GSA initiative targets post-COVID-19 urban mobility sustainability

In a bid to help cities emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) has set out to create a network of cities that have decided to build better, more sustainable and efficient transport systems to support the recovery phase.

Specifically, the GSA aims to help cities by leveraging EGNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) and Copernicus synergies to make urban mobility more sustainable, as well as boost innovation and economic growth.

With this in mind, a survey has been launched to understand the needs of cities and to develop tailored awareness raising and support actions on space for cities. The Horizon 2020 Ariadna project will provide dedicated support to facilitate the use of space for sustainable cities and its integration into new urban mobility schemes.

Space services are said to be playing a key role in the modernisation of cities and urban transport, opening new possibilities to exploit the synergies of Galileo and Copernicus to go green. However, urban areas can be considered obstacle-rich environments which generate a “multipath effect” that results in reduced positioning accuracy.

By using Galileo capabilities in multi-frequency solutions, the accuracy and time to fix a position is said to be significantly improved. This is translated into a better location for vehicles, which is key to optimising network planning. Copernicus services can support emissions monitoring by validating the measurements from existing sensors and extrapolating data to areas not covered otherwise. They also provide advanced imagery to support urban planning and monitoring of activities in a city. 

As such, the H2020 Ariadna project has committed to support all urban mobility stakeholders in ensuring that public transport delivers urban mobility in its broadest sense, which includes shared mobility and disruptive schemes such as Mobility-as-a Service (MaaS) using EGNSS and Copernicus.

To facilitate this process, GSA and Ariadna have launched the survey to identify which cities would like to engage with the initiative, assess their needs and how EGNSS and Copernicus services and data can best help them to achieve their sustainable mobility goals.

Following the results of the survey and the interest from the partner cities, the project will provide support through tailored workshops to increase awareness on the use of Galileo and Copernicus to improve urban transport.

Source: European GNSS Agency (GSA)