PURPOSE: to launch a debate on the sustainable future of transport
(towards an integrated, technology-led and user friendly system).
BACKGROUND: transport
is an essential component of the European economy. The transport industry at
large accounts for about 7% of GDP and for over 5% of total employment in the
EU. The European Transport Policy has contributed significantly to the Lisbon
Agenda for Growth and Jobs. More limited, however, have been the results with
respect to the goals of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy: as indicated
in the progress report of 2007 (COM(2007)0642),
the European transport system is still not on a sustainable path on
several aspects.
In 2001, the Commission issued a White
Papersetting an agenda for the European transport policy throughout
2010. This programme was updated in the mid-term
review of 2006. Approaching the end of the ten-year period, it is time to
look further ahead and prepare the ground for later policy developments.
To this end, the
Commission launched a reflection exercise, comprising an evaluation study on
the European Transport Policy; a debate within three ‘Focus Groups’; a study
– ‘Transvisions’ – identifying possible low-carbon scenarios for transport;
and a consultation of stakeholders, notably through a High Level
Stakeholders’ Conference on 9-10 March 2009.
The present Communication summarises the results of this wide
reflection. It refers to recent developments of the ETP and outstanding
issues. It also looks at the future, identifying trends in transport drivers
and the likely challenges they could pose to society. It proposes some
intermediate policy objectives, which could be pursued to address the
emerging challenges in the transport sector. It describes some available
instruments and possible lines of intervention for achieving the stated
objectives.
The ideas put forward in this Communication are meant to stimulate
further debate aimed at identifying policy options, without prejudging the
formulation of concrete proposals in the next White Paper of 2010.
CONTENT: this
Paper states that it is difficult to anticipate which factors will have the
greatest influence in shaping the future of transport, but it identifies 6
main trends that will certainly pose challenges to our mobility system: (i)
ageing; (ii) migration; (iii) environmental sustainability; (iv) fossil fuel
scarcity; (v) urbanisation and (vi) globalisation.
The goal of the European Transport Policy is to establish a
sustainable transport system that meets society’s
economic, social and environmental needs and is conducive to an inclusive
society and a fully integrated and competitive Europe. The ongoing trends and
future challenges highlighted above point to the need for satisfying a
rising demand for ‘accessibility’ in a context of growing sustainability
concerns. The most immediate priorities appear to be the better integration
of the different modes of transport as a way to improve the overall
efficiency of the system and the acceleration of the development and
deployment of innovative technologies.
The communication transforms the above priorities into more
operational goals, proposing seven broad policy objectives for
consideration:
- quality transport that is safe and secure: an improvement of the overall quality of transport,
including personal security, the reduction of accidents and of health
hazards, the protection of passengers’ rights and the accessibility of
remote regions, must remain a high priority of transport policy. Road
safety will remain an issue of concern. It is also necessary to: (i)
improve safety and security conditions, attention should be given to the
issue of privacy and data protection that can arise in relation to the
means employed for surveillance, registration and control purposes; (ii)
supply people with reduced mobility with comfortable transport solutions;
(iii) ensure a safer and more secure urban environment.
- a well maintained and fully integrated network: a better exploitation of the network’s capacity and of the
relative strengths of each mode could contribute significantly to
reducing congestion, emissions, pollution and accidents. With regard to
passenger transport, the integration of aviation with high-speed rail
will be a crucial development. Concerning freight transport, an intelligent
and integrated logistic system must become a reality, where development of
ports and intermodal terminals is key element. The above-described urbanisation
trend will make ‘modal shift’ towards more environmentally friendly modes
particularly important in the context of urban transport. Infrastructure
should be well maintained and improvement works coordinated. New
infrastructure should be planned and prioritised with a view to
maximising socio-economic benefits taking into account externalities and
effects on the total network.
- more environmentally sustainable transport: lowering consumption of
non-renewable resources is essential for all aspects of transport systems
and their use. For some aspects, in view of the long time required to
effect change, long term strategies are required to provide assurance
for different actors in the market. In devising the future of the
transport system, all elements of sustainability should be taken into
account. This concerns the operation of transport means (emissions,
noise) as well as the provision of infrastructure (land occupancy,
bio-diversity);
- keeping
the EU at the forefront of transport services and technologies: “soft infrastructures”, like
intelligent transport systems for road (ITS) and traffic management
systems for rail (ERTMS)
and aviation (Single European Sky’s SESAR),
backed by Galileo, can optimise the use of the network and improve safety.
