Commission staff working document  accompanying the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Action Plan on Urban Mobility - Summary of the impact assessment {COM(2009) 490 final} {SEC(2009) 1211}
Date: 2009-09-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU action, air quality, new technology, public transport, sustainable development, transport infrastructure, transport policy, transport safety, urban transport

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 30.9.2009 
SEC(2009) 1212 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

accompanying the 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Action Plan on Urban Mobility 

Summary of the Impact Assessment 

{COM(2009) 490 final} 
{SEC(2009) 1211} 

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IMPACT ASSESSMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Action  Plan  on  Urban  Mobility  follows  the  adoption  of  a  Green  Paper  on  Urban 
Mobility1  on  25  September  2007.  The  Action  Plan  is  part  of  the  Commission's  work 
programme with reference 2008/TREN/036. 

The Green Paper on Urban Mobility identified five main challenges in urban mobility 
and launched a debate on the added value of action at EU level to support local, regional 
and  national  authorities  in  addressing  the  challenges.  Although  responsibilities  for 
addressing  these  challenges  lie  primarily  with  local,  regional  and  national  authorities, 
decisions  regarding  urban  mobility  also  take  place  within  the  framework  of  EU 
legislation and policy and may in turn affect the global environment and free movement 
of persons, goods and services within the EU. The impact assessment investigates what 
the exact added value of EU action could be.  

The  impact  assessment  has  been  prepared  by  the  Directorate  General  for  Energy  and 
Transport  of  the  European  Commission.  An  Interservice  Group,  with  representatives 
from  the  different  Commission  services  that  have  an  interest  in  the  action  plan, 
participated  in  its  preparations.  Support  was  obtained  through  a  study  contract.  The 
Impact Assessment Board provided opinions on drafts of the impact assessment on 23 
July 2008, 1 October 2008 and 4 November 2008.  

The  Action  Plan  on  Urban  Mobility  provides  a  framework  for  possible  future 
intervention at EU level and announces non-legislative measures to increase knowledge, 
promote dialogue and exchange of best practice and provide incentives to cities. These 
measures  will  help  decision-makers  to  take  better  informed  decisions  and  improve 
policy-making and implementation relevant to urban mobility at all levels. The impact 
of these measures cannot be easily estimated in quantitative or qualitative terms. 

2. 

CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES 

The  consultation  of  interested  parties  was  divided  into  two  phases.  The  first  phase 
consisted  of  a  consultation  to  prepare  the  Green  Paper  on  Urban  Mobility  during  the 
first  six  months  of  2007.  The  second  phase  followed  after  the  adoption  of  the  Green 
Paper, between 25 September 2007 and 15 March 2008.  

The Green Paper on Urban Mobility included 25 questions to steer the consultation and 
focus  responses  from  interested  parties.  Stakeholders  and  interested  parties  were  also 
invited to respond to the general issues raised in the Green Paper. In total, 431 written 
contributions have been received. The input received in response to the consultation has 
been carefully examined. The results from the consultation have been made available2 
and have been fed into the impact assessment.  

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Towards a new culture for urban mobility - COM(2007) 551. 
See: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/urban/urban_mobility/green_paper/green_paper_en.htm 

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In addition, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on the Green Paper on 9 July 
20083 and an own-initiative Report on an Action Plan on Urban Mobility on 23 April 
20094.  The  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  adopted  its  Opinion  on  the 
Green  Paper  on  29  May  20085  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  did  so  on  9  April 
20086. The Committee of the Regions adopted an Opinion on the European Parliament’s 
Report  on  21  April  20097.  The  Council  has  also  held  informal  discussions  on  this 
subject8.  

The  overall  conclusion  from  the  consultation  is  that  there  is  broad  agreement  among 
stakeholders and interested parties that there is  a  role  for the EU  in  the field  of  urban 
mobility in the form of actions to support authorities, operators and other stakeholders 
and interested parties at the local, regional and national levels. While there were varying 
views  expressed  about  which  specific  actions  at  the  EU  level  could  add  value,  the 
consultation has helped to identify 'common ground'.  

