Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods (2023/24)

This Destination includes activities addressing safe and smart mobility services for passengers and goods.

Europe needs to manage the transformation of supply-based transport into safe, resilient and sustainable transport and demand-driven, smart mobility services for passengers and goods. Suitable research and innovation will enable significant safety, environmental, economic and social benefits by reducing accidents caused by human error, decreasing traffic congestion, reducing energy consumption and emissions of vehicles, increasing efficiency and productivity of freight transport operations. To succeed in this transformation, Europe’s ageing (and not always sustainable) transport infrastructure needs to be prepared for enabling cleaner and smarter operations.

Europe needs also to maintain a high-level of transport safety for its citizens. Resilience should be built in the transport systems to prevent, mitigate and recover from disruptions. Research and innovation will underpin the three safety pillars: technologies, regulations and human factors.

This Destination contributes to the following Strategic Plan’s Key Strategic Orientations (KSO):

• C: Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy through the transformation of its mobility, energy, construction and production systems;
• A: Promoting an open strategic autonomy[[ ‘Open strategic autonomy’ refers to the term ‘strategic autonomy while preserving an open economy’, as reflected in the conclusions of the European Council 1 – 2 October 2020.]] by leading the development of key digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains to accelerate and steer the digital and green transitions through human-centred technologies and innovations.

It covers the following impact areas:

• Industrial leadership in key and emerging technologies that work for people;
• Smart and sustainable transport.

The expected impact, in line with the Strategic Plan, is to contribute to “Safe, seamless, smart, inclusive, resilient and sustainable mobility systems for people and goods thanks to user-centric technologies and services including digital technologies and advanced satellite navigation services”, notably through:

• Accelerating the implementation of innovative connected, cooperative and automated mobility (CCAM) technologies and systems for passengers and goods (more detailed information below).
• Further developing a multimodal transport system through sustainable and smart long-haul and urban freight transport and logistics, upgraded and resilient physical and digital infrastructures for smarter vehicles and operations, for optimised system-wide network efficiency (more detailed information below).
• Drastically decreasing the number of transport accidents, incidents and fatalities towards the EU’s long-term goal of moving close to zero fatalities and serious injuries by 2050 even in road transportation (Vision Zero) and increase the resilience of transport systems (more detailed information below).

Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM)

Joint actions are foreseen between the “Cooperative Connected and Automated Mobility” (CCAM) partnership, the “2ZERO” Partnership and the Mission on “Climate Neutral and Smart Cities”, in particular the Joint topic “Co-designed smart systems and services for user-centred shared zero-emission mobility of people and goods in urban areas (see work programme of the Cities’ Mission 2023).

To test CCAM solutions, applicants can seek possibilities of involving the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in order to valorise the relevant expertise and physical facilities of JRC in demonstrating and testing energy and mobility applications of the JRC Living Lab for Future Urban Ecosystems https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/research-facility/living-labs-at-the-jrc

Main expected impacts:

• Seamless, affordable and user oriented CCAM based solutions with particular focus on shared, smart and zero emission mobility and goods deliveries for all and high public buy-in of these solutions.
• Validated safety and security, improved robustness and resilience of CCAM technologies and systems.
• Vehicle technologies and solutions which optimise the on-board and off-board experience in terms of well-being, security and privacy.
• Comprehensive set of verification, validation and rating procedures of CCAM systems
• Secure and trustworthy interaction between road users, CCAM and “conventional” vehicles, physical and digital infrastructure and services to achieve safer and more efficient transport flows (people and goods) and better use of infrastructure capacity.
• Clear understanding of societal needs and impacts of CCAM (including ethics, employment, socio-economic impacts) at individual and collective level, to ensure a more tailored, resilient and sustainable deployment of CCAM solutions.
• Better coordination of public and private R&I actions, large-scale testing and implementation plans in Europe towards harmonisation and standardisation.

Multimodal and sustainable transport systems for passengers and goods

Main expected impacts:

• Upgraded and resilient physical and digital infrastructures for clean, accessible and affordable multimodal mobility.
• Sustainable and smart long-haul and regional (including links to urban) freight transport and logistics, through increased efficiency and improved interconnectivity.
• Reduced external costs (e.g. congestion, traffic jams, emissions, air and noise pollution, road collisions) of passenger mobility and freight transport, as well as optimised system-wide network efficiency and resilience.
• Enhanced local and/or regional capacity for governance and innovation in passenger mobility and freight transport.

Safety and resilience - per mode and across all transport modes

Main expected impacts:

Safety in Urban Areas / Road Transport Safety

• Drastic reduction in serious injuries and fatalities in road crashes by 2030 and establishing a framework to improve traffic safety culture in the EU.
• Avoiding risks, collisions and finding new ways of reducing long term consequences of road crashes.
• Minimising the effects of disruptive changes on transport safety and improving the resilience of transport systems by design.
• Better infrastructure safety on urban and secondary rural roads throughout a combination of adaptable monitoring and maintenance solutions.

Waterborne Safety and Resilience

• Ensure safe and secure exploitation of technologies like digitalisation, Internet of Things, and sensors

Aviation Safety and Resilience

• Ensure safety through aviation transformation (from green/digital technologies uptake up to independent certification).