The SOLEZ Action Plan of Sárvár Functional Urban Area (FUA) has been developed following a common approach defined at consortium level during the first project phase. Based on the common tool, the main contents of the Action Plan were to demonstrate the sustainable mobility related state-of art with SWOT analysis in the area of Sárvár FUA, highlight the most relevant and already adopted mobility related plans and strategies in local, regional and national level, and indicate short,- mid,- and long term measures to Sárvár FUA in favour of low emission and sustainable mobility.  

In the last part of the Action Plan, the main stakeholders, who might influence the mobility planning in Sárvár FUA, are stated in detail. Additionally, the Action Plan shows further stakeholders who are also able to contribute to the development of the Sárvár FUA in particular the development of transport, including thepreference of sustainable transport modes and the decrease of CO2 emission.

The Action Plan was elaborated with the support of key local and regional stakeholders, and three 
participatory meetings were organised where the key actors of Sárvár FUA could express their valuable feedbacks and support to develop the Plan. The Action Plan elaboration already started in Period 2, with preliminary research on mobility field, however it was finalised in the end of Period 3 of the SOLEZ project. 

As it was mentioned in the Plan, the already adopted policies and strategies regarding Sárvár FUA put great emphasis on the advocacy of sustainable mobility in the region, and the proposed measures are also in accordance with this concept and will contribute to low carbon mobility in the area.

Expected impact and benefits of the strategy

The demonstration of the already adopted policies and strategies are in favour of low carbon and sustainable mobility. The proposed measures of the Plan are also supporting sustainable mobility and the measures described have been already implemented in Sárvár FUA.

During the Action Plan elaboration participatory meetings it turned out that Sárvár’s determined plan was to implement a kind of e-bike system, (and its charging station) which could be used by tourists and FUA citizens especially during the main season of the year. According to stakeholders advice, the plan of implementing e-bikes in Sárvár FUA was integrated in the plan and due to the detailed information and data depicted in the Action Plan about e-bikes, the main touristic institution, namely Sárvár Tourist and TDM 

Nonprofit LTD decided to purchase six e-bikes in Sárvár, because they wanted to support sustainable mobility in the city.  Now these e-bikes can be rented at TDM office, and based on the feedbacks they are very popular amongst citizens and tourists. The e-bikes are not only sustainable and environmentally-friendly mobility means, but also they  contribute to healthy lifestyle and recreation too.

The other proposed measure in the Action Plan is being implemented in Sárvár FUA as a Value-Added Service Pilot Action, which is a sustainable mobility related smart phone application. The Plan indicated the preliminary concept and idea of this application, but during the development and implementation of the application, it was complemented with further elements and functions.
The intention was to develop a smart phone application which provides multimodal traveller information to users and based on the Mobility as a Service conception. The application shall integrate all information of the available transport modes of Sárvár FUA (train, bus, car-renting, bike-renting, charging station, car-pooling..). Moreover, the application contains different tours in the area of Sárvár Functional Urban Area on foot, Nordic-walking and bicycle which also in favour of sustainable leisure time. The overall intention is to encourage people to use public or active transport instead of their conventional passenger cars.  

Lessons learned 

During the preparation of SOLEZ Sárvár FUA Action Plan the involvement of numerous stakeholders was continuous and they could express their feedbacks which were integrated in the Plan, therefore the Plan elaboration was a common work with key actors. However, further stakeholders could have been involved in the participatory meetings from other municipalities of Sárvár FUA as well, who could have shared their ideas and comments on the Action Plan.  With the help of the involvement of further stakeholders the Plan might have been more complex and would have involved more detailed data and information, as well as the number of the proposed measures would have been higher too.

Regarding the added value of transnational cooperation, in the framework of SOLEZ project two study visits were organised (Graz :February 2017 and Turin: 2017 October), and their experiences were sheared with stakeholders via follow-up trainings. Due to these trainings, stakeholders were informed about the smart mobility elements  of the two cities, and the experience of the study visits could be integrated to Sárvár FUA Action Plan too.

Besides SOLEZ study visits, Sárvár FUA stakeholders participated in study visits in the framework of CHESTNUT project too (Weiz May 2017, Prague:  October 2017) where they could widen their knowledge in mobility field and the gained knowledge was usable in the elaboration of Sárvár FUA Action Plan as well. Furthermore, key Sárvár FUA stakeholders took part on a seminar in Vienna (September 2017) in the CHESTNUT project, where they were educated about the methodology of SUMP preparation. These information were beneficial too, and could be applied in the preparation of SOLEZ Action Plan as well. 

