RRA LUR e-mobility practice exchange in USER-CHI visit in Rome
On invitation from network of EU major cities and regions – EUROCITIES, Regional development agency of the Ljubljana urban region (RRA LUR) was invited to the Peer learning visit in Rome under the umbrella of USER-CHI project. From 17th to 18th of January 2023, Rome was hosting representatives from project partners from Budapest, Berlin, Florence, Turku, and Rome and three following cities Gothenburg, Ljubljana and Bucharest shared ideas and challenges, swapping notes over common challenges and solutions over a two-day peer-learning visit.
USER-CHI project focuses on elaboration and promotion of innovative solutions adjusted to users’ demands to make electric vehicles popular. The project focuses on the following two areas: urban charging and fast/ultra-fast charging infrastructure to be found along the TEN-T network and is therefore a perfect benchmark for peer cities and regions to learn from and observe the potential for replication. The main objectives of the Horizon 2020 funded projects are: enabling electric charging networks around user needs; deploying an interoperability framework and platform; enhancing scalable infrastructure roll-out by means of smart grid integration and developing marketable, innovative, and highly convenient charging systems.
The representatives of Rome Mobility Agency gave a warm welcome to the participants, outlining some ideas they had for the peer-learning visit. Their goal is to promote sustainable mobility in the city facing various challenges. The representatives pointed out that Rome has been chosen as one of the cities with mission to be one of the 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030, therefore the challenges and pressure on overcoming them is even higher. They take the peer-learning visit as an opportunity to confront their projects, ideas and the problems they are facing with the transition towards sustainable mobility. At the same time, the transition towards electric mobility is not completed in Rome, and the representatives were looking forward to learning from other participants what can they do to speed it up.
City of Rome also presented the results of various SUMP scenarios that proposed the development of the whole metro and PT network systems while also integrate them (in level of service and infrastructure) with all the currently existing mobility systems. As we had learned, Rome will no longer be buying CNG busses from 2025 onwards. The new bought busses will only be electric, and the aim is to buy 500 of them. Within the same day the visit at the public transport system centre took place and regional presentation on the e-mobility stations and connections among the various systems (METREBUS).
On the final day of the peer study visit the observations on the expected outcomes of the visit were observed in the venue of Roma Tiburtina railway station. In 2011, the Tiburtina railway station has been remodelled from an unattractive barrier between Nomentano and Pietralata districts to a modern intermodal hub with service area and platform running over the tracks connecting the two above-mentioned neighbourhoods. City representatives had shined the light on the Casal Bertone city district that has undergone a renovation process to increase the road safety, increase and re-shape the pedestrian spaces and decrease the speeds of vehicles along the main road on 30 km/h. The results had indicated the overall reduction of car usages on the streets for 20 %.
Final transferability observation for such implementation indicated that there is wider need for such a transferability cases and possibility to use various such approaches within peer cities. Success factors are mainly clear vision and goals for such implementations, reservation of finances and communication with main stakeholders and inhabitants of the borough. Next peer observation on expenses of USER-CHI project is planned to take place in Turku at the end of April 2023.
