Urban Mobility Days 2022

On 21 and 22 September, MDS Transmodal (MDST) attended the Urban Mobility Days 2022 conference and exhibition in Brno (Czech Republic). Sponsored by the European Commission, the Urban Mobility Days (UMD) conference provides a forum for policy makers, planners and operators to discuss issues associated with sustainable urban transport in Europe. MDST, one of the consortium partners of the SENATOR project (www.senatorproject.eu) attended principally to represent the EU-funded project. SENATOR developing a digital support tool for decision making, integration and planning of urban logistics operations. MDST presented a short description of the project at the ’10 pitches’ plenary session (www.twitter.com/SenatorProject/status/1572882825615114242).

Naturally, most of the focus at the plenary sessions and wider general discussion around the exhibition hall concerned passenger transport. However, urban logistics issues were very much on display, including a dedicated plenary session presenting ideas and solutions from a number of cities across Europe. The SENATOR exhibition stand also attracted a number of visitors. A number of key issues/themes emerged which are currently informing thinking and potential solutions in the urban logistics environment. These included:

• The growth of e-commerce and its consequent impact on the nature of delivery operations in urban areas (parcels, light vans etc..);
• Urban centres needing to re-invent themselves – covering a new retail offer (to challenge e-commerce), being destinations for other activities (leisure, events etc..) and places to live (including sustainable and social housing);
• The ability to deliver freight and remove waste efficiently must be retained (or even enhanced);
• Urban re-invention must include creating attractive environments, including road vehicle free spaces; and
• The need to decarbonise the supply chain, including the use of alternative delivery solutions such as e-cargo bikes.

Various projects and potential solutions are being supported through EU funding streams, including the SENATOR project (Horizon 2020), and many were on display at the UMD exhibition hall. While these are currently focused on cities located in the EU, it is clear that their success (or otherwise) and any lessons learnt will also apply to urban areas within the UK. This is because the issues are common, the operating environment is similar and, in many cases, the same operators are involved e.g. DHL, DPD etc.. It is therefore important that cities in the UK remain engaged with developments elsewhere in order to understand what is operationally and commercially viable.