STOCKHOLM, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Sweden is investigating how to introduce a national ticketing system for all public transport throughout the country. The inquiry was officially appointed on Friday and announced in a government statement.
Minister for Infrastructure Tomas Eneroth and Minister for the Environment Isabella Lovin said a national ticketing system would make it easier for people to make climate-smart choices when it comes to commuting and travel.
"Traveling by public transport is climate smart and we know that more and more travelers want to be able to choose sustainable transport. A national ticketing system will make it easier to choose a bus, train or ferry," said Eneroth.
"Anyone who wants to travel using public transport throughout Sweden today needs to adapt to many different ticket systems. This can make it difficult to find the right information or to buy a trip. A national ticketing system would make it easier for everyone to make climate-smart choices in everyday life," said environment minister Lovin.
To tackle this challenge, the government on Friday appointed Gerhard Wennerstrom to investigate how a national ticketing system could be implemented for all public transport throughout Sweden, including how such a ticketing system should be designed, built, operated and financed.
The investigation will include an analysis of national ticketing systems in relevant countries, as well as any technical and market barriers to the creation of a competition-neutral national ticket system.
The proposal for a national ticketing system won cross-party parliamentary support in January 2019, and aligns with Sweden's goal of reducing climate emissions within the transport sector by 70 percent before 2030.
As a sparsely populated country, long-distance transportation is a significant driver of emissions in Sweden.
The transport sector has proved a sticking point in Sweden's ambitious emissions reduction targets, with emissions from road traffic increasing between 2018 and 2019, according to the Swedish Transport Administration.
Wennerstrom is expected to deliver the result of the inquiry on April 30, 2020.
