Urban mobility: more local effort needed to get commuters out of cars
Efforts to persuade commuters to switch from cars to sustainable modes of transportation are often insufficient, especially at local level, where urban mobility is primarily managed.
This is the conclusion of a special report published by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Most of the EU’s population live in urban areas, which attract jobs and economic activity but generate heavy commuting traffic and pollution. The EU promotes sustainable urban mobility, through legislation, guidance and funding. However, the way commuters’ needs and climate objectives are met needs to be improved, the auditors say.
Responsibility for transport policy lies primarily with the member states. The EU has allocated around 60 billion euros over the 2014-2027 period, and made persistent efforts to promote sustainable commuter mobility as a viable alternative to private vehicles. This means investing in better regional trains, expanded tram networks and cycle lanes between suburbs and city centres, and multimodal hubs providing seamless connections between different modes of transport. The spearhead of the EU’s approach is the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), which were made compulsory for 431 EU cities in 2024. However, the auditors identified various shortcomings in the SUMPs they examined that make them less effective than they could otherwise be.
“Many EU citizens use cars in urban areas every day, often because there are no attractive mobility alternatives”, said Carlo Alberto Manfredi Selvaggi, the ECA Member responsible for the audit. “Although the EU has strengthened its sustainable mobility policy, local efforts are crucial for future improvements. Only then can we hope for fewer traffic jams, better air quality, and a better overall quality of life.”
The auditors highlighted that although the legislation has been strengthened, it does not require member states to ensure that SUMPs comply with the relevant EU guidelines. For instance, EU guidelines would require urban mobility planning to be linked to spatial planning – i.e. how spaces are organised, from homes and workplaces to roads, parking, and green areas – so that urban development and mobility work together and shape how people move around cities. In addition, while sufficient funding is essential for success, most plans did not include information on whether funding was available for planned investments. Analysis of the mobility plans of six urban areas (Budapest, Katowice, Lisbon, Prague, Seville, and Lille) revealed that most based their geographical coverage on administrative boundaries rather than commuter flows, thus overlooking a sometimes substantial part of those flows.
Although a 2020 audit on sustainable urban mobility found that only destinations in small, central areas could be reached faster by public transport than by car, this time the auditors checked which areas could be reached within 45 minutes from certain commuting zones in suburban areas. They found that cars could generally cover many more areas, even during rush hours. The auditors also note that local authorities focused on measures to promote more accessible and sustainable public transport, while initiatives to discourage car use – such as restricting car access to certain areas, or providing financial incentives to reduce car journeys – are less frequent.
Most of the audited projects – ranging from metro and tram lines to multimodal hubs – delivered the planned outputs. However, this does not mean that all of them also had a significant impact on commuters’ needs. This was sometimes due to inadequate needs analysis, or a lack of coordination between neighbouring authorities. The auditors identified several examples of such weaknesses hindering the sound use of EU money, such as an underused park-and-ride facility, and a cycling path that ended abruptly at city limits.
Background information
It took 20 years to make sustainable urban-mobility planning compulsory for major urban areas, with the 2024 revision of the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T) Regulation. The greater emphasis on sustainable urban mobility is also reflected in the rules and agreements governing EU funding programmes (cohesion policy funds, the Connecting Europe Facility, and the Recovery and Resilience Facility).
- Special report 05/2026: Sustainable commuting around urban areas – Moving forward, with local action crucial to reach destination
- Key facts and findings
