Europe Supports 17 New Clean Urban Transport Areas

BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 18, 2004 (ENS) - Six cities in the new European Union member states of Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovenia, are among 17 projects selected for the €50 million CIVITAS program for the promotion of clean urban transport.

Innovative projects in these 17 cities include the creation of clean zones in city centers, where just clean vehicles are allowed.

Cities will explore creative promotional and awareness campaigns for public transport, and they will experiment with new traveller information and transport management systems.

Flexible parking charging systems based on environmental indicators will be explored.

The newly named CIVITAS city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Photo courtesy Government of Slovenia)

Eleven cities from the older 15 EU member states are part of the new list of projects - Burgos, Spain; Genoa, Italy; La Rochelle, France; Malmö, Sweden; Norwich, England; Odense, Denmark; Potenza, Italy; Preston, England; Stuttgart, Germany; Toulouse, France; and Venice, Italy.

"We are particularly impressed by the quality of the projects from new members. Cities in these countries are facing rapid increases in car-ownership and decreases in the use of public transport. I want to encourage local authorities in their efforts to develop and test new transition strategies aimed at maintaining high shares of public transport use, walking and cycling", said Loyola de Palacio, vice-president of the European Commission responsible for energy and transport.

The aim of the program is to promote the development of attractive alternatives to the use of private cars in cities.

The CIVITAS Initiative is in line with the Commission's strategy to substitute 20 percent of the diesel and petrol fuels used in the road transport sector by 2020.

The new CIVITAS cities are strongly committed to the use of biofuels and natural gas in their private and public transport fleets.

One of the key elements of the CIVITAS Initiative is the CIVITAS Forum, launched in October 2002. The Forum, composed of 72 European cities, provides a platform for the exchange of best practices, ideas and experiences between experts and politicians.

Under the CIVITAS Initiative, the European Commission is supporting ambitious and large scale projects which combine energy and transport in a coherent manner. The Commission provides 35 percent of the funding.

Some of the innovative measures already in use include clean and energy efficient vehicle fleets; car free housing; shared use/ownership of cars, motorized two-wheelers and bicycles.

The 17 new cities will join an existing group of 19 CIVITAS cities in combating congestion and pollution through new technologies, innovative planning measures, enhancing energy efficiency and the use of alternative fuels.

The 19 existing CIVITAS cities are - Aalborg, Barcelona, Berlin, Bremen, Bristol, Bucharest, Cork, Gdynia, Gothenburg, Graz, Kaunas, Lille, Nantes, Pécs, Prague, Rome, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Winchester.