Welcome to the world, PHOEBE!

The new EU-funded project PHOEBE (‘Predictive Approaches for Safer Urban Environment’) might have only started in November 2022, but it is already leaving its mark. The different partners got together for the very first time at the premises of the POLIS Network Secretariat in Brussels (Belgium). The goal? Kick-off the project and discuss the way to go of what aims to be a shining example of road safety promotion!

An estimated 19,800 people were killed in road crashes in the European Union in 2021 – most of these fatalities taking place in urban areas. To reduce the present-day risks, PHOEBE will allow cities to foresee the risk of introducing new modes of transport, technological and regulatory changes in transport systems in a virtual simulation environment where it is urgent to consider the demands of vulnerable road users. Moreover, it will also count with three pilot cities focusing on different aspects of transport modelling according to their respective local mobility challenges, namely: Valencia (ES), Athens (GR), and West Midlands (UK). Want to know more? Keep on reading!

The project aims to develop an integrated, dynamic, and scalable human-centred predictive safety assessment framework for all road user types in urban areas. It will provide technical specifications and data optimization flows to policymakers, transport planners, and traffic analysts, decisively incorporating road safety as a performance indicator in traffic modelling. Moreover, it will facilitate foreseeing the risk of introducing new modes of transport, technological and regulatory changes in transport systems in a virtual simulation environment where it is urgent to consider the demands of vulnerable road users. 

The consortium had its kick-off meeting from December 6 to December 7 at the POLIS Headquarters in Brussels to introduce the project, share expectations, meet one another and, most importantly, discuss the way forward! Indeed, the consortium consists of a diverse and passionate team bringing together the interdisciplinary strength of traffic simulation, road safety assessment, human behaviour, mode shift, induced demand modelling, and new and emerging mobility data into a harmonised, prospective assessment framework for road safety.

POLIS is happy to be part of this exciting new project, together with:

• iRAP
• Aimsun
• EIRA - European Institute of Road Assessment - EuroRAP
• The Floow
• FACTUAL
• OSeven Telematics
• National Technical University of Athens
• Delft University of Technology
• Technical University of Munich
• Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)

• For regular and updated information, do not hesitate to follow the project on Twitter and LinkedIn.
• For more in-depth information, check PHOEBE's press release here.
• If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Niklas Schmalholz and Andréia Lopes Azevedo.