Overview
TRANSFORuM provided a platform for stakeholders of all areas of the European Transport sector to develop a common view and strategies of how four key goals of the 2011 White Paper on Transport can be achieved. Our underlying assumptions were that policy making should be based on an in-depth understanding of all stakeholders' positions and that coordinated action is more effective than solo attempts. TRANSFORuM focused on the following four key goals of the White Paper:
- Halve the use of ‘conventionally fuelled’ cars in urban transport by 2030; phase them out in cities by 2050. Achieve essentially CO2-free city logistics in major urban centres by 2030.
- Thirty per cent of road freight over 300 km should shift to other modes such as rail or waterborne transport by 2030, and more than 50 % by 2050, facilitated by efficient and green freight corridors. To meet this goal will also require appropriate infrastructure to be developed.
- By 2050, complete a European high-speed rail network. Triple the length of the existing high-speed rail network by 2030 and maintain a dense railway network in all Member States. By 2050 the majority of medium-distance passenger transport should go by rail.
- By 2020, establish the framework for a European multimodal transport information, management and payment system.
TRANSFORuM developed a roadmap for the implementation of these White Paper goals, combined with a strategic outlook and concrete recommendations for policy and implementers. The process towards these outputs was based on a set of interlinked steps, starting with:
- an analysis of the current situation (policies, funding mechanisms, actors, trends),
- followed by the identification of main challenges and barriers and
- an in-depth description of contemporary best practice under the heading 'Transformation is possible!'
All of these steps and final outputs were based on the views of and reality-tested by the key actors in all of the above areas. Therefore, TRANSFORuM brought together a comprehensive sample of these stakeholders in a series of 11 face-to-face events, validated their results through targeted interviews and stimulated and moderated lively on-line discussions.