Multimodal Cities (cities.multimodal) – The First Mobility Point Established in Riga

Status: Realized projects

Multimodal Cities (cities.multimodal) – The First Mobility Point Established in Riga

The project “cities. multimodal” fosters the development of solutions for sustainable and smart mobility in Riga and the Baltic Sea region. A first mobility point in the vicinity of VEF, which connected different sustainable modes of transport, facilitated micro-mobility opportunities and provided innovative data-based solutions in the urban environment, was created and tested in Riga.

The Significance of the Project for Riga

In cities, transport intensity has a negative impact on quality of life, causing traffic congestion, air and noise pollution and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Alternative modes of transport, such as public transport, cycling and micromobility, need to be developed to mitigate the consequences of private road transport. As well as improving infrastructure, the project also helps residents choose more environmentally friendly modes of transport.

Target of the Project

Develop and implement multimodal mobility solutions that connect different modes of transport and improve sustainable mobility opportunities in Riga, while reducing CO2 emissions and air pollution.

Benefits for Residents

✔ Easier travel: Mobility point provides connections between public transport, cycling network and shared vehicles;
✔ Environmentally friendly solution: fostering alternative modes of transport that reduce CO2 emissions and noise pollution;
✔ Innovative infrastructure: VEF Mobility point offers bicycle parking, repair station, electric scooter and bicycle rental points, as well as a smart bench with Wi-Fi and device charging capabilities;
✔ Data-based improvements: data collected on air quality, traffic intensity and other parameters to further improve the urban environment.

Project Activities

✔ Developed a conceptual Mobility point model adapted to the specifics of Riga;
✔ A mobility point has been created in the VEF neighbourhood with innovative micro-mobility options, including bicycle parking sites, a cycling repair station and smart benches;
✔ The Mobility point became a pilot area for trials of various data-driven solutions, including Internet of things (IoT) and machine vision solutions;
✔ Information events and training materials on sustainable mobility were organised for the involvement of residents.

Testbed Territory in Riga

The developed solution is tested in the selected research area of the project, creating a “mobility point” pilot project in the living lab of VEF.
The VEF Mobility point opened on 1^st of July, 2020.

Project Results

✔ Infrastructure: a prototype has been created, which will serve as the basis for the creation of new mobility points in Riga and other cities of Latvia;
✔ Data collection: the mobility point is equipped with sensors that collected data on more than 10 different parameters, including air pollution, traffic intensity and solar radiation;
✔ Promotion of sustainable mobility: the project helped reduce the intensity of private road transport and fostered alternative modes of transport;
✔ Experience and knowledge: the results of the project were summarised as a “Baltic Sea Region Roadmap for Urban Mobility,” which served as guidelines for other cities.

Funding, Duration, and Partners

Funding source: Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014 – 2020
Total project budget: EUR 3.8 million
Total budget for Riga:
EU funding for Riga municipality: EUR 212 500
Co-financing by Riga municipality: EUR 37 500

Implementation Period: 1.10.2017 – 31.03.2021

Project Partners: lead partner of the project – Rostock (Germany). Cooperation partners: Gdansk (Poland), Vilnius (Lithuania), Tartu (Estonia), Aarhus (Denmark), Guldborgsund (Denmark) and other cities

Contact Information

Evita Riekstiņa
Project Manager
Riga Energy Agency
Email: evita.riekstina@riga.lv

Project Links

Official website of the project (in English) — http://www.cities-multimodal.eu/materials/publications
Animation video on project results (in English) – https://youtu.be/5G13weOkzC4
Final Report (in Latvian): https://rea.riga.lv/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/a5e6a31c4961aa2e5e85fb6684052b063abaa531.pdf