 June. You can now view the presentations online.

Online courses for implementing Cycling policies

Are you working on cycling issues, and interested in learning how to improve cycling in a city with less than 10% modal share of cycling? The PRESTO project has developed 7 free e-learning courses for 'technicians' working in 'starter' cities to help them to implement cycling policies.

Polis applies to the ITS advisory committee

The European Commission is proceeding with the selection of the members of the future ITS advisory group. Candidates submitted their applications until 10 June.

Paving the way for the integration of the urban mobility system

ERTRAC, the European Road Transport Research Advisory Council, has adopted its first batch of research roadmaps at its last plenary meeting on 9th June.

Next Presto training workshop on cycling in October

The final of the five PRESTO onsite trainings will take place in Bremen, Germany, on 14 October 2011. This training workshop is part of a series that looks at developing cycling culture in European cities.

Universal Design 2012 conference, 11-13 June 2012

Call for abstracts closes 31 October 2011

Hamburg is Europe’s Green Capital 2011

The city of Hamburg is this year’s winner of the European Green Capital Award. With the award, the European Commission acknowledges efforts to environmental improvement in urban areas since 2006.

ECOSTARS project on urban freight recognition schemes kicks off

On 20 June, the European funded ECOSTARS project, which will promote more energy-efficient and cleaner freight movements by providing recognition, guidance and advice to operators of goods vehicle fleets, kicked off in Edinburgh.

Bike Sharing Schemes Handbook

OBIS is a European project about bike sharing systems in which several Polis members are partners. The main result from the project is a handbook on implementing bike sharing schemes.

Smart Accessibility Awards launched for outstanding smartphone applications

One topic of the competition to develop smart phone applications for older people and people with disabilities are mobility apps. Submission is open until 15 October 2011.

PIMMS TRANSFER: Sustainable Mobility in European Regions Conference

POlis member LEPT invites to the PIMMS TRANSFER conference on 4 October 2011 on sustainable mobility in European regions. The conference aims to share experiences from the PIMMS TRANSFER project and EPOMM.

TfL releases results following removal of Western Extension Congestion Charge

Initial results show a lower than expected increase in traffic driving into and within the former zone and no discernable impact on air quality.

Real-time information available on Google Transit in Madrid

June 8 saw the launch of real-time information on Google Transit in Madrid.

Going the distance - Achieving better value for money in road maintenance

The UK’s Audit Commission has published a report on how local authorities can get better value for road maintenance.'Going the distance - Achieving better value for money in road maintenance' looks at the challenges faced by the country's 152 council highways authorities. England's 236,000 miles of local roads - used by 30 million drivers every day - are under attack from increasing traffic, severe winters, higher repair costs, and dwindling highways funding.

One hundred million trips made with Paris’ public bike scheme Vélib

Vélib celebrated its one-hundred millionth trip on 6 June, less than four years after its launch on 15 July 2007.

KPIs for ITS and traffic management

The CONDUITS project has developed a set of KPIs for traffic management and ITS and has tested these in several cities.

SUGAR Project Entered its Final Round

Press release: Good practice selection on public actions in urban freight management to be released. SUGAR entered its last round and is now in its final project year. The project addresses inefficient and ineffective management of urban freight distribution. In its last period a tool on good practices on freight is being developed.

How can you improve your city's transport policy? - QUEST project kicks off.

On 23-24 June, the QUEST project had its kick-off meeting in Ghent, Belgium. QUEST will develop an audit tool to evaluate the quality of urban transport policies. After a QUEST audit cities receive a certificate which recognises their efforts in sustainable urban transport planning.

Brussels recognises that walking is more than just walking

On 21 June, Brussels Mobility hosted an international seminar on walking to kick-off the preparations for the first walking plan of Brussels.

CONDUITS Final Conference on 22 June

The final CONDUITS event is organised jointly with 2DECIDE project 'Towards better ITS decision making and impacts assessment for public authorities'.

Save the date – Carbon Aware Travel Choice Final Conference 13 December

The CATCH final conference will present work from the project, looking particularly at how to link low carbon transport with other co-benefit areas.

Bilbao wins National Award for Best Project of the Year

Polis would like to congratulate the city of Bilbao, one of its Spanish member cities, which recently received the National Award for Best Project of the Year in the field of freight transport, for its involvement in the European FREILOT project.

SMARTFREIGHT project: Final results available now!

The European project SMARTFREIGHT has just come to an end. Final results can now be consulted at the project website.

CITEAIR II Final Conference – last chance to register

The CITEAIR II project has developed tools to support the monitoring and management of air quality in cities, and offers solutions to inform citizens on air quality.

Clean Fuels, Clean Vehicles, Cleaner Cities – last chance to register for conference

Registration is open until 7 June 2011.

Prague and Dublin at Momo final conference: What's new in the world of car-sharing?

On 15 September the momo final conference on car-sharing will take place in Brussels and two Polis members will contribute their experiences. At the conference, the project's achievements will be presented as well as what is going on in that field in America and Asia. Also, the 'momorandum' will be released and discussed which is the political conclusions of the project.