Innovative vehicle technology can lower emissions, reduce oil dependency
and increase comfort. Lastly, the development of technological solutions
for sustainable transport is also important to promote growth and
safeguard jobs;
- protecting
and developing the human capital: transport
workers in some sectors may be displaced from their jobs as a result of
the adjustment to a radically different economic and energy context. It
is important to ensure that such change is well anticipated and managed,
so that changing conditions will also be a source of new jobs and that
transport workers can participate in, and respond to, the process. This
can be done through a range of instruments, including information and
consultation of workers, social dialogue, early identification of skills
shortages, training, and ensuring that any restructuring is carried out
in a socially responsible way. It must also be ensured that working
conditions are maintained or improved. Differences in rights and social
conditions between Member States should not result in a race to the
bottom and become a factor of competitiveness.
- smart
prices as traffic signals: in transport,
like in any other sector, there cannot be economic efficiency unless the
prices reflect all costs – internal and external – actually caused by
the users. The transport system would particularly benefit from better
price signals. The next decade is likely to be one of transition for the
transport system. New practices and new technologies will emerge;
long-term investments, for example in infrastructure, will be made.
Europe will have to live with these choices for a long time: it is
therefore essential that they are guided by correct price signals.
- planning
with an eye to transport: improving accessibility: many public services have been progressively centralised
with a view to increasing efficiency. The distances between the citizens
and the service providers (schools, hospitals, shopping malls) have been
on the increase. Firms have followed the same trend by keeping a smaller
number of production, storage and distribution centres. The trend
towards the concentration of activities has produced a large amount of ‘forced’
mobility, owing to a worsening of accessibility conditions. When taking
land-use planning or location decisions, public authorities and companies
should take into account the consequences of their choices in terms of travel
needs of clients and employees in addition to the transport of goods. Sound
planning should also facilitate the seamless integration of the
different transport modes. Transportation needs can also be reduced by
increasing ‘virtual’ accessibility through information technology
(teleworking, e-Government, e-Health, etc.).
The Commission
puts forward some suggestions on how the available policy instruments
could be activated to reach those goals and respond to the sustainability
challenge:
- the optimal
functioning of the transport system requires full integration and
interoperability of the individual parts of the network, as well as
interconnection between different (modal) networks. Well focused
infrastructure expansion will help avoiding congestion and time losses. In
this respect, infrastructure needs to be carefully planned and
prioritised with a view to optimising transport chains and the overall
transport network;
- find the resources for sustainable transport: the transition towards a low carbon
economy will impose a substantial overhaul of the transport system which
will require considerable and well coordinated funding, but the
necessary resources will be difficult to find;
- accelerate the transition to a low-carbon society and lead
global innovation: (i) adopt technologies to
build lower and zero-emission vehicles and for the development of
alternative solutions for sustainable transport; (ii) set open standards,
ensuring interoperability, increasing R&D expenditures for
technologies that are not yet mature for market application; (iii) define
a clear legal and regulatory framework – e.g. for liability and privacy
issues – and promoting best practice examples; (iv) foster R&D
expenditures towards sustainable mobility, for example through the
European Green Cars Initiativeand Joint Technology Initiatives;
- improve the legislative framework:
(i) further promote market opening and fostering competition; (ii) include
administrative simplification aiming at reducing unnecessary burdens on
transport companies; (iii) evolve the regulatory framework towards
harmonised environmental obligations, effective supervision, uniform
protection of workers conditions and users’ rights;
- educate, inform and involve citizens: greater public involvement in transport planning can be
ensured by recourse to participatory instruments, namely open
consultations, surveys and stakeholders’ representation in decision
processes;
- improve
governance through effective and coordinated
action, notably in two areas: (i) interoperability standards; (ii) the
urban challenge.
- promote
the external dimension: the European
transport policy needs therefore to think and act internationally to
ensure further integration with its neighbouring countries and advance
Europe’s economic and environmental interests in the global context.
The Commission
encourages all interested party to contribute to the consultation exercise
launched by the present Communication by 30 September 2009.