Gothenburg mayor invites Chinese cities to look into congestion tax at EU-China urbanisation forum
The urban mobility sub forum conference discussed 4 topics: road safety, public transport, sustainable urban mobility planning (chaired by the Polis involved Solutions project) and congestion management and road user charging (chaired by Polis). This latter topic was covered by the Mayor of Gothenburg who explained the objectives and results of the city's congestion tax. Several Chinese cities are currently looking into pricing measures, as regulatory measures (such as the distinction between even and uneven licence plates) does not curb congestion.
The events took place as a milestone in the EU-China urbanisation partnership, a process that started in 2012 and offer a framework to leverage their existing and future actions in the field of urbanisation in China. The partnership is the basis for interesting EU activities, such as:
- The recently launched Europe-China Eco-Cities Link Project. The aim of the project is to assist Chinese cities in their endeavour to meet the targets set in the 12th five year plan by providing technical assistance to Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, sharing experiences on sustainable urbanisation and other relevant policies between Europe and China. EC-LINK will foster better information exchange, promote the outputs of pilot and demonstration projects, help Chinese and European cities and their groupings to link-up as well as providing toolboxes and give guidance to cities on ecological and low-carbon solutions.
- Horizon2020 activities, including a major EU-China urban transport project.
Several European cities participated to the event, amongst whom Polis members Bristol, Cork, Gent, Pisa, Milano and Gothenburg. Several cities took the opportunity to sign bilateral cooperation agreements with Chinese cities.
Polis members interested in international knowledge exchange on urban transport are also invited to follow the progress of the SOLUTIONS project. SOLUTIONS brings together some of the leading experts and city networks from around the world, aiming to foster knowledge exchange and boost the uptake of innovative sustainable urban mobility solutions through the further exploitation of existing knowledge.
For further information, contact icre@polisnetwork.eu or visit