30% of the EU’s population lives in rural areas, while rural areas represent 83% of the total area of the EU. One of the EU’s flagship initiatives included in its long-term planning for rural areas is related to rural mobility, specifically addressing the challenge of sustainable multimodal mobility.
In urban areas, electrification is showing significant growth. Charging infrastructure has also been developed, but only in cities and along major highways because better business opportunities are created. The above is reflected in rural areas, where electric mobility users experience “range anxiety”, that is, the worry that their vehicles will not be able to travel the required distance due to the inadequacy of the charging network. This ‘range anxiety’ can lead to the selection of other conventional transport options or routes.
Local governments in rural areas usually install (subsidized) charging points with the aim of raising awareness among the population. Very often, however, these actions are poorly coordinated and lack a clear strategy for the systematic development and operation of the network both at the local and regional level. In general, such individual actions face significant challenges related to three main areas: funding, technical competence and coordination with network companies. Part of the above problems could be mitigated by improving the policy framework regarding electrification.
To address the above problems and expand the use of electrification, there is a clear need to support local authorities in terms of their institutional framework and technical capabilities.
The project aims to:
‐Reducing the impact of transport in rural areas, allowing the municipalities involved to reduce emissions CO2.
‐Support and create a comprehensive financing plan for charging infrastructure and the creation of a public shared vehicle rental and sharing plan.
‐Supporting and promoting low carbon mobility, achieving energy targets and carbon neutrality.
‐Improving the connectivity of urban and remote rural areas.
Read more here (Greek original)