marco polo programme

background

The Marco Polo programme is the successor to the Pilot Actions for Combined Transport (PACT) initiative. Proposed by the European Commission in 2002, it was fully adopted in July 2003. Its objective is to reduce road congestion and to improve the environmental performance of the freight transport system within the Community as well as to enhance intermodality, thereby contributing to an efficient and sustainable transport system.

The European Commission estimates that freight on Europe’s roads will increase by approximately 60 billion tonne kilometres (t/km) each year until 2010. Today, 1 in 9 freight deliveries arrive late due to road congestion. The Marco Polo initiative was devised to combat congestion by providing risk funding for commercial projects which seek to shift freight off the road and onto other transport modes. All alternative transport modes are eligible and solutions can be multi-modal or mono-modal. The Commission understands that roads are often vital to the supply chain and expects a short road element to feature in most applications. Marco Polo aims to shift 12 billion t/km off European roads each year until 2010.

marco polo projects

There are three types of projects eligible for funding:

Modal Shift
These are robust (but probably not innovative) projects which shift freight from road to other transport modes. The Commission will subsidise these projects at €1 for every 500 t/km moved and up to a maximum of 30 percent for a 3-year period – after which the project must be financially viable. Submissions must demonstrate that at least 250 million t/km would be shifted off the road during the course of the project.

To ensure that Europe as a whole gets value for its money, the Commission will not fund projects which only benefit a small geographical area. Therefore, a minimum subsidy threshold of €500,000 has been imposed.

Catalyst Action
These are highly innovative initiatives which are geared towards overcoming structural market barriers to produce real 'breakthrough' changes to the existing transport system. A minimum subsidy threshold is imposed at €1.5 million and up to 35 percent funding for 4 years is available.

Common Learning
These initiatives are aimed at fostering cooperation between member states and industries where cultural, language or other barriers have, in the past, hindered transport projects. Seminars, training courses and best practice dissemination are all included.