30.12.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 498/19
17. calls for another Euro emission standard for cars, vans, trucks and buses (Euro 7/VII) in order to reduce the emission of toxic pollutants (i.e. nitrogen oxide, ammonia, carbon monoxide and particulate matter PM 10-2,5) and to avoid tens of thousands of premature deaths each year; deeply regrets the European Commission’s decision to again delay the Euro 7/VII proposals in its 2022 Work Programme, which casts doubt over its ‘Zero Pollution Ambition’ and its commitment to the European Green Deal, and jeopardises the industry’s ability to plan engineering changes;
Accessible Mobility for All 18. requests a public transport system accessible for all citizens, through inclusion by design, especially taking into account persons with disabilities; stresses the benefits of including users from an early stage of planning of infrastructure and transport services; confirms the importance of accessibility outlined within the framework of the European Disability Strategy 2021-2030 (EDS) and the European Accessibility Act; points out the importance of projects such as the ‘Access City Award’;
19.
calls for a more comprehensive approach to ensure accessibility throughout the journey;
20. emphasises that the need to address mobility poverty is critical in the interests of social, economic and territorial cohesion; calls therefore for a multimodal and integrated approach to combat mobility exclusion and ensure equal access to urban centres; welcomes in this regard the Commission’s commitment set out in the new UMF to tackling ‘inequalities in accessing the public transport network, including improving access to train stations’; calls also for additional support for smaller cities, peri-urban, and dependent rural and mountainous areas, especially in less developed regions, to ensure the connectivity of these territories and equal access to the sustainable mobility transition for their citizens;
Reinforcing public transport as the backbone of urban mobility 21. welcomes the intention signalled by the Commission to ‘work with national and local administrations and all stakeholders to ensure that [public transport] remains the backbone of urban mobility’; highlights the need to coordinate all available tools and resources to that end, including the important role of Public Service Obligations (PSOs) in ensuring connectivity with urban centres;
22. highlights the urgent need for overall capacity increases for public transport, both in terms of geographical coverage and increased frequencies, to accommodate the expected increase in passenger volumes; recalls the chronic underinvestment over recent decades and the investment gap facing public transport operators, as highlighted by the European Court of Auditors;
23. underlines that public transport must be complemented by alternative offers and multimodal concepts; calls in this regard for flexible and demand-driven first and last mile solutions; and equally stresses the importance of promoting active mobility, especially cycling;
24. points out the need to provide and expand sustainable public transport infrastructure, including appropriate charging systems for electric buses that allow inter-urban travel on and in adverse terrain and climate conditions, and increased commercial speed;
25. calls for the strengthening of multimodal hubs to provide for smooth transfers between different modes of transport, including improving accessibility for active mobility and the provision of secure parking facilities for bicycles, in order to ensure a faster and more effective transfer of people and goods;
26. emphasises the importance of peri-urban linkages, including cross-border links, since commuting does not stop at city limits and must also be facilitated within rural areas and beyond national boundaries in border regions, such as providing park and ride facilities connected to the transport network;
27. points to the need for measures to encourage the deployment of on-demand public transport services, especially in peripheral and outermost rural areas, and calls on the Commission to provide both support for trialling such solutions and a system for financing and subsidising this type of service;