To view this interview in Portuguese, click here.

What is your role in the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign?

The Portuguese Environment Agency carries out the national coordination of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in Portugal and has assumed the technical and executive responsibility of the campaign since its debut as “In Town Without My Car” in 2000, a one day initiative that took place on 22nd of September.

I’m a senior officer and have been working on this campaign since 2003, coordinating and providing  technical, administrative and operational support to the municipalities according to the guidelines of the European Coordination and the directives of my Ministry.

Portugal managed to increase the number of participants in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK by 33 municipalities this year! How did you achieve this?

We achieved a 53% increase in participation compared to 2017 (95 participants in 2018, 62 participants in 2017). The largest participation level prior to 2018 was seen in 2014, when 73 municipalities took part.

I believe personalised contact was very effective. This year we tried to be as close as possible to the municipalities, even those who only participated once in the past 18 years, and those that had not participated before (this accounts for 43% of the 308 municipalities in Portugal). The biggest problem is when the municipalities have never participated and, therefore, we do not have a focal point to send the email to. In other cases the municipality may have taken part a long time ago and the contacts we have are out of date.

So I would say that updating our contacts database, having regular phone calls with municipalities, and sending individual and group e-mails on a more frequent basis well in advance of the week may have been some of the reasons for this greater level of success in 2018.

And last but not the least, we must not forget the most important event directed at local authorities: the five regional workshops we held in June (with EC collaboration). We engaged a total of 117 participants from a range of municipalities during these events. I think it was crucial for the kickoff of the 2018 edition.

Why do you think towns and cities take part in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK?

Being part of this European initiative can bring opportunities such as: the promotion of existing policies, initiatives and best practices related to sustainable urban mobility; raising citizens' awareness of the negative impact that the current trend of urban mobility has on the environment and on quality of life; the establishing of effective partnerships with local socio-economic actors; the launching of new long-term policies; the implementation of important permanent measures that remain well beyond 16-22 September; and the possibility to test measures, listen to citizens and raise awareness about climate change, air quality and road safety.

I believe that the initiatives of each municipality supporting more sustainable mobility, if they are part of a European project, end up having a much greater visibility as they are more widely disseminated. This makes them more effective and increases awareness. It also gives the local authorities the opportunity to be inspired and to learn from each other and replicate ideas or adapt them to their towns and cities.

What challenges do you face in Portugal in terms of getting cities to take part in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK?

I think the biggest challenge is to disseminate the campaign in an enlightening, effective and direct way to all the potential Local Coordinators. Regular and personalised contact throughout the year is extremely important. Tailoring the message to local realities and needs is also crucial.

On the other hand, changing mentalities is always a time-consuming process and raising citizens' awareness of the effects their choice of mode of transport has on the quality of the environment and committing them to change is more difficult if there isn’t effective transport policies that facilitate and enable more sustainable choices of travelling.

Encouraging a change of behaviour to be compatible with more sustainable patterns, in particular the protection of air quality, mitigation of global warming and noise reduction, is currently a concern of the vast majority of cities. It is crucial to change the mobility standards that have been in place in recent decades and to turn them towards a more sustainable mobility.

What are your hopes for the campaign in 2019 in Portugal?

To maintain the number of participations registered this year or, if possible, to involve even more municipalities (and therefore more citizens!) is undoubtedly very desirable. Increasing the average number of permanent measures implemented by each municipality is also a goal. To try to accomplish that, I would like to repeat the regional workshops, which will be much broader since the mailing list has been updated and the database is much more complete. This also allows for dissemination through the comunication channels of other partners. And it is never too much to say that the active participation of the European Secretariat (by ensuring their presence at these sessions) would also undoubtedly be a strong point.

In any case, it is always important to emphasise that, in the end, the decision to participate is the responsibility of the municipalities, so the motivation to contribute and support from our side cannot be overstated.

The 2018 EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Participation Report has been released, providing a statistical overview of the year’s campaign. The report identifies participation rates in each country, allowing the reader to see participation trends over the past decade. The report concludes with an analysis of the statistics provided, contextualising the data and offering advice to ensure the campaign continues to succeed.

With 2,792 towns and cities participating from 54 countries, 2018 proved to be the most successful edition of the campaign yet.  As in previous years, Austria, Spain and Hungary were the top three countries in terms of participation. Austria retained the top spot despite registering 18 fewer cities than in 2017, while Spain and Hungary both improved on last year’s total.

Besides these three, there were some remarkable showings from elsewhere, including triple figure performances from Italy, Poland and Russia, while Belgium and Portugal just narrowly fell short.

There were also marked improvements in participation levels over last year in several countries, including Belarus (+18), Moldova (+17), Serbia (+13), Turkey (+19) and Ukraine (+38). Overall, 19 countries broke previous records, a figure that includes five newcomers to the campaign (Georgia, Moldova, Mongolia, Peru and South Africa).

Despite this high participation level, however, the number of towns and cities opting to take part in Car-Free Day fell to 1,153, a fall of 199 compared to 2017. Permanent measures implemented rose to 8,847, up from 7,993 in 2017.

In addition to participation trends, the report also looks at the campaign website (www.mobilityweek.eu) and the growth of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK social media channels.

Campaign highlights from across the world are displayed on pg.32 of the report, giving the reader a selection of good examples to draw on.

To view the report, click here.

We’ve received hundreds of MOBILITYACTIONS entries from businesses, schools, NGOs and other organisations across Europe. Now we need your help to choose the most impressive one!

