SMAPE meets in Bucharest to discuss advancements
The SMAPE consortium met for the fourth time in Bucharest, Romania, on 06-06 November 2024. Our project partner, the Bucharest-Ilfov Regional Development Agency, hosted the meeting where each partner city or region presented and updated the group on the current status of their policy instrument. The first day was dedicated to presentations, discussions, insights sharing, exchanges, and workshops, during which project partners could learn from each other, especially from the host city. The second day started with two site visits to local shared mobility stakeholders.
Latest progress in SMAPE
On the first day, the partners met with local stakeholders invited by the Bucharest-Ilfov Regional Development Agency to present the current status of mobility and micro-mobility in the city. After the introduction to the local context, we followed up with several presentations introducing SMAPE and the work and objectives of the consortium partners. Each partner shared their progress and upcoming milestones, with some sharing their first good practices that will be submitted to the Interreg Europe platform.
The day concluded with two workshops prepared by our lead partner, the City of Bremen, and Autodelen (now Way to Go), where the partners worked on the topics of stakeholder engagement and co-creation policy adaptation processes. They work individually on their own policy instrument to identify the different elements of their policy improvement processes and what might be missing. The partners then got in pairs and shared the analysis they did of their policy instrument and the processes they are following with a fellow SMAPE city or region, leaving space for feedback and exchange of experiences. A fruitful activity, as partners learned directly from others and shared tools and methodologies.
On the field
The second day was mainly dedicated to site visits. The consortium had the opportunity to meet with I’Velo representatives and visit Bolt’s headquarters. We started with a visit to an I’Velo Pop up station installed in a residential neighborhood where they want to promote the use of shared bikes. The Pop up station also included a secure bike parking, recycle bins, vending machines, and a delivery micro-hub, all partially powered by solar panels. The initiative aims to bring new services to previously unserved areas and build some awareness on sustainability.
The second study visit was at Bolt’s headquarters where we got to understand better the operators' side of things and the current scope of their operations in Bucharest. The consortium was able to engage in discussions with different areas of the company going from the technical, to the operational and policy work they do. We learned about the specifics of the Romanian market and the new features they are working on to improve their platform and service.
Smape’s 4th consortium meeting ended with an internal meeting to outlined future events and meetings, including the upcoming meeting in Namur, Belgium. A small activity to prepare our next meeting was done, and each partner left with some work to do for the next time the consortium will gather in Namur. The next phases of the project promise continued knowledge exchange and policy work, driving forward the goals of the SMAPE initiative.
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