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All over the world, many cities are facing increasing levels of traffic congestion, road safety issues, as well as carbon and air pollutant emissions. In particular, the better integration of transport and urban planning is seen as a key to mitigate these effects and to create more livable cities. To promote smart and integrated urban mobility planning, the European Commission, in 2013, published the “Guidelines on Developing and Implementing A Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan”. Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, also known as SUMP, aim at satisfying the mobility needs of people and businesses while improving the quality of life. The SUMP concept has been successfully applied in various countries around the world. In order to adapt to the current mobility trends, such as vehicle automation, vehicle electrification, shared mobility and their implications in the public transport systems, the SUMP guidelines were recently updated in their second edition, which you can find…

by Sebastian Ibold and Jingzhu Li Contents Background Long-Term Strategic Development of China’s Transport Sector in Two Phases Nine Key Tasks to Implement the Outline for Building China’s Strength in TransportSummary Background On September 19th, 2019, the Outline for Building China’s Strength in Transport was released. The document was approved by the Communist Party of China Central Committee (CPCCC) and the State Council and describes the future vision and roadmap of China’s transport sector with a clear message: China wants to become a global transport superpower by 2050. The original text of the policy can be found here. The first mention to the Outline for Building China’s Strength in Transport dates back to January 18th, 2017, when the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) held a kick-off meeting on “strategic research on China’s strength in transportation”. The policy was since then elaborated by a drafting group headed by Vice Premier Liu…

According to Katie Melua, there are nine-million bicycles in Beijing – and the city is working on bringing bicycles back to the roads by making cycling more safe and thus convenient. But Beijing is also exploring new ways to make cycling more attractive. In May 2019, the city’s first “bicycle highway” was opened to the public. The 6.5 km long partially elevated cycling-only road, which was designed by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport (BMCT), is connecting Huilongguan and the Zhongguancun High-Tech Area in Northern Beijing, offering safe, convenient and fast traveling to more than 8,000 commuters daily. Beijing’s First Bicycle Highway *If problems with playing the video occur, this may be due to country-specific internet restrictions. Back to the Kingdom of Bicyle Not so long ago, bikes were ubiquitous in China. As the dominating form of transportation, for the wealthy and working classes alike, the country had more than…

The evolution of free-floating bike-sharing in China Authors: Sebastian Ibold, Dr. Christoph Nedopil Review: Sandra Retzer, Tina Huang, Florian Ibold Since the explosive growth of free-floating bike-sharing in China starting in 2016, it has been described as one of the country’s hottest industries. China’s official state-run press agency Xinhua called it one of the “four great new inventions” in modern times (the other three being e-commerce, high-speed rail and mobile-payment). The bike-sharing industry was praised for providing a healthy lifestyle and a key to achieve more sustainable urban transport systems, with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution significantly. The expectations put on free-floating bike-sharing were no less than reviving the “kingdom of bicycles”. But instead of a smooth bike-ride, the bike sharing industry in China has experienced nothing short of a roller-coaster ride: From 2016 onwards, a growing number of start-ups entered the bike-sharing market, resulting…