Czech Business Today

Problems related to traffic congestion, noise and emissions affect most European cities, including those in the Czech Republic. At a recent debate co-organised by CEBRE called “Sustainable urban mobility: how to do it?”, the topic was discussed not only by representatives of the European Commission, municipalities and smart technology experts, but also by representatives of the commercial sector.

The debate focused not only on European and Czech strategical frameworks to support urban mobility and the experience of certain municipalities, but also on the impact of addressing these issues on governmental organisations, business and municipalities. The European framework sets out guidelines on how cities can reduce emissions and improve mobility, including through Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans. The main focus is on public transport, walking and cycling. The framework also gives priority to zero-emission solutions for urban fleets, the construction and modernisation of multimodal hubs and new digital solutions and services.

These activities are supported by the possibility of drawing European funds from the Operational Programme Transport and the Integrated Regional Operational Programme (IROP) on the basis of the preparation of urban mobility improvement plans, while cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants are obliged to prepare a plan and the Czech Republic will have to respond to this fact.

According to the Commission representative, the Operational Programme Transport could be approved by summer 2022. The OP Transport for sustainable urban transport currently has a financial envelope of EUR 850 million for the period 2021-2027, covering rail transport (trolleys and tram lines) for 13 urban agglomerations, including Prague and Brno. Investments in telematics are also foreseen. Further funding is possible, e.g. through the national recovery plans. The Commission is helping to develop national plans to help cities create their mobility plans through recommendations.

When discussing the financing of sustainable urban mobility projects, the conceptual framework must precede their submission and care must be taken to ensure that the different modes of transport complement and build on each other appropriately, according to Petr Gelnar of Brno City Hall. The Czech Republic excels in European rankings in terms of quality and use of public transport, but lags behind in the use of cycle lanes or in the supply of charging points.

This is confirmed, among others, by Jan Charouz from Škoda Auto DigiLab, which offers a wide range of services to support sustainable urban mobility, for example in the area of car sharing. He recalled that European cities have gone to extreme lengths in terms of sustainability, such as limiting the entry of cars with internal combustion engines or charging for access to the city centre.