Together towards Competitive and Resource-efficient Urban Mobility En Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Together towards Competitive and Resource-efficient Urban Mobility

1. INTRODUCTION Europe's cities 1 – home to 70% of the EU population and generating over 80% of the Union's GDP-are connected by one of the world's best transport systems. But mobility within cities is increasingly difficult and inefficient. Urban mobility is still heavily reliant on the use of conventionally-fuelled private cars. Only slow progress is being made in shifting towards more sustainable modes of urban mobility. Many European towns and cities suffer from chronic traffic congestion which is estimated to cost 80 billion Euros annually 2. Urban areas also account for a high share, some 23%, of all CO 2 emissions from transport. Cities need to make more efforts to turn past trends around and contribute to achieving the 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions called for by the Commission's White Paper "Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system" 3 (hereafter "2011 White Paper on Transport"). With their high population densities and high share of short-distance trips, there is a greater potential for cities to move towards low-carbon transport than for the transport system as a whole, through the development of walking, cycling, public transport – and the early market introduction of vehicles powered by alternative fuels. EU legislation on air quality 4 and increasingly stringent emission standards for road vehicles seek to protect citizens from harmful exposure to airborne pollutants and particulate matter. But cities in virtually all Member States are still struggling to comply with the legal requirements. The number of road fatalities in the EU remains very high, some 28,000 in 2012. Urban areas account for 38% of Europe's road fatalities, with vulnerable users such as pedestrians being particularly exposed. Progress in reducing road fatalities has been below average in urban areas. A Eurobarometer survey 5 investigated attitudes towards urban mobility. A strong majority of citizens considers congestion, the cost, and the negative environmental and human health impacts of urban mobility and transport patterns to be important problems. Most respondents were rather pessimistic about the prospects for improving the traffic situation in their cities.