The importance of public transport for Europe's Green Recovery

Key points

The EESC:

• recognises that public transport is a significant part of the answer to Europe's green post-pandemic recovery, both providing an answer to climate concerns and contributing to quality of life and access to economic, social and cultural life.
• considers that achieving sustainable mobility needs strong political commitment from all actors and at all levels to ensure both high quality service and adequate condition and social protection for employees.
• calls for strong social dialogue mechanisms to ensure that recovery strategies and measures meet the needs and expectations of all, and to make the sector economically and socially sustainable. 
• calls for full compliance with public procurement procedures, and inclusion of mandatory service quality and social criteria in public transport service contracts.
• considers good working conditions and motivated and well-trained staff essential for delivering high-quality service. Providing sufficiently staffed, accessible, affordable, safe, quality public transport services for everyone must be a priority objective for the EU.