From Community to Sustainable Mobility in Romania
The transition to sustainable mobility is part of a broader European effort to reduce emissions and improve the quality of urban life. Cities are becoming increasingly congested, while traditional transport solutions no longer meet the evolving needs of local communities. The Community Mobility Co-Operatives project proposes an alternative to centralized approaches by developing mobility models that are co-created with communities, tested at local level and tailored to real, everyday needs.
During the project’s second in-person meeting, hosted in Romania, discussions highlighted the main challenges currently facing the transition to electromobility. These include the high upfront costs of electric vehicles, the lack of predictable financial support schemes and insufficient charging infrastructure often located at unreasonable distances from residential areas. Participants also pointed to the fragmented user experience at charging stations, where different providers require separate applications and complex payment systems.
At the same time, several urban governance challenges were addressed. These range from the loss of parking spaces due to their conversion into charging points, to the lack of secure areas for parking and charging electric bicycles, as well as regulatory barriers that hinder rather than encourage micromobility. Such regulations disproportionately affect young people (given the minimum age of 14 for bicycle use) or people with reduced mobility.
These barriers are not only technical, but also social in nature. Changing mobility-related behaviours, building trust in new modes of transport, and ensuring the ongoing involvement of citizens remain key challenges for any community-based electromobility initiative.
Starting from these realities, the purpose of the meeting was to introduce participants to key concepts related to community-led initiatives, present inspirational local and national case studies and support them in shaping and co-creating in their teams, their own ideas. The learning environment combined knowledge transfer with hands-on reflection, laying the groundwork for future community mobility initiatives in Romania.
From idea to solution
Currently, six teams from across the country are competing for a €10,000 grant that will support the implementation of a community-based electromobility initiative. The teams come from diverse backgrounds, including academia, homeowners’ associations and their communities, as well as cycling groups representatives. While their ideas differ, they all share a common principle: mobility solutions must be designed around people and their specific local contexts.
In the medium term, initiatives like these can help increase the use of alternative modes of transport, strengthen a sense of belonging and civic responsibility within communities and ultimately reduce dependence on private cars.
Applications for the funding call are open until 15 February and can be submitted by completing the following form
Next Steps: funding, mentorship and local testing
In the coming weeks, project proposals will be submitted and evaluated as part of the funding competition. The selected initiative from Romania will receive financial support, hands-on mentorship and assistance in testing the proposed model within their local community.
The transition to sustainable mobility can begin with dialogue, collaboration and the courage to test new solutions at the local level.