Sustainable Transport in Switzerland, Research Paper Example

The transportation system is an integral and essential part for the success, growth and development of any given economy. Switzerland is one of the countries with the most networked transportation system in the world. The transport network in Switzerland is widespread, making almost all of Switzerland accessible by modern transport. Nevertheless, transport accounts for high pollution and energy consumption,with energy consumption within this sector being the highest in many developing nations. In addition, the improvement, development and management of transport infrastructure is usually realized at a great cost to the environment. This paper will critically look into the transportation issues that affect Switzerland, policies implemented by the Swiss government and how policies in other countries affect or influence transport in Switzerland.

Background Information

Switzerland is located at the very centre of Europe. As such, its public transport network is very dense with over 26,000 stops and stations and is 24,500 kilometres in length. The railway and Intermodal freight network is approximately 5,200 km in length accounting for the transportation of 62 million tons annually[1]. Of huge interest in the history of Switzerland’s transport system is the Alps. These mountain ranges separate Switzerland from its neighbours. The construction and use of the Alpine railway routes started in 1882. This was the Gotthard Rail Tunnel. The Simplon Tunnel soon followed in 1906. Since then, more tunnels have been built with the Lötschberg Base Tunnel being operational in 2007 and the Gotthard Base Tunnel still under construction[2].

Switzerland also has one of the highest motorway densities in modern times. This is because it spans an area of 51,446 km² with a total length of 1,638 km as of the year 2003. This transports up to 370 million tons annually. The country also has three international airports. Zurich Airport hit a record of 20.7 million passengers as of 2007 with Geneva Cointrin handling 10.8 million passengers and Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport taking 4.3 million passengers that same year (Finger and Holvad 2013, 22)[3].

Sustainability

Owing to the dense nature of Switzerland’s transportation network, sustainability has become a big issue in the recent past. The extensive road network, particularly in the Alpine region raised concern owing to the negative impacts that emissions from automobiles had on the environment within the area. This is largely due to the fact that the alpine region forms a transit hub for access to its neighbours. This forms the main transportation point for most goods in and out of the country with its neighbours, such as France.

Policies

The Swiss Government launched the Policy of Modal Shift that was targeted at ensuring sustainability in the transport sector within the country. This was entrenched in Article 84 (Alpine Transit) within the Constitution of Switzerland[4]. The aims of the policy are:

• To protect the alpine region against the negative impacts that transit traffic by road has on the environment.
• Requiring the transportation of trans-alpine heavy commodity traffic from the road system to the rail system.
• Barring any increment of the capacity of the transit roads that are found in the alpine region.
• To indiscriminately implement the Traffic Transfer Act of 8^th October 1999. The Traffic Transfer Act states that the number of heavy good automobiles shall be minimized to 650,000 annually. This act should be in effect by 2 years after the launching of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel[5].

Instruments for Modal Shift

In order for the government to fully effect Article 84 of the Constitution, there are some existing constitutional mandates that were set in place to aid in this endeavour. They include:

• The Bilateral Land Transport Agreement CH-EC/MRHVF: this constitutional mandate is to ensure the shift of transalpine freight from the road to rail. This instrument was the introduction of the Heavy Vehicle Fee (HVF) so as to internalize the external costs that are related to having heavy freight truck on the road, making railway freight transport more attractive[6].
• Railway Reform (Improved Rail Efficiency): this instrument ensured the introduction of faster trains with less rolling stock[7].
• Rail Infrastructure (RAIL 2000, NRLA): this instrument was the introduction of New Railway Base Tunnels (NRLA). This is currently being achieved by the 57km Gotthard Base Tunnel. This will ensure that there is increased capacity on railway transport[8].

These three measures were put in place to support the Traffic Transfer Act.

