Lacking, insufficient or low-quality public transport services still have a negative impact on the mobility of many citizens in EU border regions. Three are the main fields in which obstacles are identified according to the European Commission’s Communication “Boosting growth and cohesion in EU border regions”, namely in the cross-border connection of infrastructures, in the transboundary provision of services and in the quality of such services.
Under the third call for proposals of b-solutions, two obstacles were selected in the thematic area of “(public) transport of passengers”.
They address two different borders, involve 4 Member States and both of them have been identified by public administrations - one regional authority and one Province.
Finally, in the course of the fourth call for proposals, in 2021, only one advice case was selected in this field.
The case addresses an obstacle identified by a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) at the Italian-Slovenian border.
Obstacles to cross-border public transport of passengers
Third and fourth calls for proposals
Click on the pictures and discover the obstacles that limit public transport in three different European border regions
Our participating organisations
More obstacles from the 1st and the 2nd calls for proposals
Pilot Actions
#IntegratedMobility
CB-PUMP - EGTC GO Cross-border Public Urban Mobility Plan
Italy - Slovenia
Obstacle:
The restrictions on cabotage operations at cross-border level, the different pricing systems and the difficulties caused by the presence of information on two different languages, prevent the creation of an integrated public transportation network operating in the territory of the EGTC GO.
Proposed Solution:
Mobilising relevant actors at local, regional and national level to conclude a cooperation agreement to develop a cross-border urban transport system.
To know more click here.
Advice Cases
#UrbanLines
MOBITRANS – Boosting Minho River Cross–Border Mobility
Portugal-Spain
The creation and the operation of a joint cross-border public transportation service is prevented by the presence of two different legal frameworks and the neglect of regional and cross-border transportation instances at a national level. To establish a joint operation of an international service and a domestic concession, the elaboration of a multilevel protocol at local, regional and national level would be needed.
To know more.
#EmissionsControl
European solution for a vignette for air pollution control
EGTC Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau
France-Germany
European Countries are entitled to define and implement their own measures against air pollution and also to develop vignettes based on Euro classes. However, there is not mutual recognition of the national vignettes and therefore, this results in the absence of coordination concerning the environmental politics especially in cross-border areas where regulations affect negatively the citizens crossing the border with their own vehicles.
To know more.
#MaritimeCommuting
SeaFlix_Cross Border Mobility
French Riviera Chamber of Commerce
France-Monaco-Italy
The French Riviera Chamber of Commerce & Industry as a manager of different ports of the area, intends to set up maritime shuttles that would connect the main cities of the region to the port of Monaco at a very competitive price. However, the differences existing in the 3 national legislations, especially concerning balancing subsidy support, act as an obstacle that hinder the establishment and the oparation of this cross-border alternative mode of transport.
To know more.
#SustainableMobility
Tackling cross-border obstacles regarding E-bike sharing infrastructure
Ministry of the German-speaking Community
Germany-Belgium
Cross-border municipalities were interested in further developing cycling in the area. In this context, the German-speaking Community already exchanged with Velocity (an operator of E-bike sharing stations in Germany, Aachen) to discuss the possibilities to implement their infrastructure in Belgium, where E-Bike stations are not available yet. However, differences in legal regulations and tax law management have to be overcome in order to setup the facilities.
To know more.
#RailInteroperability
Cross border rail connectivity for the Port of Strasbourg
France-Germany
The development of cross-border freight trains from the Port of Strasbourg to Germany and the other way round suffers from administrative hindrances due to difficulties in the rail interoperability between the German and French railway network. These difficulties result in additional costs. The obstacles concern mainly the different requirements concerning drivers, engines, security, language and the logistic requirements.
To know more.
#ConstructionPermits
Trilateral bridge in Euroregion Neisse-Nisa-Nysa
Czech Republic - Germany - Poland
The river Nisa crosses 3 border towns Hrádek nad Nisou (CZ), Zittau (D) and Bogatynia (PL) and limits the unification of the three cycling paths already existing in the three municipalities. The idea is to build a trilateral cross-border bridge, but it is unclear how to proceed since the 3 states have individual specific building requirements. Furthermore, there are three different Interreg Programmes in the area but they don’t enable to finance trilateral projects with partners from 3 countries.
To know more.
#Crossborderbus4EUcitizens
Launch of a regular passenger transport, with cabotage, between Chaves and Verín
Municipality of Chaves and Municipality of Verín
Portugal-Spain
The European grouping of territorial cooperation Eurocidade Chaves-Verín intends to carry out a regular passenger transport service with cabotage. However, the national entities with competence on internationa/cross-border passenger transport do not include in their authorizations the transport service with cabotage, contrary to what is provided for in REGULATION (EC) No 1073/2009 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services, and amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006.
To know more.
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