THE EIGHTH GLOBAL INTERACTIVE FORUM ON TRAFFIC & SAFETY(GIFTS)
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Outline
Title：THE EIGHTH GLOBAL INTERACTIVE FORUM ON TRAFFIC & SAFETY(GIFTS)
Date：Tuesday, November 29th, 2022
Venue：Otemachi Place Conference Center
Method：Hybrid Meeting（On Site & Zoom）
Host：International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS)
Opening Address
Kazuhiko Takeuchi
IATSS President
President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
Project Professor, the University of Tokyo
Professor Kazuhiko Takeuchi began his address by thanking the relative organizations for arranging the symposium both in person and online. He also reminded the members that next year will be the 50th anniversary, and that various initiatives are underway to celebrate it.
All over the world, the environment surrounding traffic has been changing very rapidly. Environmental issues, energy issues, climate change, health and safety, etc., require various practical resolutions. Therefore based on the characteristics of each country/region or their cultural background, the world must reconsider the role of traffic. The IATSS's activities are based on these activities, not only in the domain of sciences, but also all the stakeholders and participants are focusing on the perspective of transdisciplinary activities. There is a need to overcome the walls and silos within each discipline, and there needs to be a connection between the academic, science and real world to co-establish a desired society. Since 2015, IATSS has been conducting GIFTS every year to aim for the co-creation of wisdom in a sustainable manner. This marks the eighth holding of GIFTS and the theme is mobility providing positive aspects and impact, such as the pleasure of moving, as well as enjoyment and richer lives, looking at the post-COVID-19 world, to make the ideal city planning and town making.
He concluded by stating that in the post-COVID-19 world, society will become more autonomous, and the IT revolution can be utilized to create a distributed society that is connected through the network. Based on the examples all over the world, IATSS would like to learn more about how the world should be in terms of traffic society.
Overview of Objectives
Akihiro Nakamura
GIFTS Executive Chairman
Professor, Faculty of Economics, Chuo University
Professor Akihiro Nakamura explained that GIFTS was started by IATSS as a way to provide an opportunity to talk about transport from a transdisciplinary perspective. In the past, guests have discussed the question of how can a safe and secure transport society be achieved at various levels from policy all the way to the road. In the course of these discussions, IATSS has tried to understand the ideal state of the transport society as a public space from various perspectives, including the nature of cities, technological innovations such as automated driving, and people's lives. Participants to date have shared their experiences and a wide range of perspectives.
He stated that over the past seven years, IATSS has created a forum for discussion that makes the most of this international network, and the organizing committee believes that the foundation laid should be used to further develop the functions of the forum in the future, and actively disseminate the knowledge that IATSS has accumulated over the years, both domestically and internationally, to make the resources available to as many people as possible.
GIFTS was originally started as a platform to discuss what IATSS should do when it celebrates in 50th anniversary in 2024. Now that anniversary is approaching, it is important to look further into the future, and discuss what should be done now. He added that IATSS has created the platform called GRATS to organize the definition of transport culture and explore road user behavior and the activities of people and organizations involved in road safety, and continue to discuss how countries around the world can work together towards reducing road accidents.
In order to realize an ideal traffic society, it is necessary not only to reduce traffic accidents, but to also reduce the negative aspects such as environmental pollution and parking problems. When discussing the future state of the city, there is a need to think about how to reduce the negative aspects, and also focus on the positive aspects such as satisfaction and enjoyment that comes from living and moving around the city. This year's GIFTS aims to discuss the ideal transport society and city planning from the perspective of positive utility.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, movement restrictions have reminded people of the benefits of mobility. People connect with other people and form towns and cultures, and enhance the creativity of themselves, the community and society. The way towns and mobility are organized influences peoples' creativity and changes the value of the town itself. The value criteria for the positive benefits of living and travelling are unique and regional in character. Prof. Nakamura then concluded by introducing the keynote speaker and the guests who will join the panel discussion.
Keynote Speech
Fumihiko Nakamura
Member of the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS)
Project Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, the University of Tokyo
Professor Fumihiko Nakamura focused on mobility with value creation, and highlighted the importance of "moves (trips)," the importance of "places," redefining public transport in a much more precise way, and then redesigning mobility with value creation, including autonomous driving and Mobility as a Service (Maas) and how they connect to new technologies.
