This indicator shows the number of Slovenian municipalities that upgraded traditional transport planning through an integrated approach. In addition to carrying out sustainable mobility measures, this can be achieved by drawing up a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP), a document that integrates individual measures into a wider concept. The plan can be drawn up at the municipal or regional level – currently, most strategies in Slovenia are drawn up at the municipal level. As no national or European system currently exists for checking the quality of SUMPs, the indicator includes all documents with a similar title and approach, despite the fact that their quality can differ greatly. After co-financing of the SUMP preparation was introduced in 2015 and 2016, the Ministry of Infrastructure has now planned to set up a quality monitoring system and define the minimum content of SUMPs. After the adoption of these rules, only documents approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure or that are compliant with its criteria will be included in this indicator.

Sustainable urban mobility planning is based on good practice experience gained by many European cities that have been tackling transport issues for a longer period of time and have been successfully applying key principles of this approach. In Great Britain, France and Italy, SUMPs have been mandatory for some time, which is why these countries are the most experienced in introducing SUMPs and integrated transport strategies and have inspired the European Commission into active promotion of introducing SUMPs at the European level. In certain countries (e.g. Sweden, the Flemish region in Belgium, Spain), countries actively stimulate the preparation and implementation of SUMPs. An overview of the situation in the field of SUMPs in the EU and in individual countries is available at the European Platform on SUMPs website - http://www.eltis.org/mobility-plans.

An integrated approach to dealing with transport issues upgrades the existing planning methods and takes into account the principles of strategic thinking, inclusion, cooperation and evaluation. It has measurable benefits and noticeable added value. As a result, an increasing number of stakeholders recognises the benefits this approach brings to the local and regional environment and will draw up SUMPs regardless of whether or not they have been made mandatory by legislation so far.

In recent years, the European Commission issued several recommendations, guidelines and incentives with regard to SUMPs. Welcoming these messages, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia has, for some time, been investigating the ways of stimulating municipalities to draw up SUMPs. The prediction that the European Union will condition the allocation of funds for transport with the existence of such strategic documents in municipalities is now becoming a reality.

The Guidelines for the preparation of SUMPs (Ministry of Infrastructure and Spatial Planning, 2012) point out the following advantages of SUMPs:

• Improved quality of living – SUMP means planning for people, not for cars and transport. This is reflected in better quality of public spaces, improved safety of children, reduced quantity of greenhouse gases, etc.
• Positive effects on the environment and human health – efforts to improve air quality, reduce noise and mitigate climate change as well as the promotion of active mobility, stimulating citizens to walk or cycle more, has positive effects on human health and brings important health-related savings.
• Improved mobility and accessibility – SUMPs ensure better mobility of the entire population and improve accessibility of certain areas and services.
• Improved image of municipalities – municipalities that engage in sustainable mobility planning are usually seen as innovative and progressive.
• Decisions supported by the public – through public involvement, the decisions to support or reject measures in the field of transport in municipalities gain important public legitimacy.
• Efficient implementation of environmental commitments – drawing up SUMPs is an efficient way of meeting legal commitments, such as the Air Quality Directive of the European Commission or national regulations on noise control.
• New and integrated political visions – a SUMP offers a long term strategic vision of providing mobility. It promotes the culture of efficient and integrated planning that seeks to take account of sectorial policies and interests of institutions and neighbouring municipalities and enables the achievement of other municipal goals (economic, social, environmental).
• Improved access to funds – a SUMP can enable access to funds that are available for innovative solutions and improve the competitiveness of a municipality in applying for European financial resources.

In recent years, the Ministry of Infrastructure, which is responsible for transport planning and development in the country, has recognised key issues in the field of sustainable mobility and has developed a plan to address the issues by using cohesion funds. Therefore, it has included sustainable mobility measures in the priority axis of Promoting low-carbon strategies for all types of geographical area, in particular for urban areas within the Operational Programme for the Implementation of the EU Cohesion Policy in the period 2014–2020 (2015). The main intention is to draw up SUMPs for at least 40–50 municipalities with settlements of urban character and to implement measures set forth in the SUMPs, such as providing safe access to public transport stations and stops, setting up cycle stands, racks and shelters, introducing park and ride systems, setting up public transport stops, pavements and cycle lanes. In addition to providing infrastructure for sustainable mobility, mobility management measures will also be carried out. These will include adopting sustainable parking policies, drawing up mobility plans for institutions, limiting the use of passenger cars in city centres, green city logistics, the use of modern technologies for efficient mobility management and educational/awareness raising activities related to sustainable mobility. Training for SUMP elaboration, provided by the Ministry of Infrastructure in cooperation with Slovenian platform for sustainable mobility, is also important. Through this training, the idea and concept of sustainable mobility planning was transferred to approximately 70 experts in the field of transport and spatial planning in 2014 and 2105, which also means an important shift in SUMP direction. With an active role by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Slovenia can achieve an important breakthrough in this field.