TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION
OECD International Conference, Vancouver Canada

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Session 3b- New and Emerging Policy Initiatives

Abstract of address by Robert Thaler

Sustainable Transport - Austrian Strategies and Experiences

Current problems
Air pollution, noise, urban sprawl, congestion: urban areas and agglomerations are burdened by a lot of negative effects on human health and the environment caused by the enormous increase of traffic. There is a triple challenge of local and regional home-made transport problems and, because of the specific geographical situation of Austria in the heart of Europe, added burdens by long-distance transit traffic in the main transit corridors.

As national guidelines for the transport policy, the Austrian National Environmental Plan, based on the principles of sustainability (1994), and the Austrian Transportation Concept (1991), have been established. The federal states and several cities have also worked out their transport plans on the regional and local level, based on concrete targets.

Measures for sustainable transport

• Reduce the needs for motorized transport by an adapting land-use planning to shorten transport distances;
• Shift to environmentally sound transport modes, and promote and prioritze rail and public transport, cycling and walking;
• Optimize transport technologies (electric vehicles, fuels, logistics) based on the "best available technology" with ambitious standards for reducing air pollutants and noise;
• Cleaner fuels and raising the fuel efficiency of the vehicle fleet significantly;
• Making transport pay its full costs, including internalization of external costs;
• Improve infrastructure for environmental friendly transport
• Organize transport in an environmentally sound way (e.g. traffic calming and parking regulations) and raise the load factor of vehicles;
• Making infrastructure, town planning and land use environmentally acceptable;
• Improvement of infrastructure and logistics for rail and combined transport in goods transport (e.g. city logistics);
• Raising public awareness for environmental friendly mobility behaviour and transportation demand management;
• Promote research and development programs focusing on sustainable transport and realizing of pilot projects.

Implementation examples in Austria
Ban of leaded petrol, parking regulations and charges, integrated public systems transport, ultra low floor streetcars, traffic calming and promoting walking and cycling, city speed limits 30 km/h, pilot projects for car-free housing and car-free tourism.

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