Welcome European Mobility Week 2022

European Mobility Week is an annual event that takes place from the 16th (today!) to the 22nd of September. The aim of the campaign is to get local authorities to directly encourage and help their citizens make more sustainable transport decisions, be that via train, bus, bicycle, electric vehicle, or carpooling.

Better Connections

As you may have guessed, European Mobility Week centres on, well, Europe. But anyone, anywhere can commit to participating. As the most widespread campaign on sustainable mobility in the world, this year alone has seen over 2,565 towns and cities across 46 countries committing to be active participants. 

This year’s mobility campaign has the theme of ‘better connections’ – amplifying people and places with expertise, creativity and dedication to help raise awareness about sustainable mobility. This is in addition to promoting behavioural change in favour of active mobility, and fostering relationships with new and old audiences alike.

The five pillars of ‘better connections’ are:

🙋🏾‍♂️ People: connecting people to implement their own sustainable transport initiatives.
🌇 Places: supporting attractive and functional urban spaces and green areas.
📦 Packages: addressing the issues of both physical parcels and digital information packages.
👩🏻‍⚖️ Planning & Policy: building better Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs)

Supported By…

What is driving European Mobility Week? The event actually complements several key EU policy initiatives, including but not limited to:

✓ The European Commission’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, which presents 82 specific initiatives to be achieved over the next four years as a first steppingstone towards the overall goal of climate neutrality by 2050. 
✓ The European Climate Pact, which is an awareness-raising initiative that focuses on pledges and actions combatting climate change across Europe. 
✓ The European Year of Youth 2022, which supports the voices of young people to emphasise their contribution to urban environment and mobility.

POW Mobility Week 2022

Mobility is important because, here in Europe, the transport sector is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, contributing more than a quarter of all emissions on the continent. It turns out that surf vacations and ski destinations are great for us, but not the planet; in the tourism sector specifically, transport accounts for 75% of emissions. And this is why POW has made transport a key part of our strategic plan. 

In early Spring, POW brought issues around mobility to life with our very own POW Mobility Week. In fact, POW Mobility Week was a registered action under the European Mobility Week 2022! We had a lot of fun on the way, and we were stoked to have so many of you join us in this action. Over seven days, we watched as the outdoor community commuted to their work spaces, found local outdoor playgrounds, and reached weekend destinations as eco-friendly as they could. Raising awareness is one thing, but helping drive long-term cultural change will always be the real metric of success. 

Achievements and Further Actions

During POW Mobility week, a total of 20,040 sustainable kilometres were tracked – the same as travelling half way around the globe! Imagine the world we could build if we committed to these same mobility goals each and every day. But this isn’t all we accomplished – to read more on the results of our mobility week, check out our website or download the POW Mobility Week 2022 report and survey. 

As European Mobility Week begins, there are countless ways for you to get involved. A great place to start is over on POW’s transport hub. Here you will find information on different modes of transportation, and how you can make a difference. For example:

✓ Get off the beaten track and choose to chase an experience closer to home rather than a far way away destination. 
✓ Slow down, stay longer, and remember that one longer vacation produces less travel emissions than multiple shorter trips.
✓ Consider your mode of transport. Bike to work, use a night train, or carpool with your best buddies. 

If you’re looking to participate in European Mobility Week, you will need to find an official local authority to register on behalf of your city. Or, if you are an NGO, business, civil society organisation, citizen initiative, or school looking to get involved, you can participate by registering a Mobility Action.

Remember, you can travel sustainably, still get to the places you love, and walk away with one more big adventure written in your history book.