European Conference on Mobility Management – London, 4-6 June 2008

As transport and mobility keep on growing, policy makers stand before the question how to make sure places can still be reached within reasonable time, while maintaining acceptable environmental standards or even improve air quality. When focusing on demand management, the answer lies mainly in stimulation of alternatives, like public transport or cycling. Sustainable mobility management has become essential, in the eyes of many, to limiting environmental damage and the health risks that stem from it.

London Transport Strategy
The Mayor of London, Mr Ken Livingstone, has implemented a Transport Strategy in which mobility management, especially demand management, plays a major part. The targets? Stimulating the use of non-car modes of transport (including 80 per cent more cycling by 2011 and 10 per cent more walking journeys by 2015, compared to 2001) and reducing congestion and bus waiting times.

The help of Transport for Londen is indispensable for this policy to succeed. Their programme of Travel Demand Management includes promoting and implementing personal, residential, workplace and school travel plans, travel awareness campaigns, car clubs and car pooling schemes. Transport for Londen also develops guidelines to increase the quality and effectiveness of delivery.

European partnership
It’s nice enough if cities implement their own mobility management, but it is nicer still if cities and regions don’t have to find things out for themselves. ECOMM seeks to stimulate learning from one another’s experiences in mobility management and tries to present examples from as many countries as possible.

The London European Partnership for Transport (LEPT), a local authority partnership, is especially useful in this respect. It represents London's 33 boroughs and wants to improve communication and cooperation in the field of mobility management between London and the other EU27's cities and regions.

Mayor’s debate
The Mayor of London will be defending London’s strategy at the coming ECOMM (to be confirmed), and other keynote speakers on the first conference day will be defending their’s. So if you can’t wait to give London’s Mayor, the European Commission’s Vice-President for Transport Mr Jacques Barrot, or Zoran Jankovic, the Mayor of Slovenian capital Ljubljana, a real roasting, visit the Mayor’s debate session. You can enter your questions online beforehand.

Programme
In Wednesday’s panel discussion representatives from the European Investment Bank, the health sector and C40, a group of the world’s largest cities committed to tackling climate change, exchange their views on using mobility management to thwart climate change.

Thursday and Friday are packed with parallel sessions about changing behaviour, lessons to be learnt and experiences, travel plans, policy and engaging business and schools.

You'll find the complete programme here. There’s something for everyone there!