Light vehicles – heavy impacts? Joint POLIS WG meeting with ACEM and LENS

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Light vehicles – heavy impacts? Joint POLIS WG meeting with ACEM and LENS
17-18 September 2024 - Paris, IFPEN Offices & Online


POLIS Network is delighted to announce its joint working group meeting on light vehicles, which is organised in cooperation with ACEM and the EU-funded LENS project. The two-day event will take place from 17-18 September 2024 at the premises of IFPEN in Paris, France. 

L-vehicles are often an inexpensive and efficient way to get around cities, but also cause significant noise- and air pollution. Nevertheless, this particular mode of transport is often forgotten by policy makers and city administrations. POLIS , ACEM and IFPEN will bring light vehicles to the centre of attention with a dedicated working group meeting. Participants will have the chance to gain a holistic overview of the day-to-day impacts and externalities of L-vehicles in urban areas, while having the opportunity to attend the live noise- and air pollution measurement campaign of LENS and receive a tour of the IFPEN vehicle (components) testing laboratory.

Our L-vehicle focus topics

A cross-cutting theme that touches upon different POLIS Working Groups and will be addressed in 2024, is the role of Powered Two-Wheelers (PTW) and Light Electric Vehicles in cities and regions, from electric bikes and scooters, to mopeds and motorcycles, tricycles and quadricyles, up to microcars. In partnership with ACEM, the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers, representing the largest manufacturers of mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles with operations in Europe, which would bring their members to the table, a dedicated Working Group meeting will address the following topics

Frugal electric vehicles – the missing link in zero emission urban mobility?

The electrification of PTW and the emergence of LEV could be a gamechanger when it comes to the role they can play in the urban mobility ecosystem, as we want cleaner and smaller vehicles in our cities. They serve both passenger journeys in conjunction of public transport, or business activities such as gig economy platforms and last-mile deliveries. But these vehicles have different operational aspects than conventional cars - what are their charging infrastructure needs?

Parking management and Road space (re)Allocation

Dedicated frameworks for parking, charging, as well as regulations and space (re)allocation for two-wheelers, light-electric vehicles (LEVs) and micro-cars are often lacking or unclear in urban areas. Although these smaller vehicles support the reallocation of space and downsizing trend, they need to be appropriately integrated into mobility ecosystems to benefit both their users and others.

What space and use are they given in cities, and how are they perceived by the public? How do they fit into and benefit from Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVAR)s? How can we reconcile parking management of two-wheelers and LEVs with UVARs in dense urban contexts with limited curb space? How do we ensure their road space allocation does not conflict with the space usage, needs and practices of other modes (active modes, public transport, passenger cars, etc.)?

Urban Freight

The L6 and L7 category of light vehicles or heavy quadricycles is now becoming more important because of the versatility of solutions they can provide for cities, providing state-of-the-art technology, but at the same time dispensing components not necessary for their uses case. Many of these vehicles can be used for / are targeting urban goods deliveries e.g. quadricycles L7 category. How the next generation of modular vehicle architectures for urban commercial e-vehicles will look like? How cities and local authorities can benefit towards more efficient and cleaner urban deliveries?

Safety and Security

Safety concerns related to PTW and any future LEV; there is a concern from the side of the industry, that these vehicles are less and less considered to be part of the Vulnerable Road Users category, and surveys show the attention to safety of Powered Two-Wheeler users from cities is declining

Governance

Over the past few years, shared bikes and e-scooters have captured most of the attention (and concerns) of policy makers and professional practitioners when it comes to shared micromobility. And yet, shared motorcycles have much to offer, and their offer is, indeed, growing. What are the key aspects that local governments should know about this? How does it operate? How does it differ from sharing bikes and e-scooters? What are its main operational needs? What kind of trips is it being used for? What other kinds of trips could it be used for? How can we connect it to mass transit?


EU-funded LENS project and its measurement campaign

LENS is a three-year Horizon Europe project assisting enforcement authorities, cities, and regulators to decrease the contribution of L-category vehicles (LVs); mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles and quadri-mobiles) to noise and air pollution. It develops and promotes interventions and best practices to address light vehicles’ noise and pollutant emissions. It also makes suggestions for regulations to improve the performance of future vehicles, including the control of emissions under real-life driving conditions and the regulatory enforcement of anti-tampering measures. The project envisages real-world road measurement tests in three cities, of which the first tests in Leuven (BE) were a success with more than 160 vehicles tested. The second live tests are undertaken in Paris in the week of the event. 


Draft agenda:

Day 1 – 17 September 2024

9:00     Welcome Words by IFPEN

9:30     Setting the scene: insights from ACEM and POLIS

9:30     Frugal electric vehicles – the missing link in ZE urban mobility?

10:45   Parking management and Road space (re)Allocation

12:00   Coffee break  

12:15   Governance & Integration 

13:30   Lunch  

14:30   Urban Freight 

15:45   Safety & Security 

17:00   Coffee break  

17:15   Paris measures to curb (L-vehicle) pollution, Bruitparif

17:45   Introduction to the LENS project: setting the scene for day 2

19:00   Dinner (TBD)  


Day 2 – 18 September 2024

8:30   Welcome Coffee  

9:30   In the spotlight: IFPEN R&I activities

9:45   LENS overview & highlights

10:15  LENS Paris roadside measurement campaign

10:45   Outlook on LENS Barcelona on-site event

11:00   Coffee Break and walk to site visit location

12:00   On-site visit of the roadside inspections

13:00   Return to IFPEN and end of meeting

*Please be aware that the planned agenda and site visits are subject to minor change, due to the availability of speakers, change in the LENS testing regime and acute weather constellations.


Please note that it is no longer possible to register for on-site participation, only online participation is possible at this stage. 

When
17 Sep 2024 9:00 AM to 18 Sep 2024 2:00 PM
Location
Paris,
France
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