The  consultation  respected  the  minimum  standards  for  consultation  of  interested 
parties9.  

3. 

PROBLEM DEFINITION 

Why  do  we  need  an  Action  Plan  on  Urban  Mobility  at  EU  level?  The  reason  is  that 
many cities across the EU are confronted with common problems related to sustainable 
urban  mobility,  such  as  high  levels  of  traffic  and  congestion,  harmful  emissions  and 
imbalanced  development  with  an  impact  on  social  exclusion  and  economic  growth. 
These  problems  are  significant.  They  are  dealt  with  at  local,  regional  and  national 
levels, according to the subsidiarity principle. 

Policy-makers  in  the  Member  States  that  have  joined  the  EU  in  recent  years  face 
specific  challenges.  Economic  development  is  leading  to  rapidly  rising  car  ownership 
and  car  use.  The  lack  of  sufficiently  adapted  tools  means  that  the  improvements  of 
urban  transport  do  not  always  meet  minimum  standards  required  for  sustainable 
development and social cohesion. 

Looking  at  the  initiatives  taken  locally  across  the  EU,  a  picture  emerges  of  broad 
diversification  of  the  policies,  action  and  financing  solutions  that  authorities  use  to 
address  the  problems  of  urban  mobility  and  transport.  Besides  fragmentation  of 
approaches,  inaction  or  inappropriate  action  may  have  an  impact  across  borders.  In 
addition it may lead to costly duplication of efforts. 

Consumers  have  to  deal  with  fragmented  information  systems  and  non-streamlined 
solutions. Persons with reduced mobility do not always have access on an equal basis 
with others to urban transport. 

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INI/2008/2041. 
INI/2008/2217. 
TEN/320 - CESE 982/2008. 
CdR 236/2007. 
CdR 417/2008. 
www.ue2008.fr/PFUE/lang/en/accueil/PFUE-09_2008/PFUE-
01.09.2008/Informelle_Transports. 
COM(2002) 704. 

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Urban transport is also a critical part of the overall transport chain for both passengers 
and  freight  traffic  (the  "last  mile"  problem  and  the  need  to  have  efficient  intermodal 
nodes which are often located in or near urban areas). The effectiveness of the policies 
on  urban  mobility  developed  at  local,  regional  and  national  levels  have  therefore  an 
impact  on  the  European  transport  system  as  a  whole,  while  these  authorities  don't 
necessarily have the means or the interest to take this dimension into account. 

Without  an  appropriate  exchange  and  spread  of  tested,  best  practice  solutions,  policy-
makers  may  develop  solutions  with  unnecessarily  high  costs,  design  policies  that  take 
insufficient  account  of  experience  elsewhere  or  propose  solutions  that  could  result  in 
conflicts with EU principles or legislation. 

4. 

THE EU'S RIGHT TO ACT 

The Treaties delimit the range of powers of the EU. The subject of urban mobility and 
transport  falls  under  Article  70  of  the  Treaty  which  provides  for  a  common  transport 
policy10.  Articles  71(c)  and  71(d)  are  relevant  to  urban  mobility  and  transport.  They 
state  that  for  the  purpose  of  implementing  Article  70  the  Council  and  the  European 
Parliament  will  lay  down  measures  to  improve  transport  safety  and  any  other 
appropriate  provisions.  Responsibility  for  transport  is  shared  between  the  EU  and 
Member  States.  The  arguments  set  out  below  demonstrate  that  the  problem  cannot  be 
solved  in  an  optimum  way  by  the  Member  States  alone  (necessity  test)  and  that  the 
objectives can be better achieved at EU level (added value test).  

The right to act at EU level in the field of urban mobility stems from the Commission’s 
obligation  to  achieve  and  protect  the  fundamental  goals  set  out  in  the  Treaty.  EU 
legislation and financial instruments directly affect decisions at the local, regional and 
national level in the field of urban mobility. The Commission is therefore empowered to 
ensure  that  these  decisions  are  in  line  with  EU  legislation  and  to  help  authorities  to 
implement EU policies and make best use of EU funding. In addition, actions taken in 
the field of urban mobility at local, regional and national levels directly affects freight 
operators  and  travellers  from  other  countries.  This  cross-border  impact  justifies  EU 
action to ensure smooth functioning of the single market and proper implementation of 
EU policies and legislation, for example in the field of the environment, State aid, the 
social agenda or research and development.  