Movement and trips are essential for physical and mental health, but in order to make these trips, destinations, places and activities are required. Making trips and movement would revitalize more activities in the regions, which would also create more demand for transport services. So the question becomes how to produce more demand in the transport service. Urban management is useful, but if there were more people in the town, there would be higher rents in real estate, and then the rent price would go up, and then there would be revenues as people can make more money. In addition, promoting health would enable people to save on medical expenditures and unnecessary subsidies. The point is that the resources and money must be effectively utilized.
Prof. Nakamura referenced the concept of "how do policy perspectives shape cities," and gave the example of how the changing need for public transportation and bicycles, etc., influenced by sustainability movements, caused streets to be widened to be more accommodating. He then introduced several examples from around the world of streets that cars and pedestrians can use simultaneously. Prof. Nakamura then stated his belief that places such as these can also exist in locations other than streets. Public facilities, plazas and squares, stations and terminals, and even bus stops can provide places for public use. He then presented several examples to illustrate this point.
He then stated that there is a strong connection between sustainability and having places. When considering safety and inclusiveness, society is supported by the existence of these places, and creativity of places and towns, so serendipity and culture are promoted because there are places. Also, considering natural disasters, places for evacuation are needed, so resilience is also a key factor. In this era of embracing diversity, places again play an important role. But in order to implement all these different concepts, it is important for people to have public places to do so. There are many challenges in terms of designing these places and transport. Universal and multimodal access also factor in, meaning there should be different options to choose from. If a place can only be accessed by car, that is not good enough. Multiple models of transport should be able to access that place, including buses.
It is important to recognize the role that these public transports play. Prof. Nakamura explained that beyond the access from large vehicles to small ones, there is also the subject of how easily accessible some public transportation is. Public transport is assessed by the International Transport Association under a system based on MaaS. Rental and for hire buses are essential in connecting people to places, becoming what we consider public transport. As a solution to resolve traffic congestion and safety, and having sufficient capacity, and by mitigating the traffic congestions, they are essential. Safety is the most critical aspect, but now a lack of deficit and efficiency have also become important. From the user's perspective, public transportation needs to aim to also be reliable, as something that people can trust and be proud of, and they can enjoy the stations and stops, as well as being inside the vehicle.
Based on the meaning of transportation and connecting walkable locations, trips should become enjoyable and exciting when combining walking with public transportation. He then presented several examples of public places that have been renovated or managed to create attractive places for people to visit.
Prof. Nakamura then explained that city centers should provide the function of culture and creativity. He explained that activities that can be done in the cities, such as theatres and watching sports, will improve people's sense of wellbeing. Trips and movements support and attract lifestyles, and encourage people to enjoy movement themselves. He stated that there needs to be an increase in people enjoying public places and using public transport. People enjoy things in different ways, and there needs to be an increase in more places for people to visit.
With regard to new technologies, data has definitely changed and people now have access to big data and high quality data. New technology can provide support in term of validation and visioning. Of course creativity and wisdom and efforts are required to visualize the future, and the metaverse could also be utilized to create this future. Comprehensive information and a payment system for the whole region or community should be available. It will help to disseminate information to people who had no idea such information existed.
In concluding his speech, Prof. Nakamura reiterated that movement and places are important and public transport plays a vital role. Beyond that, one can think about mobility in terms of value creation, and new technologies can help in terms of validation and visioning of future transportation. Collaboration and value creation are also important, and walking and cycling need to be emphasized more, and beyond that, one can expect reliable and enjoyable public transport enabling options of modality and freedom of mobility. By doing all these things, it will be possible to create attractive and sustainable cities with a new era of mobility.
Panel Discussion
| Moderator | Fumihiko Nakamura |
| Panelists | Dr. Peamsook Sanit Dr. Susanne Elfferding Ms. Yumi Vincent-Fujii |
Prof. Nakamura introduced each of the panelists once again, and then invited them to give their presentations.
| Lecture 1 | Presentation |
The first panelist, Dr. Peamsook Sanit, began by presenting her research, which mainly focuses on urban mobility, and her interest in future study using strategic foresight. In a study on urban mobility in Bangkok focusing on the role of motorcycles, she found that all major cities in Thailand are motorcycle cities, with more than 40% of vehicles in Bangkok being motorcycles. Motorcycles are also used as job opportunities for low income households, such as motorcycle taxis. She believes that, in the future, motorcycle usage will increase significantly due to the metro transit development and the rise of the digital economy. Motorcycle taxis should therefore be integrated into the digital platform, following the concept of MaaS, and the concept of "last mile delivery services," which gained popularity in Thailand.
