Sustainable urban mobility and commuting in Baltic cities
SUMBA
 
PROGRAMME 2014-2020
priority
3 Transport
objective
3.5 Urban mobility

SUMBA

By developing master plans on commuting for nine municipalities in five Baltic Sea region countries, the Interreg project SUMBA paved a way for sustainable and greener transport transformation in the region.
The challenge

Tackling emissions in transport

Commuting by car from suburbs to metropolitan areas is the most common way observed in the identified areas in the Baltic Sea region. While the citizens are trying to find the most optimal and convenient way of commuting, the cities are struggling with increasing emissions and climate change mitigation. Climate mitigation is impossible without including transport solutions and finding new ways of tackling emissions.

On this background, an alternative combination of various transport modes, including bike and car sharing, would help the cities to reach the wishful targets and introduce an environmentally friendly commuting system.

A clear policy framework needed

In order to ensure the durability of sustainable solutions, the cities would need to integrate alternative mobility options in transport plans and policies. A better understanding of actions needed in policy implementation and who should be involved in the transformation process is needed.

The project SUMBA provided a platform for piloting measures which would give clarity on the process and justification of the tested transport solutions.

Budgets

SUMBA
in numbers
  • 3.14
    Million
    Total
  • 2.53
    Million
    Erdf
  • 0.00
    Million
    Eni + Russia
  • 0.00
    Million
    Norway

Achievements

Master plans developed

The SUMBA project successfully developed commuting master plans for 9 functional areas in the Baltic Sea region, specifically in Hamburg-Altona, Växjö, Tallinn/Harju, Tartu, Riga, Šiauliai, Olsztyn, Warsaw donut, Gdynia. These plans aim at improving commuting conditions between the central cities and their suburbs. By bringing transport planners and policymakers together, the project integrated the master plans into the partner cities’ policies and transport planning. This allowed the cities to make local transport more environmentally friendly and tackle emissions in a coordinated way.

A toolbox for planning and analytics provided

The SUMBA project provided the tools aimed at supporting cities in developing better commuting conditions. In the toolbox, the users can find the guidance for transport modelling and data collection. The guidance for modelling complies the available transport models as well as planning support tools. Thanks to the guidance cities can choose the right web-based application for their needs.

Furthermore, the toolbox contains an Intermodalyzer index measuring a level of inter-modality, or how well intermodal the transport system of a city is. The index is useful for municipal planners and transport non-governmental organisations to assess the transport situation.

The Interreg project SUMBA used EURO 2.94 million from European Union to support the cities in the Baltic Sea region in sustainable transport transformation and make the cities environmentally friendly.

Outputs

Intermodalyzer - a Benchmarking Scheme to assess the City's Transport System with regard to Intermodality

The “Intermodalyzer index” measures how intermodal a city or functional urban area is. The index is described in a methodological report that enables municipal planners as well as transport non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to evaluate the transport situation.

Guidance for transport modelling and data collection

The guidance for modelling describes how transport modelling tools work. In addition, it describes the available commercial and free transport models as well as planning support tools. The guidance explains the features of the respective programmes and possible uses of the software. In this way the guidance helps cities to choose the right application for their needs.

Template for commuting masterplans

The “template for commuting masterplans” explains the steps to be taken to develop a commuting masterplan for a functional urban area, i.e. the core city and its surrounding area. It is a supportive document for regional and urban planners in municipal administrations.

Project Stories

Partners

City of Hamburg, Borough of Altona

  • Town
    Hamburg
  • Region
    Hamburg
  • Country
    Germany
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
639,454.87
53.55034110.000654

German Aerospace Center

  • Town
    Cologne
  • Region
    Berlin
  • Country
    Germany
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
302,759.00
50.9383616.959974

Baltic Environmental Forum Estonia

  • Town
    Tallinn
  • Region
    Põhja-Eesti
  • Country
    Estonia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
218,680.00
59.437215524.7453688

City of Tallinn

  • Town
    Tallinn
  • Region
    Põhja-Eesti
  • Country
    Estonia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
166,250.00
59.437215524.7453688

Tartu City Government

  • Town
    Tartu
  • Region
    Lõuna-Eesti
  • Country
    Estonia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
188,197.00
57.845080426.9918289

Riga City Council

  • Town
    Riga
  • Region
    Rīga
  • Country
    Latvia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
353,802.50
56.949397724.1051846

Baltic Environmental Forum Latvia

  • Town
    Riga
  • Region
    Rīga
  • Country
    Latvia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
176,860.00
56.949397724.1051846

The city of Växjö

  • Town
    Växjö
  • Region
    Kronobergs län
  • Country
    Sweden
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
424,912.50
56.878718314.8094385

Šiauliai City Municipality

  • Town
    Šiauliai
  • Region
    Šiaulių apskritis
  • Country
    Lithuania
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
145,523.75
55.923070223.3139116

Olsztyn Municipality

  • Town
    Olsztyn
  • Region
    Olsztyński
  • Country
    Poland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
108,626.75
53.776723920.47778052818325

Earth and People Foundation

  • Town
    Warsaw
  • Region
    Miasto Warszawa
  • Country
    Poland
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
241,500.00
52.231958121.0067249

Union of Harju County Municipalities

  • Town
    Tallinn
  • Region
    Põhja-Eesti
  • Country
    Estonia
Approximate total partner budget in EUR
171,215.12
59.437215524.7453688