VALUE ADDED SERVICE PILOT ACTION

The SÁRVÁR MOBILITY App

Based on the stakeholder’s contribution during the Action Plan elaboration phase, as a value-added service it has been agreed to develop a smart phone application which provides multimodal traveler information to users based on the Mobility as a Service conception. The functions, elements and content of the application were being continuously updated during project implementation, based on the frequent discussions with the relevant Sárvár FUA stakeholders.

The application with the name of ‘SÁRVÁR MOBILITY’ was finalised in December 2018 and since then it can be downloadable to Android and IOS as well.

The overall objective of the SÁRVÁR MOBILITY application is to promote sustainable mobility means for passengers and encourage them to use public or active transport instead of their conventional passenger cars. The application provides multimodal traveler information of Sárvár FUA to users based on the Mobility as a Service conception.

The SÁRVÁR MOBILITY application integrates the information of all different means of sustainable transport modes, their prices and timetable in the area of the FUA. Among others, the information of the available train and bus lines belong to the app, as well as, the location where e-bikes and traditional bikes can be rented and their price in Sárvár FUA are also integrated in the application. The information of Sárvár’s inner train (seasonal Hop-on, hop- off) system, information about taxi stations, the car-pooling facilities, car-sharing stations and the electric charging stations are parts of the app. There is a navigation function in the application, so if the user chooses a location where sustainable mobility means are provided (such as e-bikes) the application navigates them to the chosen destination.  Besides, the application provides active tour possibilities in the area of Sárvár FUA by bicycle, Nordic walking or on foot.

This application, besides sustainable mobility, is aiming tourism and catering area too, because Sárvár FUA is a popular touristic destination among Hungarians and foreign guests as well. The software shows the available touristic destinations as well as the upcoming events which will be held in Sárvár FUA.

 The application is contributing to the development of Mobility as a Service system in Sárvár FUA, because with the help of this application, users are able to find multimodal travel information, with timetables and prices as well as they can plan their journey too using sustainable transport modes in the area.

Regarding the target groups, mainly commuters and tourists will be the main users of the application who will be informed about the mobility solutions and touristic destinations, updated programs of Sárvár FUA. The age group is not specific, children, adults and elderlies also have the possibility to use the app, in case they have a smart gadget and download the application.

Expected impacts and benefits

The overall objective of the SÁRVÁR MOBILITY application is to promote sustainable mobility means for passengers and encourage them to use public or active transport instead of their conventional passenger cars in the area of Sárvár FUA.

Regarding the target groups, mainly commuters and tourists are the main targeted users of the application who are informed about the mobility solutions and touristic destinations, updated programs of Sárvár FUA due to Sárvár Mobility application. The age group is not specific, children, adults and elderlies also have the possibility to use the app, in case they have a smart gadget. Presumably, the ratio of capability of using the app is higher in the younger generations, but elderlies cannot be excluded since they might have possessed smart gadgets and might understand the operation of the current app as well.

Unfortunately, not every element foreseen in the Sárvár FUA pilot planning phase could be realized in the lifetime of the SOLEZ project and from the available funds of the project, because Sárvár FUA started from zero regarding Mobility as a Service level.

The Sárvár Mobility application can be improved and fine-tuned with more complex elements, including Maas potential mobility services and integration of booking and payment, however these follow-up measures exceed the SOLEZ project lifetime and budget. It would be recommended to elaborate an in-depth feasibility study, which would include how to develop the application with possible follow-up measures and functionalities, for its higher-level implementation up to Integration of booking & payment or Integration of the service offer. As a result, due to additional funds, the current functions of the application may be developed with more complex services, and the Mobility as a Service level of Sárvár FUA may be increasing.

Lessons learned and added value of transnational cooperation

 Being as such a small city and FUA the development of the Maas system is rather challenging since the service of sustainable mobility means are limited. Nevertheless, the strong cooperation and the support of the stakeholders has been essential to develop such a solution, that reflects the needs of the target groups. Raising awareness events addressed to citizens and operators, have been time consuming in such small municipalities of Sárvár FUA, but they have played a crucial part in the App promotion and dissemination.

The Value-Added Services toolbox developed during the project are described in the following deliverables available in the publication section:

• D.T2.2.1 – Study on specific supply chains in professional urban freight transport and delivery services
• D.T2.2.2 – Support tool (toolbox) for overall design of low-carbon Value-Added Services for freight and people
• D.T2.2.3 - ICT-based tools supporting Value-Added services implementation