She then presented a further study on the future of urban mobility in major cities in Thailand, focusing on the role of public transport. Generally there is no metro transport development outside of Bangkok, and all cities in Thailand rely on informal transport, or paratransit, which provide unique and flexible service. There are various types of informal transport, such as songthaew pick up trucks used for sight seeing in tourist cities. Informal transport in Thailand is becoming more and more popular in Thailand, as it functions as an on-demand service, and it has the potential to become public transportation in mid-sized cities.
Dr. Sanit added that the Government of Thailand is planning to develop a metro transit system, such as trams and light rail transit, in many major cities, as it believes it will aid urban economic recovery, and also revitalize shopping streets and promote urban life. She then concluded by saying that, with new transportation technology emerging, there are many challenges for public transportation development in Thailand.
| Lecture 2 | Presentation |
Next, Dr. Susanne Elfferding stated her intention to provide a different perspective about not just what kind of transport should be provided, but also what is being discussed in society within Germany. Similar to many countries in Europe, the population is of large cities in Germany is increasing, and many are concerned about climate change and how cities should change in response. The difference in Germany is that there is no single large city like Japan, so there is stiff competition among different regions or cities within Germany. In the past, transportation was more focussed on automobiles, which were only available to the working population, but children and the elderly tend to rely on transportation modes other than automobiles, such as walking, bicycles and public transportation. The political objective in Hamburg, Germany's second largest city, right now is to reduce the traffic share of cars to 20% and promote other modes of transportation. This change would greatly benefit children, because there is a big problem in Germany of mothers transporting their children to and from school.
In order to reduce car shares, it is necessary to provide public transportation that is safe and easy to use. This would also allow the aged and disabled population to lead more independent lives. Barrier free environments do not only cater for the disabled, but are easier to navigate for all people, including those with a broken leg or carrying big baggage. Once people can live independent, autonomous lives, societal burdens would also decrease.
Dr. Elfferding also noted that urban planning to date has mainly been male centered, considering that men drive to the city centers for work, while so-called female travel patterns tend to be with the elderly or children, based on the conventional definition of roles between males and females. Of course society is changing and gender roles are not as clearly defined as in the past. Furthermore, economic centric urban design is already outdated, so there is a need to create cities that are convenient for every participant. In line with this, public transport and bicycling are being revisited as opportunities, and the space of existing roads are being redefined and divided, allocating more space for pedestrians. She concluded by stating that now, in Germany, the focus is on building more compact towns and city quarters that provide everything within the small community, including recreation and working.
| Lecture 3 | Presentation |
Lastly, Ms. Yumi Vincent-Fujii presented on cities and mobility in France. Like Japan, France is also using public transportation to vitalize the cities and urban areas. In the year 2000, public transport was widely introduced, and metro communities are now becoming developed in cities, including the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system being used by cities with smaller populations to run fixed-route buses. So there is now better transport even in smaller towns.
With this modern France, there are movements to new kinds of urban development and mobility environments in the post-COVID-19 era. She introduced two concepts: the "15 minute city" and "smart cities." The "15 minute city" concept means that all aspects of the urban environment are within a 15 minute walk. This was developed out of the very strict COVID-19 lockdowns, where people could not travel more than 1km from their homes. Furthermore, the new candidate for Mayor of Paris has supported this concept, and is promoting the innovative relocation of road spaces in Paris with micro-mobility and public transport exclusive lanes in line. Now mass transit is easily provided as MaaS.
Ms. Vincent-Fujii then explained that smart cities are being implemented in various locations in France. Many cities with functions in a mutually controlled center are already commencing smart city operations, and many of these smart cities overlap with the 15 minute city concept. This has increased mobility policies, including transportation and cultural policies that improve the local populace's health. With this relocation of urban spaces, a matched urban development is required, and from the resident's perspective, environmental consciousness and prioritized pedestrians and road traffic safety are highly valued. She concluded by explaining that through these initiatives, compared to the past, cities in France have become more human centered with lower numbers of automobiles, and with a view of sustainable development cities.
