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“Firstly by further integrating different transport modes; by putting the EU at the forefront for transport services and technologies; and thirdly shaping this future transport policy on the needs and rights of both transport users and workers.”
The Communication identifies six trends and challenges that the Commission says will define transport policy over the coming decades: aging, migration and internal mobility, environmental challenges, the availability of energy resources, urbanisation and globalization.
These will impact policy in different ways. For example, by 2060, the number of people aged 65 or more will rise from 17% today to 30% of the population, putting more emphasis on transport services for users with reduced mobility. Oil is expected to become more expensive in the coming decades, and the paper says Europe will need to move to a low-carbon economy, boost energy security and use of renewables. And globally, it says the number of cars in the world will jump from about 700 million today to more than three billion in 2050.
The paper says households in the EU spend about 13.5% of their income on transport-related goods and services, making it the second biggest budget item after house-related expenditures. And it notes that more and more road motor vehicles are driving on Europe’s roads: the stock of passenger cars in the EU-27 surged by around 40% since 1990 to reach a total of about 230 million in 2006.
Entitled ‘A sustainable future for transport: Towards an integrated, technology-led and user friendly system’, the Communication does not include a detailed programme of policy measures, but instead puts forward ideas meant to stimulate further debate on possible policy options.
Tajani accepted that environmental concerns were a key issue in any transport perspective. “We want to reduce emissions,” he said. The Communication itself says, “the European transport system is still not on a sustainable path on several aspects."
Speaking at the press conference to launch the paper, Tajani insisted that the Commission still wanted to see a road toll system – the Eurovignette – in all EU countries, implemented under a ‘polluter pays’ principle. “If we have this Eurovignette, the money collected should be earmarked for transport infrastructure,” he said. “We are not going for a high tax option per se, but the Eurovignette should come into the mix. We also want to do this in a way that is not too onerous.”
However, the document does not prescribe any actions in this area. "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," it says.
And it calls for smarter use of technology in areas like transport safety, fuel dependency, vehicle emissions, network congestion and the shift to a low-carbon society.
Other areas where the document suggests action are in passenger rights, noting that consumer satisfaction in bus and rail public transport is very low. “The passenger has to be at the heart of this strategy. It has to be a major protagonist,” Tajani said.
The Communication also calls for liberalisation of the rail sector, arguing that similar moves in aviation and road transport have slashed prices. It points to the how market opening in air transport led to more efficiency and lower costs: intra-EU routes have increased by 120% between 1992 and 2008.
And it says transport users should be aware of the full price of the service: prices should give "correct incentives to users, planners and investors," so that negative impacts such as pollution can be limited, it said.
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