Bulc opens smart cities conference
The ‘Transport for smart cities 2016: scaling innovation in Europe’ conference has opened today in Brussels.
Some 200 leading players from the public and private sectors have gathered for the one-day event, which was opened by Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc.
Participants will discuss how smart city mobility concepts can be implemented at scale in Europe’s cities and witness the launch of action cluster initiatives in smart electromobility and in smart city mobility services. Both are part of the European Innovation Partnership in Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC) and bring together cities and industry to promote the rollout of smart electric and city mobility services at a large scale.
Areas of application include the intelligent management of fleets of electric cars and real-time travel information.
“It is not ‘us’ and ‘them’ anymore,” Bulc said. “We need to work together and drive this challenge to a good destination. These initiatives will lead to smart mobility solutions to the market at scale. They will support innovation to create new jobs and fully integrate transport in the digital single market. If the fight against climate change is to be won in cities, I am convinced that smart cities are part of the answer.”
The conference is designed to contribute to the development and implementation of future EU level smart city activities, including the annual assembly of the EIP-SCC on 24 May, as well as the EU’s decarbonisation and digital policies.
