Why we should be positive about the future of public transport

In times of low passenger numbers and financial pressure on funding bodies, it might be easy to cast public transport aside and exclude it from the long list of priorities, despite the crucial role it played by providing essential services to key workers. Let’s not allow the focus on the current situation to detract from the role public transport has – not only now, but in the next 5, 10, or even 25 years.

Post-Covid-19, Europe’s level of urbanisation will not decrease, at least not for medium-longer term. Major cities won’t lose their position as marketplaces of ideas, innovation and growth[1] and will continue to attract people, even if working from home is likely to increase. High density of both population and infrastructure in urban areas will exacerbate already familiar challenges: environmental degradation, air pollution and congestion. These challenges will not all be solved by the electric car: congestion will still be there – it’ll just happen to be electric.

And this is where the importance of public transport comes in – and why we should be positive about its future:

1. An efficient, sustainable transport network with mass transport at its core will help address the challenges of urbanisation.

2. In times of climate change, air pollution and increased congestion, public transport will not only remain vital but grow in importance as it will have to play a key role in decarbonising economies, providing sustainable mobility services to citizens.

3. Whilst this vision is not ground-breaking, doesn’t involve flying taxis, or autonomous pods, it is one which can be achieved quickly, provided the right levers are pulled.

Pulling the right levers will be the responsibility of both operators and governments/municipalities (and to some extent commuters as well). Together with governments, the sector must find the balance between “convenience”, “cost”, “environment” and “congestion”.

The question is: how do we find it?

Operators will have to make their services as attractive as possible, accepting that consumers will, with the emergence of new mobility services, have an increasing amount of modal choice. 

• This includes making operational improvements and investing in new technology, including digital innovation.
• Cooperating with Mobility as a Service (MaaS) operators and data platforms will facilitate multi-modal mobility, enable door-to-door journeys, and make public transport more convenient to use.
• Investing in clean vehicles will help individuals reduce their carbon footprints and quickly contribute to decarbonising the transport sector.

However, embracing digitalisation and operational efficiencies will only go so far whilst external incentives and/or penalties are not in place.

Governments across all levels have the responsibility, and the power, to make public transport a financially more sustainable and attractive alternative:

• Frameworks must be created to ensure that mobility services complement public transport as they are developed and support modal shift from private to collective/ mass modes.

• Applying a “user and polluter pays principle” would help balance the cost of transport by internalising external costs. Something which can be done through forms of congestion and road charges, vehicle taxation, and clean air zones.

• Ringfencing this income to improve public transport networks, cycle lanes or pedestrian areas, will further reduce the reliance on the private car in urban environments. After all, penalising car use is not in itself the answer – attractive alternatives must be in place.

• Investing in developments such as Bus Rapid Transit Routes to enable high-frequency bus services will also be crucial, as well as deploying refuelling/recharging infrastructure for clean public transport vehicles, strengthening sustainable transport networks. Such developments should be closely aligned with urban planning to ensure that sustainable transport is fully integrated.

• And lastly, long-term urban mobility strategies with mass transport modes at its core must be established.

None of these instruments and measures are ground-breaking but taking the step to rethink Europe’s urban transport networks requires courage from both governments and operators in terms of investment and shaping mobility strategies for urban areas.

Governments and mobility providers must work in partnership, rethink how modes are ‘penalised’ or ‘subsidised’ and how space is allocated. Taking the leap to commit to change and truly sustainable transport networks will result in attractive and sustainable mobility, accessible to everyone.

[1] See PWC: Urbanisation and real estate after Covid-19, July 2020.