Traffic congestion is a pressing problem in the urban areas, which is significantly affecting needlessly higher fuel consumption as well as pollution of the environment with noise and exhaust fumes. It is vital to plan sustainable development measures for the urban transport systems, and the measures that will render the existing systems more energy efficient. The Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund has promoted energy efficiency measures in transport that were dealing precisely with the development of the urban transport systems.
The measures included the development of the public city bicycles infrastructure, and improving energy efficiency of the vehicles in the system of the public transport system:
- Construction of charging stations for electric vehicles,
- Purchase of electric vessels with installed solar panels,
- Purchase of hybrid trucks in category N2,
- Introducing the system of public city bicycles (potential tenderer: only the units of local and regional self-government),
- Programme solutions containing the roads database, whose application increases energy efficiency in towns (potential tenderer: only the units of local and regional self-government)
- Equipping the existing or installing traffic lights with the visual red light countdown indicator (potential tenderer: only the units of local and regional self-government).
- Purchase of electric bicycles whose maximum continuous power does not exceed 0.25 kW and which is progressively reduced to zero when the speed reaches 25 km/h, or sooner if the cyclist stops turning the pedals (it is not possible to apply for less than 5 and more than 15 electric bicycles),
- Conversion of the existing vehicles in all categories to electric or compressed natural gas (CNG) drive.
The aim of promoting these measures was the reduction of CO2 emissions and of harmful exhaust gases in traffic, especially in the cities, and the reduction of noise and increase in traffic safety.