In European cities, the negative impact of traffic is reflected in the air quality degradation, emissions of greenhouse gases, delays and accidents causing economic damages amounting to EUR100 Billion yearly, or 1% of the European GDP. Such prejudices brought to the economy, to the citizens and to the environment are caused by the misunderstanding of the mobility concept and here the transport policies are the main factor in the adoption of a mode of transport which could support the entire society.
At the European level, the directives and the action plans initiated provide a legal framework for the local authorities to implement and develop a sustainable mobility concept, but the first place is held by the legislation which should encourage the use of the public transport. A policy supporting the public transport does not oppose to the economic development of urban areas, on the contrary the requirements on the protection of the environment should be understood as a chance to improve the economy and obviously the city accessibility. Therefore, a legislation in favour of the public transport will cause the reduction of congestion, of the number of accidents, diminishing the value of the damages produced otherwise (for instance, according to an analysis, until 2025, at the level of Great Britain, the congestion will cost over EUR 24 Billion yearly).
“People need mobility and the support of the public transport should be regulated by legislation which, if correctly implemented, will lead to the establishment of financing of the infrastructure projects and rolling stock, which are still a problem to be solved”, declared Vicenc Pedret – Cusco, economic advisor within DG MOVE.
A sustainable mobility concept cannot be developed if the legislation does not approach the problems by introducing charges and identifying the instruments for the increase of the market share of the public transport. “A coherent legal framework determines the investment distribution and the authorities should be aware of the fact that the investments granted to the public transport have a long-term and not a short-term turnover. To encourage the financing, the authorities must identify the necessary solutions and then to regulate them within the legal framework”, declared Hans Verner Franz, President of the European Metropolitan Transport Authorities (EMTA).
Big European cities can be an example as regards the adoption of solutions contributing to the increase of the financing degree of the public transport, namely by applying measures concerning the regulation of charges. For instance, the authorities in Paris have identified a viable solution to encourage investments: every company has to pay a charge of 3% of the public transport and 30% of the value of investments is ensured from these charges.
Congestion and road traffic charging is also a method establishing at least three important objectives: traffic management, improving the environment, or raising revenue (in case investments are meant for projects in the public transport). A city can apply this system after executing an evaluation of the charging system and in this case authorities have to clearly establish their objectives.
Share on:
