• Carried out by Fifteen and Ipsos, the study presents all the keys to building a cycling policy linked to the mobility habits of Spaniards and their preferences regarding cycling and bike-sharing systems.
• The study presents the views of current and potential users, analyses the challenges local councils face to increase the modal share of cycling, and offers the views of experts in the sector.
• EIT Urban Mobility collaborates with the study, that was officially launched last month in October.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE (available in Spanish only)

Barcelona, November 2023 – Spain passed the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law in 2021, which sets out measures to facilitate active mobility in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Cycling, particularly bike-sharing services, can accelerate the transition and change mobility patterns. But what do Spaniards say?

77% of Spaniards support public bike-sharing service in their city to encourage its use as a sustainable means of transport, according to the monographic study ‘Bicicleta compartida en España: oportunidades y retos para una movilidad urbana más sostenible’ (Bicycle sharing in Spain: opportunities and challenges for a more sustainable urban mobility), carried out by Fifteen and Ipsos.

The report describes that cycling is the preferred means of transport for 19% of citizens, with men being the most frequent users (59%), and explores the perception of cycling as a sustainable and healthy mobility model, with 89% believing it plays an essential role in reducing carbon emissions and 82% believing it plays a vital role in reducing traffic. 1,900 cases were analysed to write the study, concluding that cycling has become a standard means of transport for 19% of the Spanish population, while 51% say they use a bicycle on occasion and 33% cite not owning a bicycle as one of the reasons for not cycling.

Following on from the studies carried out by ConBici and Red de Ciudades por la Bicicleta (RCxB), this study is an essential tool to inform the decisions of policymakers and enable technicians and associations to convince them of the potential of bike sharing in their cities.

• The Generalitat of Catalonia expressed their interest in collaborating with EIT Urban Mobility in a meeting between EIT Urban Mobility’s CEO, Maria Tsavachidis and the Catalan Minister for Foreign Action and European Union, Ms Meritxell Serret Aleu.
• Catalonia’s minister for business and labour, Mr Roger Torrent, emphasised the importance of collaboration among both entities in a recent interview to MOVEMNT
• Mr Oriol Martorí, General Director of Transport and Mobility of the Generalitat of Catalonia explained to us also how the region is implementing their mobility plans and the importance of collaborating with European entities.

Barcelona, July 2022 – Promoting and implementing sustainable urban mobility is a key issue for the government of Catalonia, as evidenced by the initiatives and policies they have initiated. The government has recognised the importance of sustainable mobility to address economic, social, and environmental issues in the transport policy at the urban scale, using long-term strategic planning, aiming to establish more sustainable mobility patterns within the region to improve city life while preventing the congestion and environmental problems that plague many urban areas.

With this objective, the Generalitat of Catalonia collaborates with local and European entities to promote and transform urban mobility. A collaboration that helps the Catalan government stay updated on the latest trends, policies, and technological advancements in urban mobility. Through these policies and initiatives, the government aims to provide reliable, accessible, and environmentally friendly public transport options for residents and visitors in Catalonia.

Watch here the interview to Oriol Martori, Generalitat de Catalonia tells us about the urban mobility plans for the region:

As a European leader in the topic, EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, and the Generalitat of Catalonia have initiated a series of conversations to establish a collaboration to strengthen our collaboration with our common goal to fight against climate change and implement more sustainable mobility. From one side, EIT Urban Mobility facilitates access to expertise, resources, knowledge, and networking, all the necessary ingredients for creating a successful receipt. EIT Urban Mobility ecosystem brings together stakeholders, including industry experts, research institutions, and governmental bodies. This community of experts will provide the Catalan government with access to a wealth of expertise and resources in urban mobility that includes research findings, best practices, innovative technologies, and funding opportunities, as well as participation in workshops, conferences, and working groups where they can exchange ideas, experiences, and lessons learned with other stakeholders from different regions and backgrounds. An agreement that will enhance the government’s capacity to develop and implement sustainable mobility solutions and stay updated on the latest trends, innovations, and policies in sustainable urban mobility, fostering a more informed and evidence-based approach to decision-making.

In addition, EIT Urban Mobility also provides the opportunity to participate in piloting and demonstration projects, allowing to test and validate new sustainable mobility solutions in real-world settings.

EIT Urban Mobility’s CEO, Maria Tsavachidis and the Catalan Minister for Foreign Action and European Union, Ms Meritxell Serret Aleu.

By collaborating with the Generalitat, EIT Urban Mobility can tap into this expertise and gain a deeper understanding of the local context, including regulatory frameworks, infrastructure constraints, and cultural factors. This understanding can inform the development of tailored and context-specific solutions, enhancing the effectiveness of EIT Urban Mobility’s initiatives in the region. The collaboration with the Generalitat allows EIT Urban Mobility to have a voice in the regional policy-making process. By working closely with the government, EIT Urban Mobility can contribute to developing sustainable urban mobility policies and strategies at the regional level, advocating for supportive policies and regulations that enable innovative urban mobility solutions to be adopted and scaled up. Through this partnership, EIT Urban Mobility can influence the policy landscape in Catalonia, promoting sustainable mobility practices and supporting the region’s transition towards more efficient and environmentally friendly urban transportation systems.
The collaboration among both entities will allow the government and EIT Urban Mobility to align its sustainable urban mobility policies with broader European initiatives and frameworks.

