More buses, less cars: the key to future mobility
I started my career as a public affairs advisor, consulting for various international IT companies. But as a consultant, you can only offer advice. You can’t take action. I wanted more.
I was looking for other opportunities when I came across a position at the German Bus and Coach Operators Association (BDO). Instead of being a consultant for multinational IT firms, I became a representative of over 3,000 small and medium-sized bus and coach companies.
To my surprise, it was only at BDO that I learned that buses and coaches are among the most sustainable means of transport, even with a diesel engine.
My work is to convince the public and politicians as well as ministry officials that we need more buses and coaches to solve the challenges that the transport sector faces: greenhouse gas emissions, pollutants, noise and congestion.
I am fully convinced that bus and coach operators are the “good guys” and almost all passenger transport challenges can be with one simple solution: more buses and coaches and less cars.
This is the vision I’m working towards. But it’s not easy. The opposition is tough. Rail is much more in the political focus, even though it will take a lot of time to prepare the European railway network for a real change in passenger transport. We don’t have that much time. This is why we need buses and coaches. Only they provide the clean, sustainable collective transport required to replace cars.
The views and opinions expressed by the New Industry Shapers do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of IRU.