Discussion among panelists
Prof. Nakamura thanked the panelists for their presentations, and proceeded to explain the program for the panel discussion. He then asked Dr. Sanit what she believes to be the future of songthaews in Thailand. He also asked her whether she believes "informal transportation" has a negative meaning, and if so, can it be turned into a positive.
Dr. Sanit responded that the current situation of using songthaews and similar transportation has decreased because of poor service. Informal transport may not be well organized and controlled by the government, but they have a positive impact because of the types of service people can call on. However, because of the poor organization, the price cannot be controlled, so now the number of passengers for informal transport is decreasing, particularly during COVID-19. Even in Bangkok, the number of passengers on metro transport is decreasing, so in order to make it more attractive, new technology such as big data and MaaS are required. Now private companies have begun thinking about on demand service using small vehicles, so songthaews have potential use there as shuttle buses.
Dr. Sanit also added that Thailand society is aging, much like Japan's, so more people are facing limited mobility. Therefore, songthaew may be cheaper than metro transit. If the government gives more notice of informal transport and formalizes it, this would promote it to support metro transit systems as a mode of public transportation. Medium sized cities also do not have metro transit systems, so they rely on informal transport systems, so songthaews are very high potential vehicles that fit the demand of the people who want to travel in groups.
In the future, if the data can be utilized, and informal transport is formalized, it will create more organized and integrated inter city travel, so the situation of car usage in Thailand would improve. The next step would be promoting a pedestrian city.
Prof. Nakamura commented that insurance in informal transportation may not be covered, or taxes may not be paid, but songthaews have the potential to overcome those challenges. There is the benefit of using data to provide services and information, and bundling them together as MaaS, and the use of new technology can transform such transportation, and it would be helpful for those who do not have access to transportation as well.
He then commented on the subject of commuting to school in European countries, and in Japan. There are challenges of security issues from transporting using cars or vehicles, but this also causes too much congestion in schools, while at the same time walking to school reduces congestion but is not safe. He asked Dr. Elfferding, in the case of elementary school children, are there any innovative ideas to overcome the issue of alternatives to transporting children using cars.
Dr. Elfferding responded that, in the case of commuting to schools, there are several issues to consider. One of them is road traffic and increased automobile traffic as parents use cars to transport children. This could potentially cause accidents and dangers to children, but also the children do not learn the ability to find their own way home or to school, which is an important skill to help children learn independence.
There are many different ideas to resolve this point, such as focusing on the school and getting everyone to walk, or using posters to show how much all the students have walked or used bicycles and awarding classes of the students who walked the longest distances. This can also be communicated to parents through children, and the municipalities also put efforts into mobility education. In order words, one needs to think about their own mobility means and which one is better and has less impact on the environment. Schools can also consult with adults on why they are using automobiles and encourage non-automobile use. Traffic safety and volume and mobility choice need to be considered.
Prof. Nakamura highlight that in Japan, mobility management puts emphasis on traffic safety education for elementary and middle school education, but he noted the importance of how this education helps improve their independency. He then asked Ms. Vincent-Fujii to clarify the meaning of the 15 minute city concept, and whether it refers to 15 minutes walking a day or 15 minute intervals between locations, as time management is an important concept for adults.
Ms. Vincent-Fujii explained that originally the 15 minute concept was developed in 2019, long before COVID-19, based on the 20-minutes neighborhood concept from Portland in the U.S. in 2016. Due to the 1km lockdowns during COVID-19, people could no longer go to schools and remote work increased. Thinking about the urban and living environments, governments considered whether local areas were attractive enough for residents.
People then started questioning the functions of the cities and towns around 2020 and 2021, and in France and other countries, people were talking about the fact that people prefer to work from home even after the pandemic. If time allocated for mobility is reallocated to something else, it would make people's lives more fulfilling. In answering the question of why it is becoming more of a reality in France, it is a question of timing. Because of the pandemic, people experienced lockdowns and people started to take a closer look at their living environments.
Prof. Nakamura then asked the panelists what they felt were the biggest changes in their respective countries after three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what did they learn.
