Table of Contents

Chapter 4. Other Key Findings on What's Behind European Shared Mobility Successes

European countries such as France, Germany, and Belgium have made significant progress in fostering innovation and helping to establish and scale new transportation solutions. This progress is due to a number of factors in addition to those already highlighted in the previous chapter. These factors center on public sector and other leadership priorities, funding commitments, and public policy initiatives.

Public Sector and Other Leadership Priorities

During the site visits, the study team was able to observe direct links between visionary leadership, reflected in forward thinking planning documents, and successful implementation of new ideas. The team also saw business leadership that strongly influenced acceptance of new ideas. In Munich, for example, it was the automakers that were leading the charge for new mobility solutions, offering carsharing, testing automated vehicles, and promoting electrification, all with strong government support.

On a local level, all three of the study cities provide examples of strong public sector leadership models for mobilizing interest in shared mobility. Notable examples include the Minister of Mobility and Public Works at the Brussels Capital Region, the City of Munich's Head of Strategy and Policy Division for the Road Transport Department in the Department of Public Order, and the former and current mayors of Paris, all of whom have mobilized interest in shared mobility through shepherding innovative policies and plans for their cities. While we have seen similar efforts by mayors in the United States, these European leaders are looking beyond their immediate jurisdictions and have made a compelling case for broadening transportation choice to bring about positive outcomes for entire regions.

These leaders have linked better transportation options very clearly with economic development and job access. They have also focused on "choice" and emphasized multimodal lifestyles as well as economic factors such as the high cost of auto ownership and the health and environmental benefits of transit, walking, and shared mobility. In addition, they are rallying support around common interests in meeting the needs of the elderly and others who cannot drive.

Funding Commitments

The EU has allocated some €26 billion ($28.1 billion in 2017 dollars) to transportation over the 2014-2020 period.⁵³ It leverages these funds in a number of ways, including supporting research, deployment projects, planning and regional goal setting. The EU has established a wide range of initiatives, networks, and organizations to support efforts to advance new transportation solutions.

These include:

• Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU research and innovation program ever, with nearly €80 billion ($86.7 billion in 2017 dollars) in funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020) in addition to the private investment that these funds are expected to attract. Of that amount, €2.9 billion ($3.1 billion in 2017 dollars) is earmarked for projects related to promoting smart, green, and integrated transportation (sub-categories include Mobility for Growth, Green Vehicles, and Automated Road Transport).
• The Horizon 2020-funded CIVITAS Initiative helps cities across Europe implement and test innovative and integrated strategies that address energy, transport, and environmental objectives. Since 2002, the initiative has supported some 800 urban transport measures concentrated in 80 European cities. One example is the Empower project, which features a consortium focused on exploring the use of economic incentives, gaming, and a point system to influence travel behavior. The annual CIVITAS Forum also brings together practitioners and elected officials from the CIVITAS cities. The CIVITAS ECCENTRIC program, which is funding several of the Munich projects visited by the study team, is focused on mobility and freight logistics in lower density suburban environments.
• European Mobility Week is an annual conference funded and overseen in part by the EC that focuses on promoting clean, shared, and intelligent mobility. In September 2017, the conference took place in Portugal.

In August 2017, the EC announced it would launch a new and innovative way to finance transport infrastructure projects in Europe. It issued a call for proposals seeking to combine €1 billion ($1.1 billion in 2017 dollars) of grants from the Connecting Europe Facility – Transport program with financing from public financial institutions and the private sector to boost investment to fund innovative, sustainable transport infrastructure. The initiative also coincides with the Commission's Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility and supports other investments in sustainable transport.

While shared mobility is not the explicit objective of any of these initiatives, there seems to be a collective vision that it may be part of the solution. These organizations and initiatives can direct activities chiefly through setting goals and directives and otherwise fostering cooperation. While they can do little in the way of actual enforcement, they can encourage and cajole to bring about action.

European Public Policy Initiatives

The EU has also established a number of policies and agreements that have helped to spur innovation in shared mobility, including:

• Climate and Energy Policy Framework 2030. As it relates to transportation, the framework asks for a comprehensive and technology-neutral approach for promoting emissions reduction and energy efficiency in transport, including electric and renewable energy sources for transportation.
• Energy Union Package (Feb. 2015). The Juncker Commission priorities of the Energy Union,⁵⁴ the Digital Single Market⁵⁵ and the Jobs, Growth and Investment⁵⁶ agenda all contribute to transport and mobility. This initiative calls for gradual transformation of the entire transport system and increased development and deployment of alternative fuels with infrastructure, vehicles, and fuels being rolled out together.
• 2013 Urban Mobility Package. The package aims to provide support to European cities tackling urban mobility challenges by establishing best practices and fostering collaboration, providing targeted financial support, and directing research to find new solutions for urban mobility challenges. It is complemented by a document that sets out the concept for Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), which help cities improve access to urban areas and provide high-quality and sustainable mobility and transport. The package offers support to help cities develop SUMPs, including guidelines, a self-assessment tool, and more.
• COP21 Agreement (Paris) and Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility. The strategy adopted by the EC in July 2016 aimed at the need to accelerate efforts to decarbonize transport. The agreement is in line with the Paris commitments (December 2015) and is mutually reinforcing with other initiatives on urban mobility and clean fuels. The agreement's key goal for transport is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2050 through:
  • Increasing the efficiency of the transport system by making the most of digital technologies and smart pricing and by encouraging shifts towards lower emission transport modes such as cycling.
  • Speeding up the deployment of low emission alternative energy for transport and removing obstacles to the electrification of transport.
  • Accelerating the transition towards zero-emission vehicles.

⁵³ European Union, "EU transport policy," n.d., Available at: https://europa.eu/european-union/topics/transport_en. [ Return to note 53. ]

⁵⁴ See more at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/energy-union-and-climate_en. [ Return to note 54. ]

⁵⁵ See more at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/digital-single-market_en. [ Return to note 55. ]

⁵⁶ See more at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/priorities/jobs-growth-and-investment_en. [ Return to note 56. ]

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