Market  failures  in  the  field  of  urban  mobility  make  public  intervention  necessary  in 
order  to  address  the  problems  of  congestion,  pollution  and  imbalanced  development. 
The EU has a right to ensure that this public intervention is in line with EU legislation 
and  coherent  with  EU  policies.  EU  policies  in  areas  other  than  transport,  such  as  the 
environment,  regional  policy  or  energy,  have  in  the  past  already  developed  measures 
related to urban mobility. Insufficient attention has been paid to the possible impact of 
these  policies  on  urban  mobility  and  transport.  In  some  cases,  appropriate  tools  and 
instruments to support authorities have not been made available, have not been taken up 

10 

The Commission can also make specific proposals on the basis of articles other than Article 70. 
For  example,  to  address  specific  problems  related  to  urban  mobility  and  transport  it  could  use 
articles  covering  environment  policy  (Articles  174  and  175)  or  economic  and  social  cohesion 
(Article 158). 

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or have not taken sufficient account of urban mobility issues. It is therefore important, 
in  specific  cases, 
to  strengthen  coherence  and  support 
implementation of such past and present EU initiatives.  

to  propose  actions 

The EU also  has a right  to act to address those problems where public intervention at 
EU level brings added value. Without impinging on the powers of the local, regional or 
national  authority  in charge, the EU can bring added  value  to local action  in different 
ways11. The EU can offer authorities a toolbox with tried and tested solutions to address 
the  risks  caused  by  fragmentation  of  local,  regional  and  national  approaches.  The  EU 
can help to correct regulatory failures, for example in the form of insufficient collection 
and  sharing  of  market  data,  which  prevents  comprehensive  monitoring  of  relevant 
trends. It can support data and information exchange, offer financial support and launch 
RTD activities at EU level. It can help to promote efficient use of public resources, for 
example  by  avoiding  reinventing  the  wheel  or  by  joining  forces  in  benchmarking, 
procurement  or  information  provision.  It  can  also  help  to  promote  innovation  and 
standards and to create markets for industry.  

5. 

OBJECTIVES 

The main policy objectives of the Action Plan on Urban Mobility are twofold: 

•  to give incentives and support to the cities, regional and national authorities 
to  help  them  to  develop  and  implement  urban  mobility  policies  which 
contribute  to  the  common  objectives  of  combating  climate  change, 
achieving  a  functioning  internal  market  for  the  benefit  of  businesses  and 
consumers  and  promoting  an  efficient  European  transport  system,  social 
cohesion and well-being; 

•  to  increase  the  knowledge  base  for  decision-makers  at  all  levels  to  help 
them  to  develop  and  implement  integrated,  well-informed  and  innovative 
policies  which  are  needed 
the  very  complex  and 
multidimensional issues related to urban mobility.  

to  solve 

today 

6. 

POLICY OPTIONS 

To  achieve  these  two  main  objectives,  a  wide  range  of  possible  policy  options  was 
considered. The selection and assessment of policy options started with the compilation 
of an initial list of thirty-one possible policy options, drawing on various sources. These 
sources include the contributions that were received to support preparation of the Green 
Paper on urban mobility and during the stakeholder consultation on the Green Paper on 
urban  mobility,  work  carried  out  in  the  framework  of  past  EU-funded  RTD  activities 
and best practice exchange programmes, discussions on the Green Paper that took place 
in the EU institutions and suggestions provided by the Commission services.  

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The basis for the EU action in urban areas is strengthened by the Thematic Strategy on the Urban 
Environment (COM(2005) 718), which was mandated by the Council and European Parliament 
through the 6th Environment Action Programme.  

