Multimodality. This seems to be the path towards sustainable mobility. There are countless active projects aimed at changing and improving transport in large and small European cities. And many are succeeding. Here are 10 of them, working towards the mobility of tomorrow.

What is sustainable mobility

The term sustainable mobility refers to a whole range of services and means of transport designed and made available to citizens in order to reduce traffic, improve air quality and cut energy consumption. It is therefore essential to integrate the various transport systems so that they are interconnected with one another, also thanks to the web and infomobility. Even today it is possible to choose between one mode of transport and another with ease, depending on the route we need to take at any given moment. All so we can forget about — or leave in the garage — the private car.

Ljubljana

The winner of the Mobility Week Award 2013 is the capital and most populous city of Slovenia. Since 2006 it has expanded its cycle lane network by 550 per cent. It is also the European Green Capital 2016. Thanks to its Sustainable Mobility Plan, the city aims to increase walking journeys by 20 per cent, cycling journeys by 40 per cent and bus journeys by 50 per cent by 2015. At the same time, it plans to reduce the number of car journeys. By 2020 it aims to have mobility distributed as follows: one third by public transport, one third by non-motorised means and one third by private vehicles.

Budapest

The Hungarian capital also features in the European hall of fame. It has recently improved its public service by purchasing 150 new buses equipped with more efficient engines. It has also restored its metro, served by the oldest line in the whole of Europe. It is one of the European cities with the greatest number of kilometres of cycle lanes (300 km), and has recently expanded its bike-sharing service, which now has 76 stations with as many as 1,100 bikes available.

Helsinki

The Finnish capital is aiming even higher, going so far as to want to eliminate the private car by 2025. The project is complex and focuses on developing an articulated transport network, with a strong emphasis on expanding infomobility. With a smartphone it will be possible to find out routes, timetables and available means of transport — and above all to pay for the chosen service.

Oslo

It is the most electric city in Europe. Here and throughout Norway the number of electric cars has literally exploded, thanks above all to the substantial tax breaks for those who purchase an electric car and to the expansion of the charging network. In the city alone there are 4,000 charging points. Moreover, as is also the case in our cities, it is possible to drive in bus lanes and not pay tolls to enter the city centre or restricted traffic zones.

Rivas Vaciamadrid

The town in Madrid's urban belt, which has seen explosive demographic growth since the 1980s, has declared its intention to halve its CO2 emissions by 2020 and reduce them to zero by 2030. This goal is achievable also thanks to its Sustainable Mobility Plan, which was awarded a prize by the European Commission last year. Reducing private car use — which accounts for 80 per cent of energy consumption — more cycle lanes and targeted actions to develop non-motorised mobility.

Malmö

One of Sweden's most sustainable cities, it has concentrated all its efforts on becoming a global point of reference. Green construction, innovative waste management and of course mobility. Sweden's third city is criss-crossed by 490 kilometres of cycle lanes and a traffic light system that gives priority to cyclists. As far back as 2007 the city established a low emission zone, closed to heavy vehicles, in order to reduce noise and air pollution. At bus stops an infographic display shows exactly how long until the next bus arrives, while the entire municipal fleet runs on low emissions.

Milan

The Lombard capital has also worked hard in recent years to reduce traffic and pollution and improve the public transport network. From the introduction of Area C to the strengthening of the BikeMi service, which now has more than 200 stations. From the recent explosion in car-sharing services, both private and publicly backed, to the inauguration of the new metro line. Not to be forgotten is the Pass Mobility initiative, dedicated to all companies in the area, which allows commuters to give up their private vehicle and choose public transport, paid for by the company itself.

Hamburg

It was the European Green Capital in 2011 and is the second most populous city in Germany. The city is already transforming itself along sustainable lines thanks to the ambitious HafenCity project. Over the next 20 years it aims to become a car-free city, creating a green belt that can only be travelled through by bicycle or on foot. Today 45 per cent of the road network has a speed limit of 30 km/h, to encourage soft mobility in complete safety. The city has around 1,700 kilometres of cycle lanes and a bus stop can be found every 300 metres.

Copenhagen

It is the city of bicycles. It was one of the first European cities to provide a bike-sharing service, back in 1995. Today every Dane covers an average of 2.5 kilometres a day on two wheels, and one in two people cycle to work. A result achieved through policies and services targeted at cycling mobility: an ever-growing network of cycle lanes, green waves for cyclists, large parking areas spread throughout the city that have replaced car parks, and ease of intermodal transfers.

Geneva

Switzerland's second city by population density is also one of the cities that frequently tops quality-of-life rankings. There are numerous initiatives dedicated to sustainable mobility, particularly cycling and pedestrian mobility. The latter is especially prominent in the city and is structured in various phases: the creation of an urban network dedicated to walking, priority given to pedestrians at crossings, areas around schools or care homes designed to favour soft mobility, and speed limits of between 20 and 30 km/h in residential neighbourhoods.