Dr. Sanit answered first, stating that the pandemic has caused unexpected changes in daily lives, and required endeavors to adapt to new ways of living. The biggest changes in Thailand's society revolve around food trips, with three peaks during the day where more people are on the roads to purchase food. For the younger generation in particular, when the met transit systems were implemented, there was less need to buy cars or houses, but the food trips were still essential. After COVID-19, lockdown measures limited mobility, so food delivery services became essential. In addition, because of new technology, younger people are spending more time during their lunch hours inside. There is also a bigger emphasis on cooking, so the lunchtime peak time has decreased. She then explained that, even though infections have decreased, people want to continue to work from home, so the peak time of travel to work has also decreased. But the car usage has increased in Thailand, presenting a big challenge for train companies to think about how to make train transit more attractive. Some scholars have said that the impacts of COVID will last in the long-run, so some of these changes may be permanent. Thai people's dependency on cars has increased, but there is hope that the younger generation will be affected by the use of metro transport. She also added that public transportation may need to be revised. Some types of vehicles may need to be smaller, but the metro transit is also important, and shuttle buses and other services on demand may increase.
Prof. Nakamura agreed that some impacts may be long lasting, while others may recover soon, noting the similarities to the situation in Japan. He then asked Dr. Elfferding for her response.
Dr. Elfferding stated that the trend has been similar in Germany. In the beginning, people were afraid to meet others, and working from home increased as people were minimizing situations where they had to meet other people. Now the fear has subsided to some extent, and people are beginning to want to meet face to face in order to run business smoothly, but when asked if people want to commute every day, most people respond no. So most municipalities and companies in Germany are trying to ask their workers to come to the office twice a week, and other than that they can work from home. In addition, the ways of shopping have changed. Of course daily food essentials are bought in the supermarkets, and people would go to supermarkets to buy the food. But there are items, such as clothing and shoes, that are now often bought through the internet. Therefore shopping malls are being impacted significantly, particularly in regional cities. Also, due to COVID-19, travelling was not possible, so concepts related to urban development changed to respond to this. These trends already existed but gained momentum during the pandemic. In the same way, traffic volume by cars has also been significantly reduced and use of bicycles has increased as a way to stay healthy, so city infrastructure is being improved to catch up to this increase.
Looking at public transport, Dr. Elfferding explained that people were afraid of getting in contact with people, so public transportation was not used. In some states, the amount of public transport has been significantly reduced or operations had to stop. However, some people use public transport to get to places they have to for work or other purposes, so lack of operations would be troublesome.
In the summer, the government wanted to introduce a rebate on petrol, because of increasing energy costs, but people protested and also wanted cheaper public transport. Therefore, a nationwide ticket for short distance trains costing 9 Euro per month was introduced for a short period of time. It has been very well received among citizens. She also noted the new short-distance 49 Euro monthly passes that may be introduced in spring for people to use public transport as much as possible, which will no doubt stimulate development within Germany.
Prof. Nakajima was particularly interested in the monthly transport passes. He noted that what was quite important is using the pressure from the public to reform public transportation, and utilizing different modes of transportation in order to overcome the current challenges. He then turned to Ms. Vincent-Fujii for her response.
Ms. Vincent-Fujii stated that there are two major changes caused by the COVID-19 impact. Firstly, on mobility, people have put strong interest in short-distance movement. As a results, efforts have been made to make the environment more walkable in order to get consensus from citizens. In regional cities, local governments are pursuing this, including converting roadways and parking lots into pedestrian only areas. In December 2019, the Mobility Basic Act was formulated, with a focus on "mobility for everyday and everybody." In other words, it is mobility for citizens on a day to day basis. Through this act, the central government invested in the conversion projects being undertaken by local governments. This law reflects people's ideas that grew out of the COVID-19 pandemic. She highlighted that the central government provided a large amount of financial support to local municipalities in order to improve regional transportation, such as roads dedicated to bicycles.
The second big change brought by the pandemic is digitalization of society, which progressed very fast. There are two unique aspects to digitalization in France. One is digitalization including transportation control management. MaaS utilization is now normal in local cities, including route finding, and people being able to calculate CO2 emissions associated with their route of travel. Municipal governments provide platforms for citizens to do this. The second digitalization is in the administrative sector, because of more people working from home wanting to receive government services without travelling. In light of this, smart city implementation was done in Dijon under 10 different themes, including integration of regional services. Citizens can now contact their local governments by phone or email and obtain information that they need immediately.
