Urban Mobility Days 2025: driving forward the urban mobility transformation

From 30 September to 2 October 2025, around 800 delegates gathered in Vilnius, Lithuania - the European Green Capital 2025 - for the European Commission's flagship event on urban mobility.

Organised by the European Commission's department for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) and the City of Vilnius the conference drew in policymakers, city and regional authorities, researchers, industry and mobility practitioners to explore how the EU can move faster towards its sustainable urban mobility goals.

Shared challenges and priorities

Each conference day focused on a specific theme - urban nodes, cycling and public transport - while common priorities emerged throughout:

• Accessibility
• Affordability
• Attractiveness
• Integrated planning
• Multilevel and cross-sectoral dialogue

Sessions covered topics ranging from automated mobility and active travel to multimodal hubs and digital integration. Participants exchanged experiences on how cities are improving transport efficiency, advancing decarbonisation and encouraging more sustainable travel behaviour.

EU support delivering tangible benefits

CINEA was strongly represented across the event, with numerous Horizon Europe urban mobility research projects featured in sessions and exhibitions. These projects, managed by CINEA, show how EU-funded research and innovation deliver tangible benefits for Europe's cities - improving environmental performance, competitiveness and inclusiveness.

Between 2021 and 2025, almost €430 million has been allocated under Horizon Europe to urban mobility research and innovation. The projects span areas such as urban space planning, multimodal traffic management, logistics and road safety, all contributing to Europe's wider green and digital transport transitions. [See our new infographic for more details.]

Beyond research, CINEA supports the deployment of innovative mobility solutions through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - the EU's main funding instrument for strategic transport infrastructure.

Connecting ideas to implementation

During UMD 2025, CINEA marked the signature of three new CEF co-funded grant agreements for feasibility and design studies of multimodal passenger hubs in France and Italy. Supported by over €14 million in EU funding, the projects will help cities including Marseille, Nice, Milan, Turin, Rome and Bari prepare high-quality investments that make everyday travel more sustainable and accessible.

In Nice, for example, a CEF-supported study will link rail, airport, tram and bus services, increasing rail capacity by 50% and ensuring full accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility. These projects demonstrate how CINEA connects research, policy and implementation to move Europe's mobility vision from ideas to reality.

Future-proofing multimodal hubs

Speaking in the session on 'Multimodal passenger hubs: connecting the city and the TEN-T network', CINEA Director Paloma Aba Garrote stressed that well-connected urban nodes are key to Europe's transport transition:

"Multimodal passenger hubs are at the heart of Europe's transport transformation - linking local, regional and European networks. CINEA plays a unique role in moving these hubs from concept to implementation, managing EU programmes that reduce risk and enable investment."

She highlighted lessons from several CINEA-managed projects:

• Governance matters - the SCALE-UP Project in Antwerp (Belgium) united cities, ports and businesses, doubling Park & Ride use and easing congestion.
• Sustainability and inclusiveness - MOBILITIES for EU and metaCCAZE show how zero-emission fleets and accessible design make mobility greener and fairer.
• Digital integration - UPPER and SPINE demonstrate how Mobility as a Service (MaaS) links metros, bikes, scooters and shuttles for seamless journeys.

Elsewhere, CINEA's former Head of Transport Research Unit, Marcel Rommerts, led a lively discussion on how cities can select the most effective public transport modes - from metros to trams - to meet sustainability and efficiency goals.

Collaboration driving transformation

UMD 2025 made clear that transforming mobility is not only about infrastructure or technology - it is about people, health, safety and inclusive communities. Achieving this requires collaboration across cities, sectors and borders. By connecting knowledge, funding and innovation, CINEA is helping cities across Europe design, test and deliver the next generation of sustainable mobility solutions.

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Event website