European Union and United Kingdom: Research roadmap for transport policy

Transport is a major contributor to the European economy, accounting for 4.8 per cent of gross value added across the 28 EU countries (€548 bn) and 11 million jobs (UK included). Transport is fundamental for development at all scales of human life – local, rural, urban, metropolitan, regional, national, large-scale, and global. Many challenges exist that must be addressed by transport policy, from use of new intelligent technology to the need to promote a more inclusive society. These issues are complex, involving multiple and often competing interests. Mobility is an important way to provide accessibility, which supports economic development and social inclusion, but other contributors are also important, such as activity locations, land use policy and also energy, safety and security, etc. European transport policy is currently driven by a small number of long-term macro objectives: an inclusive society; connectivity of the different transport networks; and resilience of the transport systems to ensure sustainable cities and territories. This chapter addresses the main challenges faced by this sector while pursuing those objectives.