Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities and Stephen Cotton, General Secretary of the ITF, explain why transport is fundamental to the world’s recovery from COVID-19, and call on governments to put transport networks first as the world begins to emerge from the pandemic.
Original Article by Intelligent Transport, to read detailed article please click Here
Public transport systems around the world — and the workers who power them — have kept communities moving during the fight against COVID-19. These bus drivers, train operators, conductors, ticket sellers, mechanics and cleaners have made sure that other frontline workers have also been able to make it to work every day. Now we need governments to step up too, not just cancelling the budget deficits that amassed as passenger numbers collapsed during lockdowns, but taking the opportunity of changed work and travel patterns to invest in expanded and zero-emission public transport services that can be the cornerstone of a green and just recovery from the pandemic.
Helping transport bounce back
As we begin to edge toward the end of this crisis, we still face a number of tremendous challenges, but also have some great opportunities to emerge as a stronger, more inclusive and cohesive society.
Central to realising that opportunity will be how societies invest in public transport. The pandemic has exacerbated already huge funding gaps for these services amid dire economic conditions. In Italy, transport operations are estimated to have lost $1.8billion (€1.5 billion) in fare revenues during 2020.1 Meanwhile, the Brazilian public transport sector registered an economic loss of $1.7 billion (R$9.5 billion) in 2020, and Vancouver’s transport authority said it was losing around $75 million every month.2 3 New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) estimates a $6 billion deficit in 2021 and a cumulative deficit of close to $16 billion due to COVID-19 over a five-year period.4 In response, many transport systems have reduced their services, reducing bus frequency, cutting night services, or reducing services to only the most profitable routes.
To recover from COVID-19, governments must make ambitious commitments to invest in public transport infrastructure and operations now. While we applaud actions some national governments have taken to help mass transport systems survive the immediate COVID-19 crisis, stable, direct, and long-term funding is needed to ensure cities can protect transport services and workers and invest in expanded and zero-emission transport. A just transition will protect and create green jobs, and guarantee that expanded public transport provides access to employment opportunities for millions more. This is an opportunity to invest in our cities, for jobs, for workers, for city residents, and, critically, to futureproof our cities to the world’s next looming crisis: the climate emergency.
Today, workers, mayors, union leaders and city residents around the world are standing together to demand transformative investments in public transport to protect and create millions of decent jobs and ensure a green and just global recovery with public services at the core. It is a vital opportunity to promote gender equity in both jobs and services, and a visionary employment strategy for young people.
A green opportunity
How governments invest in the post-pandemic recovery will determine whether we accelerate the transition to a greener, fairer economy or whether we lock-in pollution for decades. C40 research indicates between 40 and 80 per cent of trips in cities need to be walking, cycling, or public transport by 2030 if global heating is to be constrained below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Put simply, you can’t have a sustainable city without mass transport.
If we are serious about tackling the climate emergency — and we need to be — then the recovery stimulus has got to be big, green and fast.
Safe, affordable and high-quality transport in cities is key not only to achieving clean air and emissions targets, but to protecting the frontline workers who have risked their lives every day for the past year to protect us. The pandemic has disproportionately impacted the health of transport workers, and many members of ITF affiliates worldwide have died. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) in the United States alone has lost more than 140 members over the past year. Public transport has been a lifeline to our communities, and it’s time we treat it as such.
ICAV Cluster is Smart City and CAV news aggregator. To add your Smart City or CAV related news, please email our editorial team on info@www.icavcluster.com
