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18TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TRANSPORT ECONOMICS AND POLICY
The Future for Interurban Passenger Transport
Bringing Citizens Closer Together
Welcome message from the Spanish Minister of Transport
Recent developments in passenger transport networks and services are fundamentally changing the geography of our world. The expansion of high-speed railway networks, the consolidation of air transport operators and the development of multimodal interchange nodes are helping to reduce travel time and costs. One effect of these changes is that citizens feel closer to formerly far-away cities, and that proximity is translated into the reinforcement of economic, cultural and social relationships. These trends are further reinforced by the commitment of our countries to facilitate international exchange, resulting in the emergence of real trans-national networks of cities in many parts of the world.
Spain is actively involved in this process. The development of our transport system has significantly facilitated the process of integration in the European Union, as well as strengthening our ties with other regions in the world: not only those closer geographically or culturally to our country, around the Mediterranean and in Latin America, but also many others, with which we are rapidly integrating, pushed by the process of globalisation. At the domestic level, an amazing transformation of the territory is taking place, as our cities are joined in a network by a renewed transport system, articulated along the new high-speed railway lines.
By hosting the 18th International Symposium on Transport Economics and Policy of the International Transport Forum, Spain opens an invitation to experts and researchers from around the world to come and discuss the role that transport is playing in accelerating the process of integration between cities and among countries, and to examine how this process can best serve the needs of our citizens. There are a good number of questions to be addressed by the research and professional community at the Symposium: how can transport systems be made more effective?; what role must be played by public authorities in order to drive all agents towards better integration, efficiency and quality?; what contribution can we expect from technological innovation in the coming years?; and how will expected trends influence the environmental performance of the transport sector?
I have pleasure in inviting you to Madrid, this November, to share your views on the future of passenger transport, and to stimulate action from all players in order to increase the quality of life of our citizens, reinforce cohesion in our societies, and speed up cooperation and integration between our countries.
José Blanco López
Spanish Minister of Transport
Madrid Symposium, foreword by Jack Short, General Secretary, international transport forum. Paris.
The Madrid Symposium examines one of the fundamental aims of transport policy: Bringing citizens closer together. The Symposium represents a unique opportunity to discuss the key issues involved on the basis of analytical reports from some of the leading researchers in the field.
This Symposium, the 18th in a series begun over thirty years ago, continues the tradition of addressing topics central to current research and policy debate. The face-to-face contacts that result from interurban passenger transport have been central to the intense period of globalisation that has reshaped our world over recent decades. A careful examination of the socio-economic drivers of demand, of the factors determining modal choice and the impact of prices and supply-side factors is of utmost importance if we want to understand the way interurban transport is likely to evolve in the future. We also need to assess the significance of the financial and economic crisis in relation to the long run processes reshaping the geography of settlement and economic activity. These are the starting points for the Symposium.
Competition between carriers and between modes will be a major force in shaping the future of interurban passenger transport. The way competition unfolds depends critically on the governance frameworks created by transport ministries and regulators for both competition and the provision and pricing of infrastructure. Infrastructure planning and assessment is a key aspect of providing transport services. If the role of long term plans and the evaluation of major infrastructure projects is a challenge both for policy-makers and researchers, fostering innovation to provide integrated interurban services and better access to major terminals is also essential. In addressing these issues the policy dimension of the Madrid Symposium is evident.
Sustainability, and especially managing greenhouse gas emissions has become a key issue in formulating transport policy. What, for example, is the potential for reducing car dependence by promoting collective interurban transport in a framework of maximising socio-economic welfare? What would be the impact on aviation markets of alternative policies aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions? What is the potential and cost effectiveness of trading systems in this respect? How should infrastructure assessment methodologies change? These questions have a strong international dimension and will be discussed at the Symposium.
Holding the Symposium in Madrid reflects the commitment of the Spanish authorities to take a prominent role in research debates and play a leading role in facilitating international comparisons and exchange of ideas. On behalf of the International Transport Forum and the OECD, I would like to thank the Spanish Government, and in particular CEDEX, the Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas, for their generosity in hosting this event in Madrid. I also extend to all delegates a very warm welcome, and I look forward to an enjoyable and productive Symposium.
Jack Short
Secretary General of the
International Transport Forum
