Doubling the Market Share of Public Transport
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2 Doubling the market share of public transport The Swedish Doubling Project is a unique nationwide co-operation which involves all employees in the sector. The common, long-term goal is to double the market share held by public transport. “Public Transport is a natural part of travel in a sustainable society. This is our vision,” says Charlotte Wäreborn Schultz, Managing Director of the Swedish Public Transport Association and chairman of the Doubling Project. A doubling of the public transport market share produces major benefits for society. The goals are to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to increase energy efficiency throughout the entire transport system. A doubling will also give better road safety, less congestion and a transport system Charlotte Wäreborn Schultz, Managing Director of the Swedish that offers equal opportunities. Public transport also contributes to growth and regional Public Transport Association. development. A number of activities are in progress “In order to double the public transport market share, there needs to be a shift in our sector from a production culture to a service culture. Through new approaches and smarter co-operation, we will increase the efficiency of our operations, extend the range of transport services offered and raise the quality,” says Charlotte Wäreborn Schultz. Effective and ongoing training activities for decision-makers and sector players will increase the level of insight, involvement and willpower. Among the projects that are currently in progress, mention can be made of co-ordinated information systems, future payment solutions and various guidelines and recommendations pending the changes that Sweden’s new Public Transport Act entail. SWEDEN – PART OF THE GLOBAL DOUBLING GOAL “It feels extremely gratifying that Business Model for Doubled Public Transport doubling work is now being carried out in many different parts of the world and In 2009, the sector presented a report entitled Business Model for Doubled Public Transport that Sweden could, with the work it has as basic input for a discussion on how public transport should be developed in order to be already initiated, serve as a pilot for the whole of Europe,” says Hans Rat, the able to double the market share. This report was followed in 2010 by The Contract Process Secretary General of UITP. The Swedish public transport – from plan to contract to double travel by public transport. The purpose of The Contract sector has reached agreement on the Process is to provide proposals for the way in which the sector, with the help of developed goal of doubling its share of the market. We are extremely pleased that our contract forms, should work towards achieving the doubling goal. doubling initiative is also supported by the international public transport In this brochure, you can read more about the joint efforts being made by the sec- organisation UITP. UITP’s goal “PTx2 tor on its way towards achieving the doubling goal. A number of best practices are also – Public Transport times two” is to double the public transport market described which will hopefully inspire and encourage others to follow. share worldwide by 2025. 3 SWEDEN Official name: The Kingdom of Sweden Political system: Constitutional Monarchy Head of State: King Carl XVI Gustaf Prime Minister: Mr Fredrik Reinfeldt (Moderate Party) Languages: Swedish Recognized minority languages: Sami (Lapp) Finnish Meänkieli (Tornedalen Finnish) Yiddish Romani Chib Population: 9 415 570 (Some 77 per cent of the population live in urban areas, 21 per cent in near-urban rural areas while just under 2 per cent live in rural areas) BNP 2010: 352 000 SEK/capita (USD 48 856) Growth: 5.5 per cent Largest cities: Stockholm (capital) Gothenburg Malmö Noteworthy memberships: EU since 1995 WTO OECD Area: 450,000 km² = 174,000 sq. miles Forests: 53 per cent Mountains: 11 per cent Cultivated land: 8 per cent Lakes and rivers: 9 per cent Sources: www.investsweden.se www.sweden.se 4 The eyes of the world are on Sweden “When the new legislation on public transport comes into force in Sweden, I believe the eyes of the world will be on us for one particular reason: they want to see if we can achieve a balance between contracted and commercial public transport services,” says Stenerik Ringqvist, who is a consultant and the Swedish Public Transport Association’s representative in Brussels. From 2012 onwards, new regional public transport authorities will be responsible for Stenerik Ringqvist, The Swedish Public Transport political decisions and strategic development plans as well as for the scope of the public Association’s representative in Brussels. transport offered in the various regions in Sweden. The transition to the new scheme will take place successively and in step with the expiry of current public transport contracts. One important aspect of the strategies followed by the public transport authorities will THE ORGANISATION OF SWEDISH PUBLIC TRANSPORT concern what is required in order to achieve important social goals, for example the On 1 January 2012, a new Public possibilities to commute to work and to places of education. Transport Act comes into force. New “In order to achieve these social goals, the regional authorities will define what regional public transport authorities will be formed to be responsible for should be part of a public service obligation, and thus included in a service contract developing the public transport system in each region. Strategic decisions on following a competitive tendering procedure, and what types of service are to be purely public transport will be made by these commercial,” explains Stenerik Ringqvist. authorities, which will mean greater insight and better co-ordination with The new Swedish Public Transport Act, which applies from 2012, does not allow other forms of social planning. The public transport authorities will exclusive rights. This means in principle that all contracted services can be subject to decide on regional transport provision competition from one or more commercial operators. In those places where contracted programmes which specify the long-term goals for regional public transport. They services are operated in parallel with commercial services there will be competitive will also decide on their public service procurement, which could lead to a better range of services and to a greater freedom obligations, which mean the transport for which they intend to be responsible of choice for the passengers. and which, as an undertaking to their citizens, they guarantee to maintain. “This is the dynamics of the new legislation. Anyone is entitled to compete on the The new Act also means that market,” says Stenerik Ringqvist. “The combination of procured and commercial transport commercial companies are free to set up public transport services anywhere is exciting. Both the government and the entire public transport sector in Sweden are in the country. All types of transport operators, including the commercial convinced that it will benefit the passengers by creating new and more attractive public players, will have to submit information transport services. This could in turn help us achieve the overall goal of a doubling of on the range of services they offer to be fed into a common system for pas- public transport.” senger information. PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN FIGURES How do Swedes travel? This is how Swedes travel according to the latest survey conducted in 2010. In Sweden, the total market share held by public transport is 24 per cent, although the City or local buses: 45 per cent regional differences are considerable. The largest market share is that attributable to the The Underground: 19 per cent Regional buses: 11.5 per cent metropolitan areas, with an average of 34 per cent. For the remaining parts of the counties, Commuter or local trains: 12 per cent the average is 12 per cent. The determining factor is the level of knowledge possessed by Trams: 5.5 per cent Regional trains: 5 per cent residents concerning their public transport services, and how attractive they are compared Long-distance trains: 0.5 per cent with the car. Other modes of transport: 1.5 per cent The information on market shares and the travel habits of Swedish people is from For 37 per cent of all passengers, the purpose of their journeys is to travel to the Public Transport Barometer, a quality and public opinion survey. During 2010, some and from work and school. 21 per cent travel by public transport to make 54 000 interviews were conducted, 24 500 of which were held with people who travel various kinds of purchases and some frequently by public transport. 20 per cent in order to visit relatives and friends or to take part in various leisure activities. 5 6 ResRobot journey planner finds smartest alternative ResRobot is a national journey planning service that provides information on trips and trip combinations for all types of transport throughout Sweden. It has never before been easier to plan your whole journey – from door to door. ResRobot offers comprehensive and impartial information for journeys made through- out all parts of the country. Collected in one and the same place are timetables for all trains, buses, flights, the underground and trams/light-rail services, as well as route descriptions for journeys by car and maps showing where to make changes and routes to follow if you are on foot. ResRobot is available on the Internet and now also as a popular application on smart phones. www.resrobot.se www.samtrafiken.se Behind ResRobot are some of the most extensive and comprehensive databases of their kind, containing information on 50 000 bus-stops and railway stations, 200 000 train and bus departures per day, flight schedules from 30 airlines and boat routes. The company behind ResRobot is Samtrafiken, an organisation that promotes travel by public transport and facilitates it using multiple carriers and transport modes.