Public Transport funding is where the money comes from. Funding public transport means investing in infrastructure, vehicles, and operations to keep the system running. This includes costs like fuel, staff, and maintenance. Funding is also needed for an attractive offer, service acceleration, inclusivity, innovative solutions, and addressing workforce shortages. 

Key challenges

• Ensuring compliance with accessibility regulations and standards.
• Providing sufficient funding for accessibility improvements.
• Addressing the diverse needs of different user groups.
• Bridging gaps in spatial accessibility: Ensuring that transport services are available and frequent enough in underserved and rural areas.

Common practices

Prioritise EU funding for public transport, including a dedicated grant scheme for greening fleets and infrastructure. Allocate tax revenue or charges to ensure sustainable financing, while securing resources for maintenance and operations. Enhance coordination across funding instruments, restructure the Connecting Europe Facility, and simplify access to research and innovation funds. Strengthen local and regional involvement in investment decisions and improve spending oversight. Establish long-term resilience funding, leverage the Social Climate Fund, and attract private investment to boost shared mobility. 

Relevance to public transport and UPPER

EU funding is important in making urban mobility more sustainable. It supports the EU Green Deal goals, and it helps cities to meet the Climate Goals through investments in shared mobility, clean fleets and infrastructure. Stable funding strengthens climate resilience and encourages collective and active travel. To ensure long-term sustainability, EU funding should be complemented by diverse financial tools. 

Source: EGUM Recommendations PT Subgroup