A CO2-saving-based methodology to measure the impact of the SUMP in European Cities: Application to the city of Burgos

Abstract

Urban mobility in Europe is always a responsibility of the municipalities which propose measures to reduce CO2 emissions in terms of mobility aimed at reducing individual private transport (car). The European Commission's Action Plan on Urban Mobility calls for an increase in the take-up of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans in Europe. SUMPs aim to create a sustainable urban transport system. Europe has got some long term initiatives and has been using some evaluation procedures. Nevertheless, the weak point with the SUMPs in Spain, has been the lack of concern about the evaluation and the effectiveness of the measures implemented in a SUMP. For this reason, it is difficult to know exactly whether or not the SUMPs have positively influenced in the modal split of the cities, and its contribution to reduce CO2 levels. The case of the City of Burgos is a very illustrative example as it developed a CiViTAS project during the years 2005-2009, with a total investment of 6M€. The results have been considered as “very successful” even at European level. The modal split has changed considerably for better and the cost-effectiveness ratio of the SUMP in the city can be measured with the CO2 ton saved, specifically 36 € per CO2 ton saved, which is fully satisfactory and in line with calculations from other European researchers. Additionally, the authors propose a single formula to measure the effectiveness of the activities developed under the umbrella of a SUMP.