Promoting intelligent mobility

Mobility is and must remain one of Wallonia’s main assets, as it plays a decisive role in the quality of life of the region’s inhabitants and the productivity of its companies. The region, which has grown into a transport hub (air, land, waterways), boasts relatively fluid traffic conditions compared with its direct neighbours. Today, it is developing a global solution to even further improve its efficiency and profitability.

That is all well and good, but the challenge is to control, or at least, more effectively manage the intensification in traffic triggered by global travel and the transport of merchandise, more often than not produced in Asia, packaged in Europe to be consumed, with a bit of luck, in the United States. Stopping a runaway horse is not an easy task! Wallonia wanted to take up this major challenge in cooperation with all of the players in the field of mobility, namely: the car and transport industry but also the related sectors such as telecommunications and information technologies. Together, in 2004 they set up the intelligent Transport/Traffic Systems & Services Forum «New Mobility», otherwise known as ITS Forum «New Mobility».

The aim is to confront the ideas of the designers with the realities in the field, by bringing together the potential users of “intelligent transport (and traffic) services and systems” and of related telematic services with the suppliers of technologies and/or telematic services. A formula that allows the competent authorities to develop new tools in the field of traffic management, fleet management, electronic commerce systems, standardisation systems for commercial vehicles, telematic systems, electronic motorway toll systems, etc. The aim is to allow a better traceability, more flexibility, more security … and therefore greater mobility.

Following the technological evolution

The new telematic services are therefore under the spotlight ! There are no doubts in the mind of the players of new mobility: they will make it possible to improve the management of vehicle fleets, the dynamic exploitation of road, satellite infrastructures etc., the interactions between the infrastructures and the mobility of persons and merchandise.

And here again, Wallonia has a lot to offer! Its Automotive Cluster, an independent network supported by the Walloon Ministry for the Economy, in fact pools together more than 100 innovative companies from almost all the automotive sectors, 4 universities and 10 specialised R&D centres, covering all the technologies required for the future of the automotive sector, not forgetting the members of the ITS Forum New Mobility.

This cluster has created a “unique automotive counter” to promote and support the automobile and mobility industries in Wallonia. All scientific companies and institutions in Wallonia concerned by the car and mobility are by definition members of the Automotive Cluster. Together, they represent the private or scientific know-how in the field of new mobility as well as innovative materials, design, motor sports, etc.

It organises meetings, develops a common vision of the future of the car and mobility industries, uncovers and optimises the complementarities between companies and/or research institutions, promotes the emergence of innovative products and new activities, encourages the setting up, expansion and long-term viability of companies, attracts new companies, etc.

Research and development

Furthermore, several university teams have specialised in research into mobility and transport : the Transport Research Group (Groupe de Recherche sur les Transports - GRT) of the University Faculties of Notre-Dame de la Paix in Namur, the Transport and Mobility Group (Groupe Transport et Mobilité  - GTM) of the Catholic University Faculties of Mons. Transport Systems and Naval Construction Analysis (Analyse des Systèmes de Transport et Constructions navales - ANAST) of the University of Liège, the Economic and Social Research Centre into the Environment (Centre d´Etudes économiques et sociales de l´Environnement - CEESE) of the Free University of Brussels participate in several research projects in the field of mobility. Finally, the Mobility Research Interuniversity Centre (Centre interuniversitaire d´Etude de la Mobilité) carries out research in conjunction with several university institutions and offers a diploma (DES) in transport management and training in transport management, financed by the Walloon Region.

As well as university research, the Walloon Region has also created a training course in mobility consultancy, mainly targeting the personnel of the communes and the Region concerned by the problems of mobility.  

Mobility week, an example for others

The continuing increase in traffic and the saturation of the road networks call for the setting up of solutions capable of bringing about a reduction in the number of cars on the road and of reinvesting in alternative methods of transport. This is the goal of the sustainable mobility week, set up in 2000 by the Walloon Region, an example taken up in 2002 by Europe.

The operation, which takes place every year between 16 and 22 September, makes it possible to test and to install sustainable mobility practices, with a focus on the key words of security, accessibility and respect for the environment. Its aims: to promote a fairer sharing of the public area, to effectively combine the different means of transport and to encourage concrete actions in the field, carried out by the citizens themselves, in their district, their commune, their association, their school, etc.  

Cluster auto-mobilite

Campus Automobile

Route du Circuit, 60

4970 – FRANCORCHAMPS

Tél : +32 87 21 30 94

Fax : +32 87 47 90 61

E-mail : info@clusterautomobilite.be

Site internet : www.clusterautomobilite.be

Pole SKYWIN Wallonia

Chemin du Stockoy, 3

1300 Wavre

Belgium

Tel : 32 4 372 93 29 (office)

+32 4 365 23 46 (fax)

+32 475 804 700 (mobile)

mail : michel.stassart@uwe.be

www.skywin.be

Logistics in Wallonia

Logistics in Wallonia
Parc Artisanal 11-13
B-4671 Blegny
Tel. 32-4-387.88.26
Fax 32-4-387.87.39
Email: info@logisticsinwallonia.be
Website: www.logisticsinwallonia.be