WeCount data support cities and regions with SUMI indicators

As local authorities and their mobility operating partners seek to develop Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) and work towards EU policy goals, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of their transport services is critical.

The new SUMI tool offers support. The indicators are a comprehensive set of 13 practical and reliable benchmarks for assessing sustainable mobility, established using data collected across European cities by a consortium including POLIS Networkand Rupprecht Consult.

Through the tool, cities can evaluate their mobility systems, and identify capacity for improvement to policies and practices on safety, accessibility and environmental issues including air pollutant emissions and greenhouse gas emissions.

But how can policy-makers measure their performance?

This is where WeCount comes in. Data procured from WeCount’s Telraam sensors serves as a direct quantification of urban air pollution, while its traffic count provides an indirect gauge for greenhouse gas emissions. Interestingly, the sensors also provide a proxy for SUMI indicator 4, ‘noise hindrance’ and indicator 5, ‘congestion and delays’.

WeCount sensors also provides an insight into the geography of urban pollution and emissions. Data can be examined for a single location, or clustered together for a city-wide figure, which reveals how the SUMI indicators are shifting over time.

Data collected by WeCount’s growing army of eager citizen scientists is enhancing our ability to not only measure sustainability, but also engage the public in this critical issue. As citizen science takes an increasingly prominent role in research projects, it is clear urban mobility goals cannot be achieved without it.

To find out more about the SUMI indicators, click here.