This year the Interreg North Sea project MegaBITS and the Connecting Europe Facility funded TEN-T project MERIDIAN will be joining forces to increase the knowledge in the domain of smart cycling and to develop a roadmap for smart cycling in Europe!
Figure 1: Graph explaining MegaBITS and MERIDIAN collaboration
MegaBITS is an Interreg North Sea project implementing Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technologies for cycling in five flagships (Province of Overijssel, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Province of Antwerp and Le Havre Seine Métropole). The project runs from 2023 to 2026, and builds on the experiences gained in the BITS project (2019-2022).
The MERIDIAN ITS project fosters digitalisation of the mobility system focussing mainly on the CEF Core Network Corridors Scandinavian-Mediterranean and North Sea-Baltic. This will be achieved by implementing digital systems and services along the busiest European corridors. The project targets expansion of digital infrastructure, roll-out of C-ITS in central Europe, implementation of ITS for bottlenecks on open road and tunnels, digital corridor management and Multimodal Services. The project runs from 2021 to 2025. The MERIDIAN C-ITS for Smart Cycling Task Force consists of a number of MERIDIAN partners, especially from Germany and the Netherlands.
Taskforce Smart Cycling
The Taskforce Smart Cycling will bundle the knowledge and experience of both the MegaBITS project and the MERIDIAN C-ITS for Smart Cycling Task Force. The Taskforce Smart Cycling also aims to establish cooperation with other initiatives relevant for the further development of Smart Cycling in Europe, such as the European projects NAPCORE and C-Roads, as well as national and other European projects and initiatives, such as Tour the Force and the cooperation in the field of cycling and smart mobility between the Netherlands and Nord Rhein Westphalia. In 2024 the Taskforce Smart Cycling will focus on completing the following tasks:
- Carry out a market overview
- Identify gaps and obstacles
- Picture the ecosystem of smart cycling
- Identify the key elements for a road map
- Define the road map for smart cycling
Contributing to a sustainable transport system
The EU is targeting towards a greener society, with the ultimate EU aim of at least 55% greenhouse gas reduction by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050 (European Green Deal, 2019). For transport this implies a 90% reduction in the sector’s emissions by 2050 (Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, 2020). One of the three key pillars of action is: Make sustainable alternatives widely available in a multimodal transport system. By making cycling more attractive (safer, faster, easier, more reliable, better experience), this will contribute to a modal shift from car to bike, thus contributing to sustainable (urban) mobility and transition to a CO2 neutral economy.
Further information on the Taskforce Smart Cycling can be received from Stephanie Kleine, (Stephanie.Kleine@munv.nrw.de, MERIDIAN) and Ronald Jorna (ronald.jorna@moveco.nl, MegaBITS).