The Smart and Sustainable Mobility Accelerator Programme (SSMA) Concludes

The Smart and Sustainable Mobility Accelerator programme (SSMA) which was developed by the three Regional Assemblies and international sustainable mobility experts BABLE with support from the Department of Transport officially ended in December 2025. The programme offered a comprehensive training and capacity-building workshops to help local authorities and stakeholders to deliver smart and sustainable mobility projects.

The programme was customised for four target groups aimed to increase knowledge, skills, and understanding of sustainable and smart mobility and to tackle systemic and cultural barriers to its implementation. These target groups were local authority representatives, elected councillors, innovation actors, and community stakeholders. In total there were 302 participants registered for the programme with both online and in-person sessions.

Although the SSMA programme has ended the legacy of the programme is the continued growth of the Sustainable Mobility Academy, an online platform that has emerged as a central hub for knowledge-sharing and collaboration. The online platform provides ongoing access to training materials, practical tools, and case studies developed throughout the programme.

https://www.sustainablemobilityacademy.ie/home.html

This continued support is crucial, given that the programme highlighted a number of persistent challenges facing the rollout of sustainable mobility projects in Ireland such as, resistance to change, finance awareness and constraints, difficulties in achieving modal shift and transport integration, skills shortages, time pressures, and limited access to data.

Despite these challenges, the SSMA programme has made a meaningful contribution to advancing the National Sustainable Mobility Policy by fostering shared understanding, enhancing skills, and encouraging cross-sector collaboration. Looking ahead, the Regional Assemblies will use the programme’s findings and incorporate into Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) Review. This will include developing policies that prioritise active travel such as walking and cycling and promote public transport over car dependency. The RSES Review will also support opportunities to deliver the 15-Minute City concept.