We at the South Transdanubia Regional Innovation Agency are convinced that it is best to share our own experiences and thereby assist to shape the attitude towards mobility solutions.
In accordance with the above, in the first half of 2017 in expert capacity we assisted the European Committee of the Regions in delivering an opinion on the European low-emission strategy. Our observations focused on the wider utilisation of local renewable resources, the economic revitalizing effect of sustainable urban mobility strategies, the emphasis on better access to rural areas, the decisive role of financial resources, and sustainability within mobility as a general concern.
eBussed project
Our first international project related to the topic was implemented between 2019-2022 within the Interreg Europe Programme. In the eBussed project we cooperated with our foreign partners for the wider deployment of electric buses. The main objectives focused on 1.) analysis of drivers and barriers, 2.) technological aspects, 3.) bus driver training and passenger attitude formation, and 4.) business models and public procurement.
PROMOTER project
Our second project, which fits here, already placed more emphasis on the relationship between environmentally friendly mobility and efficient, local energy use. The PROMOTER Interreg Europe project between 2023-2026 concentrates on primarily good / bad practice-based learning in 1.) legal, 2.) organizational, 3.) economic, 4.) technological, and 5.) operational and environmental aspects to bring closer mobility and local energy communities to each other.
Skilled-eBus-Transition
Our third and most recent project is within the Erasmus+ Programme and is a small-scale project that called “Skilled-eBus-Transition”. This project led by our Agency seeks to influence two target groups that have authority on the wider deployment and operation of electric buses. On the one hand, the employees and political decision-makers of local governments, and on the other hand, managers and bus drivers of public transport organisations. The role of each of them is decisive in terms of greening of local public transport and its conversion to electric drive.
If we have to draw conclusions from the above about the public transport specifically targeted by the three projects, we highlight the following:
- environmental-friendly local transport cannot be realized without the strategic decisions of the decision-makers and the formation of attitudes prior to those decisions,
- since we have experience primarily in public transport, and within that mobility provided by buses, it is important to highlight the importance to provide training for local transport specialists, drivers, service and maintenance staff,
- last but not least, local public transport is worthless without the passenger community. Winning them over is crucial, and for this it is necessary that public transport provides a real choice for individuals, families and smaller communities in terms of price, timetable and service quality.
Article author: Zsolt Pálmai
Illustration: electric bus in Rēzekne, Latgale Region of Latvia, PROMOTER project
Source: https://uzladets.lv/en/rezeknes-elektroautobusi-rekomendejusi/, accessed on 8 August 2024
The PROMOTER project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and Hungary within the Interreg Europe Programme.