Furthermore, the Swiss government has taken additional steps to ensure that efficiency in the transport sector is achieved through the following ways;

• The combined financing of any new large railway development endeavours
• The Swiss Federal Railways has been deregulated and partially privatized through the railway reform act of 1999.
• Entering into bilateral agreements with the EU (European Union) with regards to air, road and rail transport: These bilateral agreements entailed the increase of the weight limit in freight trucks from 28 tons to 40 tons, which is the generally accepted standard within the European Union nations[9].

Government Stance and Goals

The Swiss Government acknowledges how the transport sector is essential with regards toSwitzerland’s position in Europe. As such, the government has made clear on its stance towards the direction with which the management and development of the transport sector will take.

Expansion and Use of Public Transport

The Swiss government seeks to reduce the impacts that vehicle emissions have on the environment by expanding the public transport system and making it more attractive to citizens and residents of Switzerland. Through the expansion of rail and bus transport, the public transport network has become particularly close-knit, providing efficiency and high service frequency. This can be seen in the increase in public transport share in total passenger transport by rail and road to 20.7% in 2010 from 16.5% in 2000[10]. The government continues to encourage the use of public transport as opposed to personal or individual transport so as to reduce the effects of emissions on the environment. The government aims to have a 50% share in public transport share in total passenger transport by 2018[11].

External Influence

Most developed countries have implemented a Carbon Tax. A good example is the Carbon Tax (Carbon Pricing Scheme) that was implemented on 1st July 2012 by the Australian Government. This was meant to counter the massive carbon emissions from business entities. The policy applied a $10 per ton of CO2 greenhouse on business entities that emitted over 25,000 tonnes of carbon per year[12]. Revenues from this tax policy is direct towards environmental upgrading strategies by the Australian Government. Through instituting, policies, laws and institutions to check and counter cases of environmental degradation as a result of the transport system, the Swiss government can ensure sustainability within the sector. Owing to pressures from environmental advocacy groups, the Swiss government may soon implement such a law.

In conclusion, the transport sector is an integral part of the Swiss economy. This sector has seen tremendous changes in the past 20 years so as to ensure sustainability through the introduction of legislature to reduce the impacts that the sector has on the environment. The Swiss government aims to have all of the freight transportation on rail and expansion of the public transport system to help manage these negative effects.

Notes

[1]Martin Hall, Switzerland (Wigan: ST Publications, 2012), 25.

[2]Matthias Finger and Torben Holvad, Regulating transport in Europe(Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2013), 44.

[3]Ibid., 45.

[4]Hanja Maksim, Caroline Gomez, and Vincent Kaufmann,Evolution of transport and urban planning policy in Switzerland and France: case studies of Geneva and Strasbourg(Ascona: STRC, 2008), 12.

[5]Ibid., 13.

[6]Ibid., 15.

[7]Ibid., 16.

[8]Ibid., 16.

[9]International Energy Agency, Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Switzerland 2012 (Paris: OECD Publishing, 2012), 32.

[10]Milena Scherer Ohnmacht, Christine Ahrend, and Verkehrsingenieur Ulrich Weidmann, Differences in cognition of public transport systems: image and behavior towards urban public transport. (Zu?rich: ETH, 2012), 23.

[11]Ibid., 24.

[12]Martha M. Roggenkamp, Energy networks and the law: innovative solutions in changing markets. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), 47.

Bibliography

Finger, Matthias, and Torben Holvad. 2013. Regulating transport in Europe. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

Hall, Martin. 2012. Switzerland. Wigan: ST Publications.

International Energy Agency. 2012. Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Switzerland 2012. Paris: OECD Publishing.

Maksim, Hanja, Caroline Gomez, and Vincent Kaufmann. 2008. Evolution of transport and urban planning policy in Switzerland and France: case studies of Geneva and Strasbourg. Ascona: STRC.

Roggenkamp, Martha M. 2012. Energy networks and the law: innovative solutions in changing markets. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Scherer Ohnmacht, Milena, Christine Ahrend, and Verkehrsingenieur Ulrich Weidmann. 2012. Differences in cognition of public transport systems: image and behavior towards urban public transport. Zu?rich: ETH.