September 2012
AGE has just responded to an EU survey on urban mobility aimed at collecting stakeholders’ views and suggestion regarding the Action Plan on Urban Mobility adopted in 2009 and proposing short and medium-term practical actions launched from 2009 until 2012 in order to set out a coherent framework for EU initiatives in the area of urban mobility. AGE’s response points out the need for integrated policies and accessible mobility and cities, in line with its call for age-friendly environments.
Some of the many issues brought forward are:
- strong support to the setting up of a Platform on passenger rights in urban public transport on a permanent basis, as a body able to ensure a structured dialogue, collect the voices of the huge variety of travellers throughout Europe and to play an important role in supporting the harmonized implementation of EU policy and legislative work. The Forum could also identify areas where there might be a need for additional research (policy or technical), standards, indicators, statistics and projects;
- further steps should be taken, including introducing a common set of passenger rights for all transport modes and developing implementation guidelines to help transport operators to apply in a harmonised way the legislation taking into account the specific characteristics of each mode. This must also encompass equity needs, i.e. ensuring that all citizens can benefit from these rights, regardless their income, age or impairments.
- better training opportunities for transport professionals, such as drivers and staff on board, to make them able to assist passengers with reduced mobility;
- an EU portal covering all issues related to public transport (notably trip planners, documentation of passenger rights and links to national, regional and local UPT providers, accessibility indicators) could be a valuable initiative to inform passengers in a comprehensive way.
AGE’s full response is available here
