News from Europe

Project of new European Regulation on Public Service Obligations: work is going on
The project of new European Regulation on public service obligations in the field of passenger transport was not discussed at the Council of Ministers of Transport in Luxembourg in June because of the opposition of some countries. However, work is going on so as to find a compromise. The draft might thus be adopted at

Launch of the European mobility week (16-22 September 2002)
The European commissioner for Environment, Mrs. Margot Wallström, presented in April the forthcoming European mobility week. This week will take place in cities around Europe between 16 and 22 September 2002, with the aim to raise awareness of the damage current mobility practices inflict to the environment, and to promote alternative transport modes. The European

Best practice for mobility centres
The MobiService Centres project, which is supported by the European Commission under the IST (Information Society Technologies) programme, has surveyed the multi-modal systems and services provided by the leading mobility management and service centres in Europe, and identified best practices. A wide range of traffic and travel information services have been investigated, including urban traffic

Italy boosts car-sharing
The Italian Ministry of the Environment launched in April a national plan of promotion of car-sharing, that will receive € 9.5m of governmental grants devote to help fund local car-sharing initiatives operated by local transport authorities. Ministry officials estimate that 100,000 motorists could take part in the new schemes by 2005, reducing CO2 emissions by

New version of the project of Regulation on public service requirements in passenger transport
The European Commission released on 21st February a modified draft of its project of new Regulation on public service requirements and public service contracts in passenger transport. In this new draft, the Commission accepts most of the amendments adopted by the European Parliament in its first reading of the text last November, concerning for example:

Towards a new rail package?
The first rail package, adopted in December 2000, will open up 50,000 km of the trans-European rail freight network to international goods services in March 2003, and the entire network in 2008. Following the suggestions contained in its White Paper on transport of December 2001, the European Commission unveiled on 23rd January the main proposals

2,780 m for the Trans-European Transport Network
The European Commission adopted in September the Multiannual Programme for the funding of the Trans-European Transport Network over the period 2001-2006. The whole programme will amount to € 2,780 m, two thirds of which devoted to the rail sector:

The European Commission proposes to encourage alternative fuels for transport
The Commission adopted last month two proposals of new Directives so as to foster the use of alternative fuels, which should reach in 2020 a minimum level of 15% of all fuels sold in the EU. The European Union is indeed committed to an 8% reduction of its greenhouse gases emissions by 2010 and the

The European Parliament votes on the project of new Regulation on public transport services
The European Parliament adopted on November 14th at a large majority (317 against 224) the report of its Transport Committee on the project of new Regulation on public service requirements in passenger transport. This report amended the project released by the Commission in July 2000 by granting more freedom of choice to local authorities, more

EMTA Workshop: “What public transport authorities for the European Metropolitan Areas?” (Barcelona – 8 November 2001)
This workshop, organised at the invitation of ATM, the public transport authority of the metropolitan area of Barcelona, will propose to analyse and compare the organisation, the missions and the financing of the public transport authorities of the European large cities. It will be based on presentations of the organisational schemes and current evolutions in