eBRIDGE – A smart project that drives the change

eBRIDGE is an EU co-funded project that promotes new mobility concepts and services in Europe and helps e-fleets development in Europe. Seven pioneering cities are now testing innovative solutions to make electric mobility a main part of their urban transport system.

Mobility is a universal need and a driver of economic development. European cities have to allow millions of people and goods moving in and around them on a daily basis, making urban life an exciting, but challenging experience.

Traffic jams, air pollution, noisy environments and constant delays are part of the common routines of the urban dwellers, clearly reducing quality of life and increasing costs.

But is there any solution to provide for the citizens’ mobility needs and to enhance their quality of life? Part of this solution could arrive from eBRIDGE, a co-funded EU project with a clear vision: a “towards zero-carbon transport system”. As part of this vision, the number of electric vehicles is broadly expanded in cities and towns, their usage is combined with other modes of transport (e.g. public transport and bicycles) and new mobility services as car sharing and car pooling are introduced.

eBRIDGE philosophy is that electric fleets and new technologies can help transform today’s mobility into a cleaner, efficient and sustainable mobility of the future. The eBRIDGE approach is different from that of many other projects and governmental plans: we do not believe that only public incentives will be able to make the difference, as they rely on a huge amount of public funds, coming up with few citizens buying and using electric cars. On the contrary, eBRIDGE starts from existing car fleets,  aiming at converting them to electric, encouraging their usage by improving the services provided, making the recharging network more available and focusing on targeted marketing and promotions among users.

But it is difficult to change attitudes and behaviours and to overtake significant barriers such as low users’ acceptance and higher purchase costs compared to conventional cars.That’s why seven pioneering cities were chosen to test innovative solutions to make electric mobility a main part of their urban transport system.

These cities, so called Drivers of Change, are Berlin, some Austrian municipalities, Vigo, Valencia-Palma, Milan, Lisbon and Carmarthen. Their heterogeneous starting conditions will provide a broad-spectrum outcome.
The Drivers of Change are located in different European countries, they have different dimensions and population sizes. 

Depending on their starting points and needs, the eBRIDGE cities are applying actions to optimise operational fleet performance, test and launch solutions to increase the convenience and ease of use of car sharing offers, and raise awareness on the suitability of electric mobility for urban transport and commuting.

The eBRIDGE e-fleets are Flinkster car sharing/Berlin; Caruso peer to peer car sharing/Austrian Municipalities; CEAGA business car sharing/Vigo; E:Sharing car sharing/Valencia;GuidaMI car sharing/Milan; Câmara Municipal de Lisboa municipal car sharing; Carmarthenshire County Council municipal car sharing.

The introduction of electric vehicles in fleets for business and private urban travel can efficiently contribute to the creation of liveable, vibrant and competitive cities with less pollution, fewer cars and congestion, less noise and more space to enjoy urban life and in doing so, improve the market conditions for the electric mobility sector.

Behind the eBRIDGE project there is a team of thirteen partners from Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal and United Kingdom. Among them are technical experts, academics, companies, public administrations, mobility providers and public transport and car sharing operators.

In order to engage and commit fleet managers and car users, the project will produce useful tools and material, among others, the eBRIDGE Start Up Kit, to assist key actors with the implementation of electric vehicles in their fleets as well as optimisation measures to increase their overall performance.