Strategies and governance to achieve inclusive mobility and social cohesion

The participants advised that the European Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility needs a stronger emphasis on sustainable public transportation solutions, which now appear as a crucial ingredient for any strategy to counter recent skepticism triggered by social and cost-of-living crises across the bloc.

Show the benefits

“When you want climate change politics to have popular support, you need to show the benefits,” recommended Jakop Dalunde, Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism. Many such solutions – accessible, inclusive and affordable – are ready to be deployed, and policy makers should do more to highlight the advantages, including financial, of switching to cleaner modes of transport.
In this context, fostering a sense of common purpose across EU member countries when it comes to mobility is a winning strategy, said Dominique Riquet,a long-standing member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism, who recently announced his departure from politics.

Seemingly technical issues like the standardization of electrification or speed limits could be turned into “unification tools” Riquet advised.

“You will create the same culture around transportation and you explain that it’s in the common interest,” he said, adding that building “trust” in the mobility project is paramount.

Dialogue and change

There have been some remarkable success stories of patient and honest dialogue bringing about change. One example is a congestion charge scheme in Stockholm, Jakob Dalunde’s home town, which had almost no political or popular support when it was trialed in 2006.

But after seven months of testing and consultation, the congestion charge was approved by referendum, leading to a substantial reduction in car traffic since.

“Here is a great example where we managed to introduce a system that reduces climate change or reduces climate impact by showing the benefits – less pollution and less congestion – rather than focusing on the guilt,” Dalunde summed up the strategy for acceptance.

Elisabeth Kotthaus, Head of the Unit “Social Aspects, Passenger Rights and Equal Opportunities” at the EU Commission’s Directorate-General Mobility and Transport urged a new approach to meet recent social cohesion challenges.

“We have to design our policies in a different way by considering different user groups. How do we organize this transition? If people lose their jobs, can they find something else? Are they re-skilled or up-skilled? Do we see new jobs in transport that we can come up with? That are maybe less stressful?” she said.

Impacting decision-making

“Citizens need to feel that the space between elections is one that is welcoming to them,” observed Colin Scicluna, Head of Cabinet of the European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography. “It’s one where
they can participate, where they can contribute to policy-making and have a determining impact also on how the decision-making works out.”

Daniel Mes, Member of the Cabinet of the European Commissioner for Climate Action, suggested that much could be done to harness the climate cooperation between European cities for joint purchases of zero-emission vehicles such as buses, to make them more affordable. A quarter of new buse sold in the European Union’s single market are already zero-emission, he gave as an example – “way ahead of other segments” – and more needed to be done to
allow European manufacturers to compete with non-EU rivals. “It will be a political priority to make sure that our European bus makers have a role to play in this transition and have a fair share of these economic opportunities,” Mes said.