European Commission: Cleaning up urban transportation

The European Commission initiated a program to promote the development of attractive alternatives to the use of private cars in cities. The program's goal is to combat congestion and pollution through technologies and measures that make energy part of urban transport policy by enhancing energy efficiency

In February 2002, the City of Bristol, UK, implemented a four-- year pilot project to explore ways to ease traffic jams and protect the environment. The project will introduce "clean fuel" buses, improve public transport for the disabled, create a travel information center and introduce smart cards for bus and parking charges. The city plans to expand its Car Club scheme and introduce Home Zones where pedestrians have priorities over vehicles. Bristol is one of five European cities to be involved in the project. The city is being given L3.24 million by the European Commission and L700,000 by the government to pay for the work.

The results of this program, as well as those from the other cities, will be independently assessed and will form the basis of a guide on best practices for use by other cities. Using these projects as the basis, the European Commission intends to relaunch the initiative in 2003 and to continue working on urban transportation with the cities concerned.