The transport industry is moving fast. With climate change and poor air quality affecting us all, the impact travel has on our environment and our health is increasingly under focus. This has led to a revolutionary move to make our cities carbon-neutral which will transform the way people live, work and travel every day.

Trams, metro systems, and some trains have been electric for decades. However, for maximum environmental impact, road transport needs to follow. And to make it even more eco-friendly, electricity must be generated using renewable energy.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are part of the solution towards cleaner transport and cities, yet for some cities, the emphasis isn't solely on EV use, but on building a sustainable transport system. The future of transport in our cities will include greater car-sharing and multi-modal travel as well.

Smart cities have been at the forefront of this switch to electric transport. We explore how cities around the world are driving this revolution.

Copenhagen, Denmark

In a recent survey on good air quality, Copenhagen was rated second out of 23 major European cities. This environmentally friendly city wants to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025 and will most likely be the first carbon-neutral capital in the world.

Copenhagen's efforts for greener travel include:

• All cars in the municipal fleet are electric or hydrogen-powered. In the city’s climate plan, the target is to achieve a complete transformation to electricity, hydrogen, or biofuels

• Copenhagen is one of Europe’s most bustling cycling cities. In 2013, only 29% of transportation was by car, compared to 36% by cycling. The target is for 50% of all commutes to be by bicycle

• A new metro city ring with 17 new underground stations, expected to carry more than 100 million passengers around the Danish capital annually, getting more commuters out of their cars

Shenzhen, China

Sales of electric buses are booming and China is leading the way. Electric buses are a key part of the urban transit infrastructure, and the fact they serve routine and fixed routes make them ideal for electrification.

All of Shenzhen's 16,000 buses are now electric. Electric buses emit fewer carbon emissions than diesel buses and this has resulted in reducing CO2 emissions by 48% and cutting other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides.

To keep Shenzhen’s EV fleet running, the city has built around 40,000 charging stations. Shenzhen Bus Company has 180 depots with their own charging facilities installed. One of its major depots can charge around 20 buses at the same time.

Los Angeles, America

Los Angeles has goals to establish a zero-carbon grid and zero-carbon transportation by 2050. Their Green New Deal sets impressive targets along its path to carbon neutrality, with plans to: 

• Increase EV in the city to 25% by 2025; 80% by 2035; 100% by 2050

• Convert all city fleet vehicles to zero-emission where possible by 2028

• Install 400 EV chargers at City buildings, parks, and libraries and install 500 additional street light EV chargers

L.A. also plans to introduce new public transportation routes that aim to increase ridership by 90% and add 112 electric buses to their fleet to improve connections between regional bus and rail services.

London, UK

London is fully committed to introducing sustainable transport modes and tools. One of its innovations is the introduction of the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). The UK's low emission vehicle industry is a great success story and source of strength for the UK economy. The rapid charging network allows faster and more efficient charging of electric vehicles on the move. The government has provided more than 200 rapid charge points across London. 

London's transport innovations include:

• Making London taxis the greenest in the world – new taxis need to be zero-emission and private hire vehicles need to meet tighter requirements

• The Go Ultra Low City scheme – a project that aims to deliver over 1,500 on-street electric charge points for London's residents and car club vehicles by the end of 2020

• LoCITY, an industry-led program to help the freight and fleet sector lead the way in improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions 

To learn about the key standards for intelligent transport systems, click here.

Standards Supporting Smart Cities Transportation

Now is the time for the built environment, transport, energy, and smart cities industries to pursue innovation and lead the way in this revolution. Defining good practice further encourages increased adoption and value at scale.

The BS ISO 37106 standard provides guidance on how to shift to this smarter, sustainable city operating model. It is the international revision of PAS 181 Smart city framework - a guide to establishing strategies for smart cities and communities. 

It establishes a good practice framework for city leaders (from the public, private and voluntary sectors) to develop, agree and deliver smart city strategies that can transform their city’s ability to meet its future challenges and deliver its future aspirations. The smart city framework (SCF) distills current good practices into a set of consistent and repeatable patterns that city leaders can use to help them develop and deliver their own smart city strategies.

Ubiquitous, interconnected modes of transport rely on the interoperability of systems across and between the transport modes and their operators and users. This interoperability depends as much on the standardization of the practices of actors in the future of transport as the technology. As automotive manufacturers make progress on autonomous, electric, and connected vehicle technologies, frameworks such as BS ISO 21219 series and PAS 1881, will play an increasingly important role. The industry needs consensus on standards and best practices to ensure effective interoperability if intelligent vehicles are to reach their full potential.

Is your organization driving forward the electric vehicle transformation in your city? Get instant access to all the standards and best practices you need to achieve the safe, efficient, and cost-effective delivery of your projects with a BSI Knowledge subscription. It enables you to quickly search, discover and interpret standards and insights to help you meet your current challenges and add value to your organization, anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Request to learn more.

Ensure your transport company is working to smarter and sustainable best practices in order to support the transformation to smart cities.