CONSTRUCTION, TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE 2021
FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION
Driverless, Clean
AND EQUITABLE The digitalisation of transport is expected to propel safer, friendlier and more equitable solutions. As part of the Digital Single Market Strategy, the European Commission aims to make more use of smart solutions to improve the way we use transport systems, as passengers and the economy.
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ising traffic demand, congestion, security of energy supply and climate change are just some of the major issues being faced by the European Union and the wider world. And therefore the developing of a comprehensive strategy for sustainable and smart mobility, and ensuring a transport sector that’s fit for a clean, digital and modern economy, represent some of the most important tasks of the European Commissioner for Transport. Rising traffic demand, congestion, security of energy supply and climate change are just some of the major issues being faced by the European Union and the wider world. And therefore the developing of a comprehensive strategy for sustainable and smart mobility, 48
and ensuring a transport sector that’s fit for a clean, digital and modern economy, represent some of the most important tasks of the European Commissioner for Transport. The long list of tasks includes the promotion of sustainable and alternative transport fuels for road, maritime and air transport, the modernisation of transport systems, such as connected and automated mobility, with a strong focus on digital innovation, swiftly completing the missing infrastructure links and the Trans-European Transport Network, and ensuring passenger rights while respecting the need for transport to remain affordable, reliable and accessible, particularly for low-income households and those in remote areas, as well as improving connectivity links,
particularly in the EU’s neighbourhood and across the Western Balkans. If these goals are fulfilled, everything about the way we get around and how we live our lives is set to change profoundly. The Joint Research Centre (JRC), the Commission’s science and knowledge service, called it a perfect storm of new technologies and new business models that will transform the way we think about our vehicles and the way we think about transportation. Road and railway transportation will be automated, connected and low-carbon, and will include shared mobility. This profound transformation will include changes in data governance, infrastructures, communication technologies and cybersecurity, as well as