Project background

The core concept of the Ele.C.Tra. (Electric City Transport) project is that it is possible to reduce pollution due to passenger transports and improve quality life by promoting a new urban sustainable mobility model. In this light, the project allows:

to increase the electric scooters use in urban areas, through short sharing (e.g. for one day) or rent (e.g. for six months), in order to achieve to 2020 a modal electric scooters share can be acquired equal to 1% of house-work/school daily trips (= about 4.700 daily trips in less in a urban area with 1 million of inhabitants). If the Ele.C.Tra. model will develop other urban electric transport means, the project estimates a further car modal share reduction equal to 5%. Then, why the project focuses on scooters technology?

• Because this technology has reached a high level technological development, with relevant applications in the electric mobility;
• Because scooters modal share increases, enhanced to the growth of fuel prices;
• Because scooters are very used in the Southern European cities involved (Genoa, Florence and Barcelona), that have a scooter modal share between 15 and 20%;

to raise awareness citizens and tourists of changing daily behaviours to promote sustainable user-friendly activities by at least 100 electric scooters in every city, that can be parked in own garages at night and eventually recharged. In this way, it will be possible to eliminate during the experimental project phase 90 tons/year of CO2 in the 3 pilot cities (30 tons for each city);

to modernize the urbane two-wheeled vehicles fleet where motorcycles and scooter are very used (e.g. in the European cities with mild climate), achieving to 2020 that at least 10% of traditional motorcycles urban fleet will be replaced with electric scooters;

to raise awareness public bodies, touristic and mobility stakeholders, like local transports operators but also associations, tour operators, universities and firms, in order to develop other innovative transport means (e.g. electric buses, low impact cars,…) in 3 of the most populated urban areas in the Southern part of Europe;

to define and test an innovative model aimed at the development of the sustainable mobility, to give consistent solutions to accessibility needs of citizens (house-work, house-school, house-keeping transfers, …) that cannot be fully solved by public transports, in 3 big cities with an high scooters use. In fact, the project action pilots will involve about 5,2 millions of European inhabitants (cities of Genoa, Florence and Barcelona);

to realize a project structure and identify elements to transfer the Ele.C.Tra model in other European cities, by involving in the project further 7 urban areas that have a relevant growth trends (Murcia, Zagreb, Skopje, Athens, Osrednjeslovenska Region with Ljubljana, Malta islands and Lisbon with a total of 10,7 millions of inhabitants);

to increase investments made by European stakeholders in sustainable transport, in terms of electric scooters. The Ele.C.Tra test (WP 5) allows to achieve at least 100 scooters for every pilot cities provided by electric vehicles suppliers, with an estimated value of 1,200,000 €, and approximately 2,000 new electric two-wheeled vehicles by 2020, due to the wide Ele.C.Tra partnership that involve 10 European urban areas;

to promote a new mobility system suitable for tourists too. In this way, it will be possible to develop touristic flows in the areas involved, characterized by a huge artistic and cultural heritage, some of which are UNESCO World Heritage Site. To name just a few examples: historical centres in Genoa (the biggest historical centre in Europe) and Florence (Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi,…), the Gaudi’s buildings and gardens in Barcelona, Santa Maria Cathedral in Murcia and its nearby coasts, Athens with Acropolis and its enormous history, the neo Gothic Cathedral in Zagreb, the Castle and the urban bridges in Ljubljana, the Byzantine churches in Skopje, the Alfama area and the Belem Tower in Lisbon ant the beautiful landscapes in Malta.

The Ele.C.Tra. project has important common characteristics with the Smart City model, that promotes a virtuous process including economy, environment, people, living and governance and sustainable mobility in urban areas. Particularly, the action is strongly linked to:

• local economy, because it incentives employment through services and energy supply points located in strategic urban areas in support of the electric vehicles users;
• environment, because it reduces air and acoustic pollution due to old two-wheeled vehicles and it is integrated with innovative and renewable energy initiatives;
• people, because it promotes a better use of daily travel time, that today is wasted to arrive own destination by car or search parking;
• living, to improve health conditions, social cohesion and touristic appeal, promoting an innovative mobility model that seems a new and friendly transport mean;
• governance, mainly in terms of territorial and political strategies and perspectives.

The solution must be found through wide partnership, which can assure transnational and multi-stakeholder approach, exchange of experiences, diversity of points of view, wide range of competencies.