Read HERE the interview with Mr Roger Torrent, Catalonia’s minister for business and labour

The French start-up Urban Radar, specialised in urban transformation and sustainable city planning, has won the Greentech Innovation label. The label is issued by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition to start-ups and entrepreneurs for their commitment to green and sustainable innovation. Companies are selected based on their ability to demonstrate positive impact on sustainability goals, which is also one of the reasons why EIT Urban Mobility decided to invest in Urban Radar. 

Founded in 2019, Urban Radar is a cloud platform that is revolutionising the way cities manage and regulate their mobility. In 2020, it was selected by EIT Urban Mobility to participate in the Scale-up programme, which allowed the start-up to launch a pilot in Barcelona on curb management and urban logistics.

After this first testing, Urban Radar has decided to expand its markets to Spain. EIT Urban Mobility is glad to support this expansion by offering office space in our headquarters in Barcelona. And the start-up is off to an incredible start. During the BNEW – Barcelona New Economy Week 2022, they were awarded Best Mobility Start-up and received the prize from the Spanish Minister of transportation, Raquel Sanchez. 

Today, the start-up offers three solutions to observe local trends and make data-driven decisions to meet the needs of citizens. With Citizen’s Need they help cities placing proximity-based urbanism at the center of their policies to answer citizen’s needs. Fret impact builds an understanding of freight paters in the peri-urban logistics hubs. And Flexcurb reveals how curb space is allocated and used to highlight opportunities for improvement. 

Discover more about the solutions of Urban Radar on the EIT Urban Mobility Marketplace. 

Last Mile Team, an EIT Urban Mobility Business Creation’s portfolio company, is the winner of the first Spanish National Mobility Award in the Product category. This awards recognises the team as a catalyst to the green and digital goods road transport twin transition, and a solution that improves cities liveability and contributes to achieve the EU Green Deal and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals objectives in the short, medium and long term.

Founded in 2016 by a core team of diverse age, gender, culture and background group of people with deep knowledge in their respective fields of expertise, they are one of the so called “deep-tech” startups. They make use of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Internet of Things and other advanced technologies, but what makes them fit for the purpose is the deep impact of their solutions to solve urban logistics and last mile delivery global problems that affect all cities in the world.

Their inclusive digital solutions enable cities and companies to build, evaluate, select and put into daily operation Digital Twins of fairer, smarter and greener urban logistics and last mile delivery business models. Innovative models that achieve impactful results balancing all stakeholders’ interests, customers convenience and competitive dynamics, minimising disruption and improving the Triple Bottom Line.

“They were among the first 15 teams selected for EIT Urban Mobility Scale-up Hub, as one of the teams that will shape the future of sustainable urban mobility in Europe and beyond! They were also selected to join EIT Urban Mobility GoGlobal, a program to take the participants to the next level.” says Fredrik Hanel, EIT Urban Mobility Business Creation Director.

“We thoroughly enjoyed both programmes. Meeting and working with mentors, city representatives and investors to review, identify and implement improvements to our growth, fundraising, marketing, communication etc. strategies was a very intense learning experience. It was particularly exciting to give, take and share with a community of like-minded founders who want to improve mobility in its broadest sense. For us it was a chance to meet people we normally wouldn’t meet and openly discuss any topic to a very deep level.”, says Ángel Batalla, Last Mile Team CEO.

Their solutions are currently in TRL 7, being applied in the Horizon 2020 funded LEAD project that will create Digital Twins of urban logistics networks in six European cities, to test and represent different innovative solutions for city logistics, to address the requirements of the on-demand economy while aligning competing interests and creating value for all different stakeholders.

Learn more about Last Mile Team here

More information about Last Mile Digital Platform©

It is validated by Microsoft and Honeywell as a Delivery Logistics Platform line-of-business application suitable for Corporates and Enterprises.

Last Mile Team is a high-risk, high-potential, innovative but not-easily-bankable SME. Is actively looking for lead city or industry customers but they plan to apply for blended finance to the newly created European Innovation Council Accelerator Fast-Track. The grant would be to develop additional functionalities and become open source to bridge the chronic transport industry digital divide, the equity to finance market creation and commercialise their products, services and business models. They are in a mission to drive economic growth and strongly support transport decarbonisation in Europe and worldwide. 

The Last Mile Digital Platform has also been recognised the most innovative mobility startup at Inovate Against the Virus 2020, and credited as an Innovative Technology-Based Entreprise in Feruary 2021. Few days ago, they were accepted as an official partners of the Spanish Government “Acelera PYME”, a programme to support SMEs to help mitigate the impact of Covid19 on their road transport activity,