Fourteen European cities from fourteen countries join the sixth edition of the Rapid Applications for Transport (RAPTOR) programme by EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. RAPTOR is an agile, challenge-based programme that swiftly creates and tests solutions to answer niche urban mobility challenges identified by the cities. The call sees startups and SMEs propose promising innovative and impactful solutions to answer these challenges. Winners are awarded funding (40,000 euros) to develop and pilot their solution across the six month project period in the city.
Each of the 14 cities identified a unique challenge they face, ranging from public transport infrastructure management and optimised use of private parking spaces, to shared electric cargo-bikes for commercial purposes. The participating cities for the 2025 edition are: Aarhus (Denmark), Belgrade (Serbia), Dublin (Ireland), Gothenburg (Sweden), Greater Manchester (UK), Mannheim (Germany), Nantes (France), Nicosia (Cyprus), Podgorica (Montenegro), Poznań (Poland), Taurage (Lithuania), Thessaloniki (Greece), Trondheim (Norway), and Utrecht (Netherlands).
Adriana Diaz, Director of Innovation, EIT Urban Mobility: “The RAPTOR programme exemplifies our commitment to innovation by connecting cities with startups and SMEs to swiftly address specific urban mobility challenges. By fostering these collaborations, we not only enhance the efficiency and sustainability of urban transport systems but also empower innovators to pilot and scale their solutions, ultimately increasing the quality of life in our cities.”
EIT Urban Mobility and cities launched the open call on 12 December, for European startups and SMEs to propose solutions that address these challenges. The niche mobility challenges for each of these cities will be explained and detailed during call information days happening on 16, 17 and 18 December 2024, to support the SMEs and startups in preparing to respond to the call.
Aarhus – How can Aarhus gather data and effectively manage accessible parking spaces, enhancing equality and independence for residents with disabilities?
Currently, Aarhus Municipality lacks adequate information on the usage of accessible parking spaces in the city centre to understand if the number of these reserved spaces meets the needs of residents with disabilities. Accessible parking is crucial for the mobility and independence of people with disabilities, as it allows them to participate in daily activities such as work, shopping, and healthcare. Aarhus Municipality seeks an innovative solution for managing parking that uses accurate, real-time data on the usage of accessible parking spaces, supports user-friendly availability notifications, and provides insights to optimise curbside management while ensuring inclusivity.
Belgrade – How can Belgrade improve pedestrian and cyclist safety on key walking and cycling routes?
25% of all movements in Belgrade are on foot, while only 1% are by bicycle and e-scooter. With over 120 km of bicycle paths, the city aim is to promote active and sustainable mobility. To encourage more residents to choose active travel modes, Belgrade is committed to ensuring that pedestrian and cycling areas are both attractive and safe. However, bicycles and scooters often encroach on areas exclusively intended for pedestrians and likewise pedestrians frequently walk on bike paths, creating risks for all users. Belgrade is open to solutions that provide dynamic, real-time preventive measures beyond static regulations. These solutions could include the installation of sensors or cameras, the customisation of a dashboard for municipal use, and/or a platform for residents to access information about the safest walking, cycling, and scooter routes at different times of the day.
Dublin – Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County – How can we safely provide EV charging for residents without driveways, integrating infrastructure seamlessly with public footpaths while meeting health and safety standards?
Dublin is working to increase access to electric vehicle charging for residents without off-street parking and to support commercial installations of charging hubs and rapid chargers for residential developments, enroute, and destination charging. Currently the number of neighbourhood charging units controlled by the local authority of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown is under 30, with no rapid chargers installed as of November 2024. The city is keen to explore solutions that would allow residents in terraced houses or buildings without private driveways or garages, to access safe and convenient on-street EV charging without requiring significant new infrastructure installations, especially in dense, residential areas where public space is limited.
Gothenburg – How can Gothenburg support the large-scale adoption of e-bikes and e-cargo bikes for commercial use through effective public space management?
The city of Gothenburg aims to promote the use of electric bikes and cargo bikes for commercial purposes to encourage quiet, emission-free transport of goods and people in the city centre. With the recent launch of Sweden’s first Mobility Hotel in Gothenburg, combining micromobility and micro-logistics services to transport both people and goods within the inner city, there is increased interest from businesses in transitioning to these sustainable modes of transport. However increased adoption has meant improper parking has become an issue. Gothenburg is looking for solutions to map and/or simulate urban areas and collect data on the behaviours, routes, and parking requirements of sustainable small vehicles used for professional purposes to gain valuable insights into the dynamics of the city centre and improve planning for sustainable commercial e-mobility.
Greater Manchester – How can Greater Manchester leverage data-driven decision-making to enhance the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of its multimodal transport network?
Over the past five years, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has reformed bus operations, making the Bee Network the region’s main transport system, becoming the first outside of London to do so. This has introduced new operational challenges, particularly in efficiently managing key bus routes into the city centre. These corridors are sensitive to congestion and disruption, which impacts the bus network and surrounding transport systems, causing delays, higher emissions, safety risks, and a poor passenger experience. TfGM aims to use technology to better understand the on-the-ground situation and take decisions based on collected data to influence travel behaviour, understand disruptions, and implement traffic management solutions. TfGM seeks innovative solutions that leverage digital tools and existing datasets to produce key insights, better inform policy planning and improve the efficiency, safety, and environmental impact of Greater Manchester’s transport network.
Mannheim – How can Mannheim reduce parking pressure in public spaces by facilitating underutilised private parking areas?
Public spaces, particularly in densely populated urban areas, experience significant parking pressure, leading to reduced accessibility, and increased traffic. Meanwhile, many privately owned parking spaces such as those of residential buildings, office complexes, and supermarkets often remain unused for large parts of the day. Potential solutions could leverage digital tools, platforms, or innovative methods for real-time monitoring and matching demand and offer of private parking spaces across various locations. The city envisions a collaborative and sustainable system that easily integrates with its existing mobility framework, promotes efficient resource usage, and enhances accessibility for both residents and visitors.
