On the road to more sustainable transport

Can personal travel be made carbon neutral? Researchers studied social behaviour patterns and business models as well as technological solutions to identify how best to encourage greener mobility.

The transport sector has a high environmental impact, accounting for a large proportion of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) responsible for climate change, as well as causing more localised air pollution. However, demand for transport is continuing to rise as it plays an essential part in business and leisure.

An EU-funded project, 'Optimising passenger transport information to materialize insights for sustainable mobility' (OPTIMISM), looked at future changes in the transport system that can lead to more sustainable and safe ways of travelling. The project gathered and analysed travel data from 27 EU countries, aiming to harmonise the wide variety that currently exists between national statistics.

OPTIMISM looked at the big picture, defining the main challenges transport systems must meet between 2030 and 2050. The multidisciplinary team identified megatrends in mobility and the main supply, demand and policy factors in the sector. The researchers suggested possible information and communication technologies (ICT) options and best practices to address the problems caused by transport, including macro-mobility impacts, congestion, environmental impacts, reliability, investment and operational costs.

By bringing together representatives from all parts of the transport sector and focusing on developing a long-term vision, the project will help to steer European transport towards a more sustainable and competitive model.

Πηγή: http://cordis.europa.eu