The port cities of the Mediterranean Sea face common challenges due to their social, economic and geographical characteristics, and the trends affecting their areas. The MED territory is home to almost a quarter of the European population and its cities are the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. It is crucial for port cities to strategically plan their mobility system, adopting sustainable and innovative solutions to improve citizens’ quality of life and help make the city more appealing to tourists.

In this context, the SUMPORT project (Sustainable Urban Mobility in MED PORT cities) aims to improve capacities for planning, drawing up and updating Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans. It is also aimed at developing pilot actions related to sustainable mobility in six port cities: Valencia, Koper, Kotor, Durres, Igoumenitsa and Limassol.

The pilots to be developed as part of the SUMPORT project are related to the following areas:

• Creation or widening of bike lanes (Limassol, Durres and Kotor).
• Actions aimed at promoting bike-share schemes (Valencia and Igoumenitsa).
• Maritime transport simulations (Igoumenitsa).
• Implementation of carpooling systems for workers (Port of Valencia).
• Drafting, updating or harmonization of the SUMP (Port of Valencia, Durres and Igoumenitsa).
• Enhancing infomobility to promote public transport (Koper).

In the specific case of the Port of Valencia, the following activities were carried out:

• The update of the Sustainable Mobility Plan for the Port of Valencia, as the plan in force covered the period 2012-2017 and thus needed updating. This entailed the involvement of the entire port community through surveys administered to find out about current mobility patterns and identify problems linked to mobility.
• Conducting a Wayfinding study on signage. This study served as the basis for running a pilot test to improve the signage and guide cruise passengers out of the port area and into the city centre via public transport.
• Test a carpooling mobile app for port workers to promote shared mobility and thereby increase the occupancy rates of private vehicles.
• Pilot test of E-Bikes for cruise tourists in the Port of Valencia. A pilot test was carried out with 10 electric bikes stationed in an automatic parking machine located in the vicinity of the passenger terminal, to facilitate passengers’ mobility from the port area to the tourist areas of the city.