The European Commission (EC) has published the 2016 edition of the ‘EU Transport Scoreboard’, a benchmark study that compares how member states perform in 30 categories covering all aspects of transport.
The objective of the Scoreboard is to help member states identify areas requiring priority investment and action. It shows how the EU further deepens the internal market in transport and promotes the shift toward low-emission mobility, two priorities of the EC under the presidency of Jean-Claude Juncker. The overall score is calculated by subtracting negative scores from positive ones across the 30 categories. The Netherlands tops the Scoreboard for the third year running, with high scores in 15 categories, followed by Sweden, Germany and Austria. While they have different strengths, they all share a solid framework for investment, good transport safety scores, and a good record of implementing EU law. The Scoreboard brings together data from a variety of public sources, such as Eurostat, the European Environment Agency, and the World Economic Forum.
The main findings of the 2016 Scorecard are:
• Low emission mobility – There is progress across the EU toward more sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility, for example in the share of renewable energy for transport and in the number of new cars using alternative fuels. However, levels are still low and the fact that some member states are clear front-runners shows the potential to accelerate the shift toward low-emission mobility. To this end, the Commission adopted a European Strategy for low-emission mobility in July 2016;
• Infrastructure – Investment in transport infrastructure takes time to show effects. However, some positive effects of investment can be seen in the perceived quality of transport infrastructure. This will become more pronounced in the coming years with additional investment, especially through the Connecting Europe Facility and the Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe;
• People – Consumer satisfaction with all modes of transport has increased across Europe, which suggests that people’s needs are understood and that the right investment decisions are being taken. While European roads remains by far the safest in the world, the decrease in the number of road deaths is static, indicating that countries need to intensify efforts in order to reach the 2020 target of halving the number of fatalities. Although the number of women employed in the transport sector is increasing, their overall share remains low, so the Commission is considering adequate initiatives.
The EU Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc (above), commented, “My objective is to have a high quality, decarbonized, fully integrated and efficient transport system. The scoreboard serves as a road sign on this journey, pointing the way, and indicating the distance still to be covered. It is a useful tool for us, for member states, and for stakeholders, to identify where we do well and where further investment and actions are needed. It is particularly encouraging to see that the efforts of this Commission to bridge the investment gap in the transport sector are starting to bear fruit.”