Nantes – How can Nantes offer renting services such as carts, cargo bike, Light Electric Vehicle (LEV), and/or others services in order to help people live / move without a car?
Nantes, via it´s urban development agency SAMOA, is currently developing new neighbourhoods focused on reducing car dependency by promoting proximity to essential services, creating pedestrian-friendly spaces, expanding bike infrastructure, and enhancing public transportation. Nantes is also looking to offer specific mobility services to address punctual needs such as carrying heavy loads (weekly food shopping, furniture, etc.), travelling 20-30km to the suburbs, and transporting passengers with low mobility who cannot use a conventional bicycle. Nantes would like to experiment with mobility services that propose light vehicles offering practical, inclusive, and sustainable mobility options with a renting/subscription service.
Nicosia – How can Nicosia efficiently optimise waste collection routes and reduce emissions?
Waste collection systems in Nicosia face significant challenges that hinder operational efficiency and environmental sustainability. The fleet of 31 vehicles is largely outdated, resulting in frequent mechanical breakdowns, and larger vehicles are not able to access some high-density areas and narrow streets in the old city. While the fleet is equipped with GPS systems, the current route planning does not effectively optimise collection routes based on vehicle size, availability, or ongoing breakdowns leading to increased operational costs and service delays. In approximately one year, Nicosia will implement a “Pay As You Throw” system, which is expected to significantly impact the volume of waste collected and the planning of collection routes. Nicosia is seeking a solution that would integrate with this system that is expected to be launched in full in 2026.
Podgorica – How can Podgorica best gather data about mobility related CO2 emissions in order to best plan for climate neutrality?
As a member of the EU Mission of 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030, Podgorica is seeking solutions to support their journey in increasing their knowledge about local CO2 emissions. Despite significant efforts to improve public transport in the city, the city is under significant pressure from private vehicles used mainly by citizens. This is confirmed by results of air quality monitoring, conducted annually and which covers three city locations. To obtain a more comprehensive overview of the CO2 emissions coming from transport, the city requires air quality to be monitored from more locations across a larger part of the city and with real-time data on areas such as traffic flow. From this data it would be possible for the city to make evidence-based conclusions and to define and implement concrete activities toward CO2 reduction.
Poznań – How can Poznań provide real-time information to public transport users regarding sudden route changes and disruptions, enhancing the reliability and convenience of the city’s transit system?
The city of Poznań faces challenges with keeping residents informed about sudden, real-time changes in public transport routes. Currently, the absence of an effective system notifying of unexpected diversions due to accidents, traffic congestion, or infrastructure work can disrupt transit, and decrease trust in public transport services. Poznań seeks to address this with a solution that would inform users in real-time about changes to their planned routes and suggests alternative routes when disruptions occur.
Taurage – How can the city of Taurage assess its bus stop infrastructure to optimize its management and increase public transport usage?
The City of Taurage has 103 bus stops in the city and around 255 bus stops in the surrounding district. Many of these bus stops suffer from missing or broken infrastructure and information, which can create accessibility challenges and a decline in public transport usage. To address this, a comprehensive assessment is needed to provide the city with a clear overview of the current situation, allowing for the prioritisation of repairs and maintenance predictions, with the goal of enhancing the public transportation experience for all users.
Thessaloniki – How can Thessaloniki effectively collect and use data on urban freight to strategically meet CO2 reduction target?
Urban freight operations in Thessaloniki contribute to approximately 20% of the total kilometres travelled by vehicles within the city. As the Thessaloniki aims for climate neutrality, it is essential for city authorities and urban planners to base their decisions on accurate, real-time data. The main challenge is the difficulty in collecting this vital information, with freight vehicle fleet operators often reluctant to share this data due to concerns about maintaining a competitive edge and avoiding regulatory scrutiny. This significantly hampers the ability of the city to make informed decisions and implement effective urban freight strategies. Thessaloniki is seeking a solution to create a secure, trusted environment for sharing of accurate real-time data on CO2 from freight and that allows for analysis of traffic flows.
Trondheim – How can Trondheim municipality implement real-time monitoring and reporting of loading and unloading zones to optimise last-mile deliveries?
In Trondheim Municipality delivery operations are often inefficient with fewer than 25% of delivery vehicles serving multiple recipients per trip. This single-stop delivery approach leads to an excess of delivery trips, elevated emissions, and increased congestion. Trondheim Municipality is interested in testing smart loading and unloading zones linked with real-time occupancy monitoring with the aim of supporting more efficient delivery scheduling, reducing unauthorised use of loading spaces, and helping traffic flow more smoothly. The system should enable more coordinated and optimised loading and unloading activities, aligning logistics operations with Trondheim’s broader goals for environmental sustainability and improved urban environment.
Utrecht – How can Utrecht optimise its Park and Ride system so more commuters and visitors use it?
The city of Utrecht has three Park & Ride (P&R) areas on the edge of the city, designed to allow city visitors to park their car and continue their journey to the city centre by public transport or shared mobility. Currently, only approximately 30% of the users use the P&R as intended. We expect that this low share of ‘intended use’ can be attributed to a suboptimal customer journey including a complicated booking and planning system, tariff structures, connection to public transport, and wayfinding etc. As part of the city’s Mobility Plan 2040, the number of on-street carparking spaces is aimed to reduce by 0.5% to 1% per year. As a counterbalance, the city is hoping to increase occupancy of the existing P&R facilities by improving accessibility.
Check out the RAPTOR 2025 Open Call and the city challenges on the RAPTOR website.
