Mobility and Accessibility in Rural Areas - new approaches for developing mobility concepts in remote areas (MARA)

In remote rural areas, the provision of satisfying mobility solutions is a major challenge that affects the development opportunities of a region. Due to larger distances and fewer customers than in urban areas, many rural public transport services have problems to be economically efficient. The implementation of effective solutions is hampered by the lack of information on the actual habits and needs of the population and tourists in the context of mobility, taking into account commuting and seasonal mobility.

The MARA project will address the above-mentioned shortcomings of the existing system to improve the accessibility and quality of mobility services in rural areas. By upgrading the existing mobility services system, developing and testing innovative and sustainable mobility solutions, MARA project partners want to strengthen the capacity of organizations responsible for regional and local mobility and professionals to address multi-faceted mobility challenges. This place-based approach is a core element of MARA and an important part of the EU 2020 strategy.

 

Title Mobility and Accessibility in Rural Areas - new approaches for developing mobility concepts in remote areas
Abbreviation MARA 
Lead partner   Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany)
Programme Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014-2020
Partners
  1. Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure and Digitalization of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany)
  2. Bialystok University of Technology (Poland)
  3. Vidzeme Planning Region (Latvia)
  4. Setesdal Regional Council (Norway)
  5. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (Lithuania)
  6. Swedish Transport Administration “Trafikverket” (Sweden)
  7. Petrozavodsk City Administration (Russia)
  8. Hajnówka District (Poland)
  9. University of Dalarna (Sweden)
  10. Tourist Information Center of the Republic of Karelia (Russia)
  11. Mobility Lab in the Department of Geography of theUniversity of Tartu (Estonia)
  12. Finnish Environment Institute (Finland)
Main project objective

Improve the accessibility and quality of mobility services in rural areas

Expected results
Increase citizens' mobility and improve accessibility and speed of public transport
Activities
  • Perform digital mobility mapping in partner regions;
  • Develop guidelines for citizen involvement in the planning of mobility solutions;
  • Develop feasibility studies for the implementation of multiple mobility solutions;
  • Pilot multiple mobility solutions.
Budget Total: 2 366 651,00 EUR
Vidzeme Planning Region: 228 050,00 EUR
Implementation period  01.01.2019 - 30.06.2021
Contact person 

Rita Merca
Phone: +371 29476373
rita.merca@vidzeme.lv 

Andžejs Stepančuks
Phone: +371 25951714
andzejs.stepancuks@vidzeme.lv