Action 25: Ensuring sustainable urban and rural mobility

Where do we stand?

Mobility connects people and is a prerequisite for economic prosperity, but it is increasingly polluting the environment with particulate matter and high CO2 emissions. By 2030, the Climate Action Plan envisages a reduction in emissions in the transport sector of 40 to 42 per cent compared to 1990. So far, very little in the way of reduction has been achieved. For sustainable, resource-efficient mobility, we need a mobility transformation that builds on technological and social innovations. A transformation in mobility is not only necessary in Germany. Systemic concepts are key right from the start. In view of the dynamic development of new technologies and mobility patterns, we need research on the effects of different transport services and design options for sustainable mobility in urban and rural areas.

What are the research needs?

The research agenda ‘Sustainable Urban Mobility’ addresses the need for transdisciplinary and systemic mobility research. It integrates the results of participatory agenda processes from the years 2017 and 2018, in which numerous experts from science, municipalities, business and civil society have contributed their perspectives, needs and ideas. The aim is to secure individual mobility, improve the quality of the environment and the quality of life in urban and rural areas, and strengthen the innovative capacity of the German mobility sector. Small and medium-sized companies can profit from this just as much as start-ups. On this basis we have introduced various research initiatives on mobility in the package of measures for the Climate Action Programme 2030.

Implementation steps and milestones

• By the end of 2020, we will publish an action planon mobility research which will look at research andinnovation for safe, connected and clean mobility ofthe future in a comprehensive, systemic approach.
• By the end of 2020, we will be funding almost 50municipal projects which, with support from scienceand research, will develop innovative, environmentally compatible and tailor-made local mobility concepts together with key stakeholders and multiplierson the ground. From mid-2021, 15 of the projects will be tested in real-world laboratories and the measures developed will be implemented.
• By the end of 2022, we will provide an innovationtoolkit for sustainable mobility concepts in urbanand rural areas which will support municipalities andregions with technical, political, administrative andsocial solutions.
• By the end of 2024, we will publish annual shortdossiers on sustainable mobility to motivate municipalities to adopt sustainable urban mobility systems.
• The research questions elaborated within theframework of the National Platform for the Future ofMobility (NPM) will be used to develop new fundingmeasures from 2021. Key issues include road safety with regard to new technologies, as well as logisticsin the inner city and urban and rural areas.
• With a new initiative under the Climate ActionProgramme 2030, we will launch new research concepts on barriers to systemic innovation in climateprotection from 2022 onwards – among other thingsfollowing on from the results of the NPM.
• Starting in 2020, we will look at the digital optionsfor environmentally and socially compatiblemanagement of passenger transport, for examplethrough a German–Japanese research cooperation onsocio-economic impact assessments of autonomousdriving, on-demand solutions and mobile stations inrural areas.
• From 2021, we will develop funding measures to digitalise delivery and freight traffic between cities andtheir surrounding areas and within city centres.