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Mobility Culture in the Baltic Sea Area -MoCuBa- (MoCuBa)
Mobility Culture in the Baltic Sea Area -MoCuBa-
(MoCuBa)
Start date: Dec 9, 2005,
End date: Dec 8, 2007
PROJECT
FINISHED
All BSR cities and regions suffer from severe transport problems. Most of existing strategies to tackle congestion, environmental problems and as well the question of energy supply focus on mainly technical solutions. Mobility Culture describes the rather non-technical aspects for the necessary behavioural change: The image of certain transport modes is at least as important for the choice of transport modes as the technical infrastructure – not yet sufficiently subject of transport planning and urban development. Especially in the new member states of the EU the role of the car as a symbol should not be underestimated. Many strategic plans and also political papers address the behavioural aspects of modal choice in the analysis as a need for further actions. There are many emotional aspects to be considered - also to strengthen walking, cycling and Public Transport. Car-Sharing is very successfully developed as a key supplement to Public Transport in Germany, etc. – still difficult to transfer due to rather emotional barriers and lack of information.In MoCuBa 16 partners from eight cities in six countries were involved: Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Lithuania and Germany. Many of the partners are part of city administrations but there are also Public Transport (PT) companies and authorities, a health insurance, a cycling association (NGO) and a foundation (NGO).Intermodal co-operation within environmentally friendly modes requires overcoming old understanding of the (competitive) role of transport operators. Many decision-makers / stakeholders are not fully aware of mobility culture and therefore do not integrate sufficiently these aspects into strategic planning decisions. Problems like congestion, air quality, accidents, costs of transport infrastructure, urban sprawl, dependence on mineral oil, CO2 emissions etc. require a new mobility culture. Achievements: MoCuBa has delivered pilot actions in the field of strategic planning, healthy city plans, regional PT integration, intermodal co-operation and electronic ticketing, Car-Sharing services, cycling and walking – in order to start a process of supporting the sustainable modes more efficiently based on a better understanding of emotional factors and to start a public and political debate. Awareness and dissemination actions accompanied the pilot measures of the three MoCuBa WPs (strategic planning, public transport, soft modes) in all sites.A behavioural change and a reduction on car-dependence through highly efficient services and structures – maintaining a high level of mobility - is not yet main-stream but will lead to more social inclusion, less consumption of resources and a more stable economy.