During the Council of Ministers meeting held on May 7, 2020, the Tunisian government approved its National Urban Mobility Policy (NUMP), developed by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics. The objective of this policy is to promote the development of a sustainable urban mobility model. The NUMP also aims at strengthening the governance system of urban mobility, through the establishment of new structures at the national level, in the short term (2021-2022):
- · A National Commission for Urban Mobility, to provide political leadership for the NUMP and all the proposed structural reforms;
- · A central technical support unit, to provide technical support to the Commission, which will be responsible for the operational implementation of most of the actions recommended by the NUMP;
- · A National Urban Mobility Fund, to which national fiscal resources from the transport sector will be allocated (e.g., traffic tax, etc.) and which will be used to finance local government actions in the field of urban mobility.
Additionally, the NUMP calls for a reform of mobility governance at the local level with the creation of Metropolitan Urban Mobility Authorities in large cities, and Urban Mobility Departments within municipalities in smaller cities. These entities will be responsible for developing metropolitan mobility strategies and managing public transportation networks.
Transitec Consulting Engineers, currently involved in the elaboration phase of the NUMP - financed by the French Global Environment Facility within the framework of the MobiliseYourCity initiative - has been selected by the French Development Agency to accompany the Tunisian High Authorities in the operationalization phase of the NUMP.
On January 6, 2021, Mr. Moez Chakchouk, Minister of Transport and Logistics launched this implementation phase of the NUMP. This is expected to provide Tunisia with an appropriate intervention framework to meet the objectives of improving mobility conditions for its citizens, while limiting the prospects of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.