Joint Polis-EMI workshop on the definition of a European research agenda for urban mobility

Workshop by Polis and the European Metropolitan Institute (EMI) on 30 June 2011 in Brussels. The workshop aims to gather the input of local authorities to identify priorities for guiding the future of research on urban mobility in Europe.

Donald Shoup key note speaker at the 15th EPA Congress

The universally regarded expert on parking policies, the parking prophet, the parking rock star with 79 pages on Google, the UCLA Urban Planning Professor with a PhD in Economics from Yale Dr Donald Shoup will be a key note speaker at the 15th EPA Congress that will take place in Torino, Italy, from the 14th to the 16th September 2011, organized by AIPARK – Italian Parking Association.

E-learning courses for people implementing cycling policies

PRESTO is a European project which looks a competence building in cycling policies.

Member in the Spotlight: Cycle Design Manual in Dublin

Member in the Spotlight, June 2011: Dublin, National Transport Authority of Ireland

CityMobil conference 'Smart mobility for better cities'

The CityMobil project held a successful conference and exhibition in La Rochelle on the deployment of automated systems in the urban environment

Conference on Budapest’s city branding

Budapest as the capital of the country currently holding the EU presidency, Hungary, organized a conference on 26 May in Brussels in which it presented its city strategy including city branding and image, city Transport and business innovations.

Polis Annual Conference 2011: Call for speakers!

Polis & the European Economic and Social Committee invite you to the conference: Innovation in transport for sustainable cities and region. The call for speakers is open until 17 June.

Call for Candidates: Awards for bus operation and coach tourism policy

The bus and coach industry is going to award ambitious action in the promotion of busses and coaches in urban and interurban transport. Candidates for awards can be suggested until 15 June.

P3ITS Workshop on 9 June in Lyon

Pre-commercial procurement, how to invest in innovation differently to find new answers to real challenges?

START project: Improving interconnectivity in the Atlantic area

POLIS members Merseytravel (UK) and Poitou-Charentes (FR) are partners in the European START project, funded by European Commission's Transnational Cooperation Programme for the Atlantic Area. Its primary aim is to make it easy to travel to, from and around the Atlantic regions using environmentally friendly, collective modes of transport.

Wisetrip journey planner combines information from different transport modes

The EU-funded Wisetrip project, coordinated by the Greek company Forthnet, has developed an integrated journey planner which can bring together information from different transport modes, cities and countries to help travellers plan a door-to-door journey through an easy search interface.

Lease a bike: Companies can now lease bikes for employees in Belgium

ING Lease in Belgium together with the chain store Fiets! (Bike!) is now offering lease bikes to employees and no longer just lease cars. Companies who want to offer their employees a company bike, will pay a monthly fee just as they do with leased cars, with the possibility for the employee to buy the bicycle at the end of the leasing term.

Clean fuels, clean vehicles, clean cities

Joint conference on clean vehicles and fuel strategies | 15 - 16 June in Donostia-San Sebastián
BIOSIRE, CIVITAS ARCHIMEDES and CIVITAS VANGUARD invite to Donostia-San Sebastián for a conference and training workshop about the practical deployment of clean vehicles and fuel strategies in cities.

New internet portal on sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMP)

A new web portal sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMP) has been launched. http://mobilityplans.eu/index.php offers a range of promotion and training activities to promote the uptake of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans across Europe.

TfL journey planner incorporates walking

As half of all journeys made in London are less than two kilometers, Transport for London (TfL) has expanded its online journey planner by an additional dimension and now includes walking.

Co-benefits of low carbon transport

A key point in communicating the need for climate-friendly travel is to focus on the benefits of low carbon travel in areas other than climate change mitigation (the "co- benefits" of low carbon travel). The CATCH (Carbon Aware Travel CHoice) is developing a online knowledge platform to help facilitate and communicate the need for low carbon transport.

SUGAR City Logistics Workshop: Fully booked

The workshop on "Sustainable Urban Goods Logistics Achieved by Regional and Local Policies" takes place on 3 May 2011 in Brussels. The workshop is fully booked.

Review: CONDUITS City Pool meeting in Paris

More than 40 people attended the second meeting of the CONDUITS City Pool in Paris on 23-24 March 2011, with more than half representing local, regional or national road authorities from across Europe.

CITEAIR II Final Conference: Registration now open

The CITEAIR II project is now drawing to an end, the final conference is event when CITEAIR II partners will share their knowledge, experience and tools with you to help improve European air quality. The final conference takes place on 24 June 2011 in Rome.

Register now: The role of parking in Sustainable Urban Transport Plans

Joint EPA-Polis workshop on Parking | 17 May 2011, 9-17h | Registration is now open.

Polis members win OSMOSE Awards

Five European cities and regions were presented with the OSMOSE Awards for local transport innovations on Thursday 7 April in London. Among the winners are the three Polis members Aalborg (DK), Barcelona (ES) and Madrid (ES).