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This  broad  approach  made  it  possible  to  review  a  wide  variety  of  policy  options, 
ranging  from  a  more  strategic  to  a  more  practical  level.  The  list  includes  options  that 
may not seem likely or desirable but that were put forward by stakeholders. This means 
that  some  of  the  policy  options  might  seem  problematic,  because  of  the  subsidiarity 
principle or because they might not seem efficient or effective. However, for reasons of 
transparency, they were not excluded in advance.  

Eight possible instruments were identified that could possibly be used at EU level for 
the  implementation  of  a  policy  option,  for  example  the  monitoring  of  self-regulation, 
disseminating  information,  preparing  guidelines,  providing  financial  incentives  and 
taking regulatory action. 

Each  policy  option,  together  with  each  instrument  that  could  possibly  be  used  for  its 
implementation, was first screened on subsidiarity. If an option failed this test, it was no 
longer taken into account and no further analysis was carried out. However, if a policy 
option  successfully  passed  the  screening  on  subsidiarity,  it  was  subsequently  assessed 
against efficiency, effectiveness and consistency criteria. The screening on subsidiarity, 
efficiency,  effectiveness  and  consistency  reduced  the  number  of  policy  options  from 
thirty-one options to eighteen options.  

As  a  next  step,  the  possible  impacts  of  the  eighteen  remaining  policy  options  were 
identified. The indicators that were used for this assessment cover mobility, congestion, 
energy,  the  environment,  economic  and  social  issues  and  policy-making.  This  was 
followed  by  a  selection  of  the  most  appropriate  instrument  to  implement  each  of  the 
eighteen options. This analysis looked at cost-effectiveness, proportionality, consistency 
with other initiatives and administrative burden.  

In a final step, twenty suggestions for possible actions at EU level were elaborated. This 
was done by exploiting synergies between options and synergies between instruments. 
In addition, the identity, visibility and manageability of the possible actions were fine-
tuned. No proposals for immediate legislative action are included. It should however be 
noted  that  this  process  of  selecting  and  assessing  the  possible  actions  in  no  way 
prejudges the contents of action plan and the outcome of impact assessments that might 
be made for specific proposals.  

7. 

AREAS OF ACTION 

The following possible actions could be launched through the action plan: 

In the year 2009:  

•  Study on access rules for green zones 
•  Internet guide on clean and energy-efficient vehicles 
•  Web portal to improve access to information on public transport  
•  Demonstration project on clean vehicles 
•  Information exchange on urban pricing schemes 
•  Internet guide on legislation, funding and best practice  
•  Setting up an urban mobility observatory 
•  Accelerating the take-up of sustainable urban mobility plans 

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In the year 2010: 

•  Dialogue on passenger rights in urban public transport 
•  Preparing future funding sources 
•  Setting up a forum on urban mobility  
•  Energy-efficient driving as part of driving training 
•  Upgrading data and statistics 
•  Campaign on sustainable mobility behaviour 
•  Contributing to international dialogue and information exchange 

In the year 2011:  

•  Guidance on safe walking and safe cycling 
•  Guidance on sustainable urban mobility and regional policy 
•  Study on urban aspects of internalisation of external costs 

In the year 2012: 

•  Guidance on intelligent transport systems (ITS) for urban mobility  
•  Guidance on urban freight transport  

These suggestions for possible actions formed the basis for the preparation of the Action 
Plan  on  Urban  Mobility.  During  the  preparations  of  the  action  plan  the  actions  were 
further specified, prioritised and politically validated, taking into account – among other 
things – the available resources.  

8. 

MONITORING AND EVALUATION  

The overall impact and success of the Action Plan will depend on active involvement 
and  take-up  by  operators  and  other  stakeholders  and  interested  parties  at  the  local, 
regional  and  national  levels.  The  Commission  will  monitor  the  development  of  urban 
mobility and transport in the EU and the performance of the EU actions launched in the 
framework  of  the  action plan. A review will be undertaken in 2012. The Commission 
will  then  assess  the  impact  of  the  Action  Plan  and  the  need  to  revise  it  or  to  launch 
additional actions.  

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