Prof. Nakamura noted that there are common elements and differing aspects depending on the country, and that there are many different pieces working together. He then asked the panelists what challenges need to be addressed to achieve mobility that creates value.
Dr. Sanit responded first, stating her theories on equity and justice. Because of new technologies, people do not worry about efficiency or environmental problems. Developing countries are more concerned about equities, because they are trying to create mobility for all. In the future, people will go beyond limitations in order to fit demand with supply. The next step should be how to make transportation available to everyone, not only with affordable prices, but meaning all people in society can access any mode of transportation. She emphasized that equity is important for the next step of mobility.
Prof. Nakamura agreed with this view. Considerations should be given to particular groups of people so that everyone is able to enjoy transport.
Dr. Elfferding also voiced her agreement with this statement. In Germany, cities have been optimized for vehicles, and this needs to be modified. So the subject becomes how cities need to be changed in order to ensure everyone's participation, opportunities, and autonomous living. If cities are changed drastically and modes of transportation are changed, then there will be people who are dissatisfied with the new inconvenience. When thinking about transportation or change, there needs to be good supportive communication for everyone.
Prof. Nakamura supported the concept of autonomous living, and with explaining processes for change. He stated his personal belief that new technologies could be utilized to enable that, but there are still a lot of challenges.
Ms. Vincent-Fujii first concluded that mobility linked with mobility, and redistribution of space to shared public spaces, will be key. In regional cities in France, public transportation is quite good and extensive, but 80% of passenger transport is still done by automobiles There needs to be a co-existence with automobiles, and there needs to be convenience for those users as well. One such method is the transition towards electric vehicles (EVs). The second is that urban society development should focus on calm transport cities, such as adding the 15 minute walk structure. Automobiles can be used outside the center of the city, but people will still be active in the center of the city. This is also good for environmental presentation, and also health promotion for everyone. Ultimately, how to share public space in a good way is a very important task.
Prof. Nakamura thanked the panelists for their comments and concluded the panel discussion.
Q&A
Prof. Nakamura then proceeded to take questions from the audience.
The first question asked Ms. Vincent-Fujii what is the difference between the 15 minute city vs the Japanese compact city initiatives.
Ms. Vincent-Fujii responded that a compact city initiative is meant to prevent a city from expanding, and is based on public transport lines. That has also been done before in France. However, the 15 minute city concept is quite different, because it is not meant to suppress the expansion of cities, but rather make city facilities more convenient for users. She noted the examples of initiatives made within Paris to reduce automobile entry into city centers to improve safety, and how some facilities that are not used on the weekends are used by the community instead, meaning that citizens do not have to travel far to engage in activities.
The second question asked Dr. Elfferding for comments on the fact that transforming a city is a challenge but Japan also faces a declining population, so making a city more compact would cost a lot of money and impact public services to Japan.
Dr. Elfferding answered that some regions in Germany also face the problem of population loss due to job opportunities in large cities. People with high levels of education tend to want to live in large cities. In order to respond to this problem, regional cities could utilize tourism more, or leverage the uniqueness of that local area. Another issue is that conventional teaching of urban planning to students may not have been sufficient, as it was based on the assumption the economy will continue to grow over time. But going forward the focus has to shift. In other words, city planning has to focus on how to make the cities smaller and more compact. On top of that, the situation changed because of the pandemic. More people are returning to the rural areas, because now people can work in the city twice a week and spend the remaining days in the countryside. She stated that this is a new opportunity for the regions.
The third question asked Dr. Sanit that Thailand now accepts smart cities, but Thailand has not had any conversations about informal transport, so who manages these concepts.
Dr. Sanit responded that the big problem for transport management in Thailand is that there are many transportation organizations that take responsibility for urban transportation systems. However, there is no organization that takes responsibility for informal transportation. In informal transportation, the vehicle owner provides the service and gets permission from the government. The solution is that the central government has to decentralize the transportation authority to the local governments, so that they can take responsibility for all modes of transportation and operate them themselves.
