Double up for public transport

The Swedish public transport sector has decided to unite and double its market share. A bold vision fuelled by environmental concern and long-term societal cost-efficiency. Public transport has climed into the political agenda again.

We all have some kind of experience or story from public transportation. Physical contact is established way too early in the morning; people are flirting, singing, breaking up over the phone for everyone to hear. As a tourist, riding local buses or trying to figure out complex webs of capital city subways are natural, yet exciting, parts of the adventure. For non-tourists, the ride is part of everyday life – a numb necessity, a black hole in time. But there is a mindshift going on, somewhat sprung from the reborn environmental concern. Public transport is becoming sexier than ever.

It’s time to work together
The public transport sector has thus commonly decided to launch the so-called Doubling Project. The main goal is this: to double the market share of the Swedish public transport sector. The time schedule for such an effort has not been properly set yet, but as a mid-term goal, it has been said that the industry should have doubled the ammount of travels in public transport from 2006 to 2020.
– The industry has more or less decided that this is the way to go, and both transportation companies and authorities are on board, says Lars Nordstrand, chairman of the board in transportation company Keolis Nordic. He is also one of the leading profiles in the Doubling Project, and was until 2008 highly placed in SL (Stockholm Public Transport). He admits that there are obvious infrastrucutural limitations to a project of this magnitude.
– Of course there are, but now it’s truly time to show that we in the industry can work together and challenge the government to invest from their part. There are mainly limitations when it comes to train traffic, because the actual rails are too few. But there are other solutions these days.

Historically, there has been a competition in Sweden between buses and trains. But now the focus is different, and the main aim is to make travelers leave their cars at home and save the environment by going public – regardless of how. Lars Nordstrand believes that the new kind of competition due to liberalisation is important in order for the companies to create better offers to the travelers.
– The whole public transportation sector has been very restricted by the government and local authorities, he says. This has paralyzed the creativity in the many ways. We have to work together and find new creative solutions towards a common goal, and that’s what the Doubling Project is all about.

A united industry with one voice
The Swedish Public Transport Association naturally plays an instrumental part in the Doubling Project. Right now they are in the process of helping local and regional transport companies by drafting recommendations and organising educations.
– We see to it that the industry takes its responsibility, and now the government has to take theirs, says CEO Charlotte Wäreborn Schultz.

It’s more or less a question about capacity. Like other liberalisations of monopoly, there is an infrastructural reality that the new commercial competitors must abide to, like it or not. In the case of public transport, this involves roads and railways, issues not easily resolved over night.
– We now need to deliver what the customers want, says Charlotte Wäreborn Schultz. Only then can we pressure the government into working in a better way with taxes, legislation and investments in infrastructure.

But also from the government’s side, efforts are uniting. On April the 1st this year, the Swedish Transport Administration was created from the combined efforts of mainly the Swedish Rail Administration and Swedish Road Administration. This new holistic approach to transport will hopefully create a more direct communication, since there is now only one authority responsible for “the long-term planning of the transport system for road, rail, maritme and air traffic”.

Has it been difficult to get the other industry partners to join the project?
– Not at all, says Charlotte Wäreborn Schultz from the Swedish Public Transport Association, everyone is very enthusiastic about this. We feel that this is a way to truly lift the whole sector and make public transport a high priority political issue. That hasn’t been the case so far. Now we can become a united industry with one voice and one set of demands.


Facts
Some of the main reasons for the Doubling Project:
Reducing carbon dioxide emissions
Increase energy efficiency
Better road safety
Less traffic congestion
Growth and regional development

Read more
www.svenskkollektivtrafik.se/fordubbling

The article is previously published in the magazine Swedish Bulletin.