Bucharest And Other Romanian Cities

1. Barriers And Solutions For The Companies’ Involvement In Mobility Plans Bucharest And Other Romanian Cities O.Romosan, A. Haidimoschi, A.Jinaru

2. Motto “The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them." Albert Einstein

3. Some qualitative assessments for most Romanian cities and towns • Present car-centric transportation system is at the same time unfair, un environmental and uneconomic • Bucharest, more than other cities, “succeeded spectacularly” in being “lost in transportation” • Blaming the infrastructure and the authorities is the “only game” we the inhabitants are playing

4. In this context what is really the problem? • First of all is a matter of thinking • Further on is a problem of “mind mobility” in approaching the “transportation mobility” • Then is a problem of mentality of changing perceptions, language and behaviors • …and, last but not least, is a problem of (re) new information, awareness and alternative actions

5. Company mobility plan A Definition: A company mobility plan - also called a "green commuter plan" or "company transportation plan" - tries to bring together transport and other business issues in a co-ordinated strategy aiming at making better use of the company's resources

6. Company mobility plan… For home-work journeys: promote effectively the use of: • public transport • collective company transport: company bus service, park and ride, car-pooling, car sharing • walking • cycling

7. Benefits for the company: • better accessibility for employees (especially those not always having a car) • better opportunities to attract appropriate personnel • reduced costs and parking problems • reduced number of accidents on the journey to work, with consequent cost and sick-leave saving • more efficient use of company vehicles • creating a company culture based on co-operation

8. Some Romanian data on collective transport… Legislation • A company that wants to start its own bus service needs to comply with the professional competence and traffic security standards (transport certificate) • No legal incentives

9. …some Romanian data on collective transport Existing Schemes • Sub-contract the service to a municipality owned transport company • buses usually extracted from the regular fleet –some negative consequences • e.g. REAL supermarket contract the service to RAT Brasov (for staff and for clients) • Sub-contract the service to a private transport firm • most frequent • ex Porsche Romania • Set up a daughter firm to ensure the transport • e.g. Renault-Dacia Pitesti • Buy bus(buses) and organize its own transpo

10. SWOT Analysis On Romanian Case (1) Strong points • New specialists in human resources • Easy set up of company buses service • Existence of some positive experiences • Expertise in car sharing research (TOSCA; MOSES projects)

11. SWOT Analysis On Romanian Case (2) Week points • No enough internal info regarding the sustainable modes • Restraint organization culture (no mobility office, no mobility co-ordinator) • No methodology in internal research (travel survey) • The car is perceived as a label of desired democracy • No endowments in companies for cyclists (dressing room, shower)

12. SWOT Analysis On Romanian Case (3) Opportunities • Good public transport network • Development of industrial and technologic parks • Start in understanding the importance of PT prioritization • Good networks of cycling routes (Bucharest, Ploiesti, Sibiu) despite of the poor signaling • Development in private bus service supply

13. SWOT Analysis On Romanian Case (4) Threats • Poor quality transport in some areas • No interest for companies in Master Plans • No legal incentives • No enough expertise in consultancy • No awareness in NGOs

14. An example: ARAD CITY… • representative for about 20 Romanian cities, • good and transparent statistics • 1th electric tramway in Eastern Europe and the 8th tramway in Europe

15. … An example: ARAD CITY Context data: • Population: 180,000 inhabitants • Public transport fleet: 195 buses, 100 trams (with 2 wagons) • Daily average journeys: 105,000

16. … An example: ARAD CITY Collective transport dimension: • 68 daily services performed by the Municipality owned PT operator (in convention, not regular) • 4 private transport firms offering transport services in convention • 11 cases of company buses

17. Diagnosis: We are in the phase of awareness rising need. …but we need to do it from a new perspective… This new perspective is best illustrated by the “New Mobility Agenda” …and of course by this project we are in

18. Some (possible) solutions… Proposal within National Research Plan (similar to FPs) of a research project submitted by a consortium made by Commerce Chamber, Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Impact Consulting, 2-3 companies. Awareness raising campaign: Commerce Chamber, NGOs, Employer organizations

19. … Some (possible) solutions • Articles in the main transport journals and magazines, using current local statistics (market, impact (benefits for business and employees, externalities reduction), cost-benefit analysis and good practice examples

20. … Some (possible) solutions Invitation to representatives of some pragmatic projects to find a scheme of know how transfer to promote the Romanian companies involvement in MM (to be decided during and after London Conference): • Research consortia. -MOST project -other projects -Non-profit organizations • Center for Positive Use -Belgium (better known as Taxistop) • other organizations