Framing Urban Mobility: Public Transport as a Pillar of Sustainable Cities
Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas addressed the European Parliament on enhancing competitive, efficient, and sustainable public transport systems. He emphasized public transport's vital role in connecting people to employment and services while sustaining economic and social cohesion across Europe. According to Tzitzikostas, public transport remains foundational as per the EU Urban Mobility Framework, with significant employment figures reaching 600,000 across the bloc.
Member States in Control: EU's Supporting Role
Tzitzikostas underscored that building efficient public transport is primarily a responsibility of Member States. He stressed local authorities' proximity to citizens as key to assessing demand and setting service levels, while the EU provides framework conditions ensuring cost efficiency and fairness. He highlighted EU legislative tools such as the Fourth Railway Package fostering competitive tendering and social protections that maintain employment conditions, alongside funding mechanisms like the Connecting Europe Facility and Recovery and Resilience Facility, helping modernize fleets and infrastructure.
Addressing Social and Workforce Challenges
A distinct concrete proposal relates to tackling labour shortages, particularly the underrepresentation of women in the transport workforce—only 21% overall and 5% among train drivers. Tzitzikostas pointed to ongoing initiatives such as the Women in Transport platform with 25 recommendations and youth engagement efforts scheduled to better align workforce supply with sector needs. The Social Climate Fund is also noted as a vehicle for combating transport poverty through targeted subsidies.
Stakeholder Impacts
For Member States and regional authorities, these policies largely reinforce their leadership role in planning and financing, encouraging collaboration with EU bodies but retaining sovereignty over service provision. Transport operators may face increased demands for cleaner fleets and adherence to competitive tendering, balanced by continued subsidies and social safeguards. Workers in transport could benefit from new diversity and inclusion initiatives, yet the effectiveness depends on implementation. Consumers stand to gain from potentially more affordable and sustainable services, though public funds' allocation remains a crucial variable.
In sum, Commissioner Tzitzikostas' statement refrains from proposing new EU legislative instruments but strongly advocates for the thorough execution of existing frameworks, emphasizing cooperation among governance levels and workforce development as pivotal for advancing public transport's future in Europe.