The European Union has a very strong public transportation network that unfortunately suffers from severe fragmentation across member states. In an echo of Timmermans' proposal¹ from last year, the EU should strive to improve access to terrestrial modes of transportation across borders, through continued funding of infrastructure modernization, cross-border connectivity⁵ and alignment of regulations⁶, along with the creation of a new aligned system for baggage transferring, international ticket booking and inter-governmental cooperation to reduce travel barriers.

Regarding infrastructure modernization, the EU should continue to fund initiatives of modernization², gauge alignment³, last mile local transportation⁴, to facilitate easy interoperability and access between countries, and to improve the experience of travellers.

Additionally, the baggage transferring and international ticket booking systems should be implemented to further improve the travel experience, and to increase the competitiveness of rail and bus in the transport sector, as they are instrumental to the EU's green transition goals.

Finally, a system for inter-governmental cooperation should be created to facilitate the alignment of prices, amenities and security between regulatory districts, thus lowering the barriers to the establishment of international transportation routes.