MARA

Improved mobility solutions for touristic remote regions

Many rural areas lack good mobility services, which hampers their economic development. Introducing innovative mobility solutions other than motorised private transport require relevant competences among the public authorities and a better overview of the actual mobility needs. Confronting the mobility demand of residents and tourists with the current mobility offers, and increasing the capacity of transport actors are the main goals for the project MARA. In this way, MARA improves accessibility and mobility in touristic remote areas of the Baltic Sea region.

Diverse landscapes, various mobility needs

MARA brings together transport actors from the whole Baltic Sea region, including non-EU states - Norway and Russia. Twelve project partners represent a wide spectrum of remote areas that are attractive for nature tourism: Sweden and Norway share e.g. mountainous regions near the Arctic Circle; Latvia, Estonia and Germany have long coastlines; Poland and Germany have many nature parks that constitute invaluable natural heritage sites; and Russia and Finland have vast lake lands. The different landscapes come with different mobility demands, and require a variety of mobility solutions, such as e-bikes, e-cars, buses, shipping, and aviation.

Real-life testing

MARA tests the practical use of e-bike and e-cargo bike sharing in Norway and Latvia, which especially during seasonal peaks can be an interesting mobility alternative for tourists. In Germany, the project improves a call-a-bus system by providing real-time information on highly dynamic connections. In Russia, MARA focuses on the development of waterways as an alternative to road transport. MARA also improves the governance framework by helping public authorities to integrate new mobility concepts into their spatial and mobility plans.