Post-COVID city challenges central focus at the EIT Urban Mobility Summit 2020

The challenges cities are facing as a result of COVID-19 will be the central axis of the EIT Urban Mobility Summit 2020, which will be held virtually from today and until Friday.

Experts on urban mobility, scientists and businesses will present their proposals to make cities more liveable and will analyse how cities, industry and research and academia try to overcome the crises affecting urban mobility related to climate, health and the economy. The conference will feature an exhibition area, multiple networking activities, as well as sessions on successful mobility strategies in times of COVID-19, among others.

EIT Urban Mobility is a European knowledge and innovation community consisting of over 150 leading companies, cities, universities and research centres. The community, supported by the EU’s European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), has financed a total of 76 international projects in its first year of operations and has supported 61 start-ups, with an investment of over 27 million euros. Nearly 5 million euros have been allocated to fund 11 innovation projects as part of the exceptional COVID-19 Crisis Response. As part of EIT’s Crisis Response Initiative, these projects directly contribute to the European Union’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the projects are CDClean, a disinfectant to eliminate COVID-19 that is being tested in the Barcelona transport network; InclusivEbike, developing and testing safe electric bicycles for vulnerable people to avoid risks related to COVID-19 in public transport, being tested in Bilbao and Bergamo, and CITY RESTARTS, Europe’s first large-scale shared taxi service to supplement public transport and addressing the impacts of COVID-19, implemented in Milan.

Maria Tsavachidis, CEO of EIT Urban Mobility, explained that “this has been a very challenging year for many partners, but we have verified that we can innovate very quickly. We have doubled the number of partners year-on-year from 2019 to 2021 and we will be engaging 230 partners from 26 countries by next year”.