Save the date for 'Light vehicles – heavy impacts?', a joint POLIS WG meeting with ACEM and LENS

POLIS is delighted to announce the ‘save the date’ for our joint Working Group meeting on light vehicles, which is organised in cooperation with ACEM and the EU-funded LENS project. The two-day event will take place on 17 and 18 September 2024 at the premises of IFPEN in Paris, France.

L-vehicles, often seen as an affordable and efficient means of urban transport, are significant contributors to noise and air pollution. Despite their prevalence, they frequently remain overlooked by policymakers and city administrations in European cities. Recognising this gap, POLIS, ACEM, and IFPEN are organising a dedicated working group meeting to bring L-vehicles to the forefront of urban mobility discussions.

This meeting will provide participants with a comprehensive overview of the daily impacts and externalities of L-vehicles in urban settings. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in a live noise and air pollution measurement campaign conducted by LENS and tour the IFPEN vehicle components testing laboratory, gaining valuable insights into the challenges and potential solutions associated with L-vehicles.

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What are light vehicles?

The European-wide applicable categorisation of motorised vehicles defines light- or ‘L-vehicles’ as ‘motor vehicles with less than four wheels and some lightweight four-wheelers’ including three-wheelers with a small engine or ‘vehicles with four wheels whose unladen mass is not more than 350 kg’. LENS project aims to test the widest range of L-vehicles possible but focuses on mopeds and motorcycles since these vehicle types are most common and readily available in Europe.   

Our L-vehicle focus topics

Internal planning of each working group session is currently ongoing, but a first outline is available below. Since L-vehicles are a POLIS priority of 2024, as they are often overlooked in the policy-making processes, this dedicated event will raise awareness and promote exchange between POLIS members and external participants from the LENS stakeholder & city platform. Each of the following topics will be discussed in a 75min-long session, which will include presentations from POLIS members and/or ACEM, followed by an open discussion, moderated by the dedicated Working Group chairs; 

• Clean Vehicles & Air Quality - Infrastructure requirements for small electric vehicles
  
• Access & Parking - Parking management of L-vehicles in dense urban contexts with limited curb space 
• Urban Freight - L-vehicles as the backbone of urban goods & food deliveries
• Safety & Security - Challenge of L-vehicles exclusion from the category of vulnerable road users
• Governance - Share L-vehicle operation in urban areas  

The LENS project has four main aims. Firstly, to perform noise- and air pollution tests in a laboratory environment to gain an overview of L-vehicle emissions. Secondly, to perform real-world road measurement tests in three cities, of which the first tests in Leuven (BE) were a success with more than 160 vehicles tested. The second live tests are undertaken in Paris in the week of the event. Thirdly, these results from laboratory and real-world tests will be summarised and transposed into policy recommendations for cities and regions to tackle L-vehicle pollution and illegal tampering. Fourthly, a publicly available digital solution for L-vehicle users to gain insights into vehicle performance and pollution levels will be provided. 

Preliminary Agenda*

Subject to change and future updates

Day 1 – 17 September 2024  

Day 2 – 18 September 2024