Climate change – the strongest reason in history to develop public transport services

Global climate change – a threat to entire mankind – calls for drastic changes in our behaviour and goal-setting. The transport sector’s responsibility for climate change, and the related measures, best describes the future transport policy of Finland.

In March 2008, the Finnish Government presented a report to parliament to outline its long-term transport policies. The report includes a four year transport facility investment programme and a long-term transport and infrastructure development and investment programme, based on a comprehensive approach to the transport system. The report adopts a perspective that covers the whole transport system and its key aim is to improve long-term sustainability in transport policy. When drafting the report, it was considered very important to avoid focusing only on transport infrastructure because the problems of travel and transport chains cannot be solved through infrastructure investments alone.

The Government transport policy report underlines the importance of promoting and developing public transport services in order to ensure a well functioning transport system and to decrease passenger vehicle traffic. Government measures can greatly influence the popularity of public transport services. Some of them have a direct influence, like price changes, while some have a longer-term impact, like urban infill. This is absolutely the right time to act decisively to take every possible measure to maintain and increase the competitiveness of public transport services.

For the passenger, certainty and quality of the services are key issues that cannot be stressed too much. A reform of public transport legislation is underway in Finland with the aim of further opening up public transport markets to competition. This will enable and encourage transport operators to continuously develop and strengthen their operations. In the future, public transport services will be viewed and planned as bigger, regional systems that can better serve commuter traffic across municipal borders. It must be ensured that in the implementation of the reform, the best elements of the current system are safeguarded. An extensive network, low level of subsidisation, and expertise and cooperation of the enterprises will also be very valuable in the future.

In Finland, approximately 70% of all public transport journeys are made in big cities. Therefore it is natural that a significant part of the measures promoting public transport services are targeted at big cities. Urban areas are encouraged to improve the role of public transport in the transport system through long-term regional public transport development programmes that are connected with transport system planning. Concrete regional aims will be set for the service level in public transport. The state and municipalities will together prepare regional letters of intent for the implementation of the development programmes. As of 2009, the state will for the first time take part in funding public transport services in big cities.

In a European context, Finland’s population is very small. However, Finland must bear its responsibility for curbing climate change as the contribution of every country, small and large, is needed. It is not easy to change the way we behave and operate, but no reform is possible without changes. The policy framework for tackling the problem is now complete and it is time to put the ideas into practice.