The fourth question asked, thinking about how consensus and decision making is needed in order to create value, leaders will be very important and financing will be required for the different initiatives, so what does Japan need to understand in terms of leadership in creating value for transportation in Japan.
Dr. Elfferding responded, stating whenever a new administration comes in, things change depending on the region. Therefore leadership matters, but it is not the only thing that matters. Awareness of the general public needs to be nurtured at the same time in parallel. Within Germany, the general atmosphere is that the changes in leadership, with younger people working in the government, will make a big difference.
The fifth question asked how important is the role of local city councils in implementing public transport solutions, and how can this role be enhanced.
Ms. Vincent-Fujii responded that, in France, traffic policies are formulated in the law as the traffic master plan. What is often said is to make the city for everyone, and that has gained strength from the citizens and the leadership as well. One of the challenges is to create value, and the two important values in French society is environmental conservation and making cities and towns that are easy to live in for the next generation. She also noted the high rate of tax in France provides resources and revenues to local governments, so they can provide cheaper public transport and make it easy to use pedestrian walkways. That is the mission of the social aspect in society. This redistribution of money allows for development of public facilities such as parks that can be enjoyed by everyone. Administrations in France are also highly diverse, so there is a wide range of people involved in traffic policy making, meaning they address different needs. This shows how important people's interest in politics can have on urban development.
Prof. Nakamura noted that in each country, the relationship between the central government and local government, and people and leadership, is pronounced in regional cities, and people have a strong sense of responsibility.
The sixth question asked that, while businessmen want individual ownership of transportation, the sustainability angle would prefer public transport and spaces, so which model should the government focus on in the present and the future.
Prof. Nakamura responded that the answer is that focus should be on public transportation.
The seventh question asked Dr. Elfferding in what ways or aspects safe journeys to and from school programs for students and others can be integrated in her line of research.
Dr. Elfferding answered that, in terms of safety for the students, the town itself and how people think, what is often discussed in Germany is how nothing will change if automobiles continue to be used in the same way. Even though there is a shift to EV usage, if the volume is not reduced, then necessary spaces for commuting to school cannot be provided, so how to change cities and towns requires expanding the diversity for the modes of transport. In addition, needs are different, so public transport, walking, etc., are all necessary. With that understanding, and to be understood by society, communication is very important. The city has to explain what is being done to its citizens. Transport education going forward is not just about traffic safety and responding to traffic, it is about what kind of city do people want to live in. To focus of discussions needs to be shifted.
The last question asked for good examples of private players involved.
Prof. Nakamura answered by listing the transport federation in Germany, and similar examples seen in Bogota and Seoul. There are many papers available, but Prof. Nakamura promised to respond separately. He added that education in the past was more about how people align themselves to transport, but that mindset needs to change, and people need to think about what kind of city or environment they want to live in, and what should transport do to support that. Including the results of the meeting today, IATSS will continue to deliver this message, based on the comments given by the panelists. He then thanked the panelists for their participation and concluded the Q&A session.
Closing Address
Satoshi Kamada
Executive Director, IATSS
Lastly, Mr. Satoshi Kamada was invited to present the closing address. He started by expressing his appreciation to the many people who participated both in person and online in the symposium. He also thanked the three panelists and Dr. Nakamura for their presentations and the informative panel discussion, and for delivering specific recommendations.
2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of the IATSS, and this year marks the eighth year of conducting GIFTS. There has been a lot of participation in regards to change in transportation and ideas about the relationship between traffic and people's lives. Every time GIFTS is held, the view point shifts and changes to thinking about traffic, and gaining a wide range of views for discussions. On this occasion, under the title of "Traffic Culture to Create Values," an interesting and stimulating discussion was held. People's lifestyles and city urban planning have become a hot topic today, and is another area that is changing rapidly. He expressed the hope that today's discussion will be useful for the development of cities and reviewing public transport.
He then made an announcement regarding the study group meeting, focusing on research projects for traffic, with 10 study groups ongoing. These groups hope to convert their discussions into policies, and the outcomes will be reported at a reporting meeting on April 14, 2023. The event will be concluded with an award ceremony relating to traffic and safety.
In closing, Mr. Kamada once again expressed his appreciation for the attendees and the secretariat office. With that, the forum was concluded.