Stakeholders in future EU Electric Vehicle Market to collaborate around urban deployment

Joint event of Polis and The Climate Group today in London on electromobility

Increased passenger rights by bus and coach trips

Bus and coach passenger rights now enshrined in EU Regulation
From spring 2013, passengers on a route of at least 250 km will have the right to receive financial compensation in case of death, personal injury, lost/damaged luggage and damaged mobility equipment. Road accident victims and stranded long-distance passengers will be provided with up to two nights’ hotel accommodation.

Five European cities and regions honoured with the OSMOSE Awards for their transport innovations

Madrid (ES), Essex (UK), Barcelona (ES), Aalborg (DK) and San Sebastian (ES) are the winners of this year’s OSMOSE Awards for local traffic innovations. The awards are presented to the winners on 7 April in London.

Stakeholders in future EU Electric Vehicle Market to collaborate around urban deployment

London – International NGO The Climate Group and Polis – who have members that makeup a network of European Cities and Regions – hosted a joint event on 6 April at the offices of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) to discuss how local governments, fleetowners, and the energy and motor industries can work together to grow the European market forelectric vehicles (EVs).

Building roundabouts and parking for cyclists

PRESTO onsite training took place in Venice, Italy

Individualised social marketing campaigns for sustainable transport solutions in cities

CIVITAS VANGUARD Training Workshop | 17 - 18 May in Toulouse, France
Social marketing refers to the use of marketing principles and techniques for the social good.

Recommendations for public policy of the European automotive industry

CARS 21 initiative relaunched
The CARS 21 (Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century) initiative was initially launched in 2005 and formally re-launched in 2010. It aims to make recommendations for the short, medium, and long-term public policy and regulatory framework of the European automotive industry.

European Low Emission Zones on multi-lingual website

Low Emission Zones (LEZ) are the most effective air quality measure for many cities and there are over 220 LEZ in planning or operation in 11 countries in Europe. The network LEEZEN maps low emission zones in the EU and provides them online.

Automated transportation systems to be discussed at Smart Mobility Conference

CityMobil programme reached its end | Smart mobility conference on 12 - 13 May 2011 in La Rochelle, France
CityMobil is celebrating the end of its five year programme on the development and demonstration of innovative transport technologies for cities with a major international conference in La Rochelle (France) on 12-13 May 2011, a city well known for pioneering sustainable mobility solutions.

Transport Research Arena 2012

Athens call for papers | Deadline: 15 April 2011
After Göteborg in 2008 and Brussels in 2010, the next Transport Research Arena (TRA) will take place in Athens from the 23rd to the 26th of April 2012.

European Commission seeks to improve research and innovation funding

Green Paper on a Common Strategic Framework
The European Commission launched on 9th February 2011 a consultation on major improvements to EU research and innovation funding. The main objectives are making participation easier, increasing scientific and economic impact and improving value for money.

Towards a more efficient European procurement market

European consultation on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy
The European Commission has launched a consultation on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy following the release of its Green paper on the matter. The consultation is opened until the 18.04.2011.

New vehicles to be equipped with daytime running lights

New EU legislation | DLRs mandatory for new cars from 2011 onwards
Currently, 17 EU countries already have some form of daytime running light (DRL) legislation. From 2011 onwards, DLRs will be mandatory for all new cars and small delivery vans across the European Union.

Cork’s integrated traffic management centres to be discussed

NICHES+ National Seminar | 23 March in Cork, Ireland
NICHES+ also organises a national event for Ireland on the 23rd of March in Cork. The event will focus on ITS, with the CORK NICHES+ activities on integrated traffic management centres as the main topic. Registration form and programme are available at www.niches-transport.org.

Parliament backs new CO2 limits for vans

European Parliament agreed on new rules to reduce CO2 emissions | new targets for vehicle manufacturers from 2014 on
Last February the European Parliament agreed on new rules for limiting CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles. Under the new regulation, from 2014, vehicle manufacturers will have to reach a target of 175g of emissions per kilometre for 70% of their vehicles, rising to 100% of their fleet by 2017.

Stakeholder workshop on ITS field operational tests in pursuit of policy goals

Workshop on FOT-Net | 24 March in Brussels
The next workshop of the field operational test networking platform FOT-Net will take place in Brussels on 24 March on the theme of ‘Deployment Roadmap: how FOTs are used to reach policy goals’.

Transport for London - Towards the next generation of transport payment systems in London

Member in the Spotlight, March 2011

Mainstreaming Urban Transport Innovation

IKKU and NICHES+ Workshop | 17 March in Warsaw | Register now!
IKKU organises in cooperation with NICHES+ and the City of Warsaw a workshop on 17 March in Warsaw.

Dresden welcomes over 200 international mobility experts to POLIS annual conference

This year's annual conference of the European network POLIS is to be held at the MESSE DRESDEN exhibition centre on 25 and 26 November 2010. Over 200 participants, including guests from Britain, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Russia and other European countries, are expected to attend the international conference: Specialists for mobility, urban and regional transportation, traffic management, goods traffic and road safety from politics, authorities, transport providers, universities and industry.

Polis welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament of a report on an action plan on urban mobility

Polis press release (28/04/2009). Polis welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament of a report on an action plan on urban mobility.