“SMARTA-NET”

• The "SMARTA-NET" initiative seeks to promote improved transport in rural areas, integrate mobility into urban plans, and encourage green tourism.
• The European Union has published four mobility guides to connect municipalities.

In much of Europe, rural communities lack adequate transportation to connect with each other and with cities. Access to employment, healthcare, education, and leisure activities is concentrated in urban areas.

For this reason, the European Commission (EC) has launched new resources aimed at boosting mobility in rural areas. These materials are the result of the "SMARTA-NET" project (2022-2024) , which addressed one of the major challenges of European transport policy: ensuring fair, efficient, and low-carbon access for rural communities.

Four guides with practical resources

SMARTA-NET has developed four reference documents that offer solutions tailored to rural needs:

1. Guide to shared rural mobility solutions: It presents a catalog of more than 30 shared transportation solutions. These include on-demand ride-hailing services, car-sharing schemes, and digital platforms that allow for trip coordination in sparsely populated areas. It also includes experiences from volunteer networks, bike-sharing in small towns, and shuttle services connecting to major transportation stations.

2. Guidance on Financing and Financing Options for Rural Mobility: Provides guidelines for municipalities combining public, social, and private funding. The document explains how to access European, national, and regional programs and illustrates success stories where cooperation with non-profit associations or local cooperatives has made it possible to sustain mobility services. It also includes practical tools for evaluating costs, benefits, and small-scale business models.

3. Guide on Integrating Rural Mobility Considerations into the Design of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs): provides guidance for SUMPs to include residents of nearby rural areas. Measures such as coordinating intercity bus schedules with urban services, creating mobility corridors linking towns and cities, and using rural mobility data in planning assessments are proposed. Examples of regions that have already incorporated rural mobility into all phases of the SUMP cycle are also presented.

4. Guide to More Sustainable Mobility in Rural Tourism Regions: Analyzes tourists' travel habits and proposes measures to improve both the visitor experience and the daily lives of residents. It includes strategies to strengthen walking and cycling, improve digital route and timetable information, implement single-ticket systems, and develop communication campaigns that promote low-carbon transport options in rural tourism destinations.

Fundamental pillars of “SMARTA-NET”

In addition to the guidelines, “SMARTA-NET” was structured around three main axes:

• European Rural Mobility Network (ERMN) : This was the first pan-European platform of its kind, connecting municipalities, Local Action Groups (LAGs) , rural development agencies, practitioners, and researchers. They organized four in-person meetings and four virtual seminars to exchange knowledge and experiences.

• Training sessions in 14 countries: sessions in each Member State's national language addressed the four thematic areas of the aforementioned guides. These training sessions strengthened the skills of local authorities and rural stakeholders in planning, service design, and the implementation of mobility measures.

• Supplementary resources: The project made reports, brochures, presentations, and videos available to the public through its website.

Long-term vision

The SMARTA-NET project's objective is aligned with the European Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas , which aims to create "stronger, more connected, resilient, and prosperous" communities by 2040. The initiative also contributes to the European Green Deal 's goals by reducing fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.