Five MOBILITYACTION candidates have been selected and we’ll be posting each nominee on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. The nominee with the most likes and shares by 12.00pm Brussels time on 19 December will be declared the winner! The winning MOBILITYACTION will be invited to join us in March 2019 for our sustainable mobility workshops.

Now for the nominees…

Playing Out in Iasi (Romania)

The “Playing Out in Iasi” community banned cars from some of its streets for several hours, creating a huge open space for activities. Children were given bicycles, scooters, chalk and other toys while their parents and grandparents could socialise and spend time together in the streets – completely car-free and safe. After a large turnout and overwhelmingly positive feedback, the organisers are now identifying further streets in Iasi that could be closed to traffic and opened to the public for recreation.

Facebook post | Twitter post

Organiser: Playing Out in Iasi Community

Waiting for the green light (Germany)

“Waiting for the green light” drew attention to a form of urban mobility that is often overlooked: walking. While walking is an essential part of most trips, especially those including public transportation, our cities’ public spaces are often not well designed for pedestrians. Traffic lights in particular are designed for cars more than pedestrians, and the green light for pedestrians can be far too short for children and the elderly to cross the road. To symbolise this, participants in this MOBILITYACTION gathered on a median strip on a busy road in Berlin and set up chairs for pedestrians who were “stranded on the median!”

Facebook post | Twitter post

Organiser: VCD

Fly+Bike (Netherlands)

Schiphol in Amsterdam is one of the busiest airports in the world, and the congestion around the airport makes it difficult to reach while having a significant environmental impact. This MOBILITYACTION created a detailed plan for a Fly+Bike concept, which would enable travellers to simultaneously book a bicycle together with their plane ticket. If they have large baggage, it would be delivered to their final destination with a special electric baggage service. Fly+Bike will help to set an example of how cycling can be better integrated into our travel patterns.

Facebook post | Twitter post

Organiser: BYCS

Stanley Black & Decker (Belgium and other countries)

Stanley Black & Decker reached more than 7,000 employees across 34 sites with its MOBILITYACTION campaign. Activities included testing electric/hybrid vehicles and e-bikes, promoting public transportation, participating in the Social Biking Challenge, biking/running/walking to work, and taking public transport instead of driving. Thanks to innovative activities organized by the teams across 15 European countries, employees finished their work week feeling inspired, healthy and even a bit sore. Moreover, many mobility proposals were submitted by employees for permanent measures, which will be evaluated and implemented in 2019.

Facebook post | Twitter post

Organiser: Stanley Black & Decker

How much does my car pollute? (Spain)

“How much does my car pollute?” was the questions, and participants in 7 Spanish cities got an answer! The objective of this MOBILITYACTION was to inform the public about the actual emissions from cars, especially those with diesel engines. Participants in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, Valladolid, Melilla and Murcia could learn about the level of their vehicles’ actual emissions and receive explanations about the harmful effects of these emissions. The make and model of dozens of cars were analysed, and many participants were surprised to learn the actual emissions coming from their tailpipes – which was often in conflict with what manufacturers advertise.

Facebook post | Twitter post

Organiser: Ecologistas en Acción-Zaragoza / Ecofontaner@s

Representatives from countries across Europe will gather in Vienna (Austria) today to reflect on the successes and challenges of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2018. The two-day meeting will see each National Coordinator share the Mobility Week activities undertaken in towns and cities within their country, discuss how support can be improved for sustainable mobility initiatives in years to come, and gain inspiration from others.

Representatives from DG MOVE will be present to hear feedback from the countries, as will representatives from the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Secretariat, who will give an insight into the organizational side of the campaign, as well as providing a statistical analysis of the 2018 edition.

Attendees will be welcomed by Vice Mayor of the City of Vienna Maria Vassilakou, along with Jürgen Schneider of the Federal Ministry for Sustainability & Tourism, Andrea Faast of the Department of Urban Planning and Transport Policy for the Viennese Chamber of Commerce, and Martin Blum of Mobilitätsagentur Vienna.

Following the meeting, delegates will embark on a study tour to see rail and ICT solutions around the city, hosted by Siemens Mobility and the Chamber of Commerce Vienna.

Despite slow improvements, air pollution continues to exceed European Union and World Health Organization limits and guidelines, according to a new report published by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

"Air pollution is an invisible killer and we need to step up our efforts to address the causes. In terms of air pollution, road transport emissions are often more harmful than those from other sources, as these happen at ground level and tend to occur in cities, close to people. That is why it is so important that Europe redoubles its efforts to reduce emissions caused by transport, energy and agriculture and invest in making them cleaner and more sustainable," said Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director.

"Air quality in Europe - 2018" presents the latest official air quality data reported by more than 2 500 monitoring stations across Europe in 2016. The report found that road transport is one of Europe’s main sources of air pollution, especially of harmful pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM), which cause significant harm to human health.

Air pollution also has considerable economic impacts, cutting lives short, increasing medical costs and reducing productivity across the economy through working days lost due to ill health.

Estimates in the report indicate that concentrations of PM2.5 were responsible for about 422 000 premature deaths in 41 European countries in 2015, of which around 391 000 were in the 28 EU Member States. A wider assessment included in this year’s report, looking back to 1990, shows that premature deaths due to PM2.5 have been cut by about half a million premature deaths per year thanks to the implementation of European air quality policies and the introduction of measures at national and local level which have led to cleaner cars and energy production.

For more information, click here.