A new initiative has launched in Europe to tackle mobility inequality across the continent.
Polis, a network of 130 European cities, regions and entities, and the Toyota Mobility Foundation have teamed up to run the ‘Inclusive Mobility Cities Challenge’ which will work with cities on interventions focused on inclusion, transport poverty and accessibility.
The programme will select three to five cities to receive project funding and technical and implementation support over a four-year period, working with local and regional authorities to address unequal access to mobility.
“Urban mobility must change substantively to become cleaner and more resilient,” Polis Projects and Proposals Lead Cláudia Ribeiro-Vervaeck told Zag Daily.
“For this change to be socially and politically viable, we must ensure a just transition and make urban mobility more affordable, safe and inclusive. The challenge we face in view of a just transition in urban mobility is multi-faceted, and at times even intersectional, where mobility disadvantages may result from a combination of concurring barriers and factors.”
This “just” transition, Ribeiro-Vervaeck added, depends on the affordability and overall cost of mobility and the physical accessibility of streets, interchanges, vehicles and buildings.
The new programme plans to support cities with implementing interventions to resolve their mobility challenges that have not been resolved through existing measures. Applicant cities are expected to have identified the challenge themselves before seeking the programme’s additional support to help deliver the interventions.
The funding will not go towards routine activities and existing approaches, the two organisations emphasised, but rather new solutions, with implementation partner Rupprecht Consult to support on the delivery.
Ribeiro-Vervaeck said that the final funding envelope for the project has not yet been determined, with the level of support dependent on which solutions are selected.
“The scale of investment required can vary considerably depending on the solution and significant impact does not necessarily require major infrastructure investment.
“Funding will therefore be defined in relation to the solutions selected and their potential to deliver and scale meaningful impact.”
The programme is available to cities in the EU, UK, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland with applications open until 11 December 2026.
“Cities hold many of the keys when it comes to making mobility more sustainable and contributing to both local and European goals in this respect. Unfortunately, this is not sufficiently reflected in adequate funding for suitable solutions,” Polis Secretary-General Karen Vancluysen told Zag Daily.
“The Cities Challenge will help to overcome this funding gap, thus accelerating local change and supporting the replication of scalable solutions for more inclusive mobility to other cities with similar challenges.”
Andy Fuchs, Programme General Manager at the Toyota Mobility Foundation Europe, echoed the potential for cross-border impact, stating that the partnership will enable cities to “test and scale practical solutions that address real mobility challenges” while translating knowledge across Europe.
Similar initiatives have taken off across the continent which bridge mobility players with city departments to help meet local and regional transport goals. One example is the Sustainable Urban Transitions Lab launched last year by shared mobility giant Bolt and Swiss University ETH Zürich. Combining Bolt’s operational data with simulation and modelling from ETH Zürich, this project works with cities across Europe to understand urban travel patterns and develop scalable blueprints for implementing shared mobility.
