Press release dated 22 October 2010

The global bus and coach industry celebrates the 1st anniversary of its commitment to achieve sustainable mobility for all by doubling the use of buses and coaches.

Brussels - The global Smart Move, campaign to double the use of collective passenger transport by bus and coach marks its 1st anniversary.

Graham Smith, Vice President of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) and President of the IRU Passenger Transport Council, said, “Today more than ever, societies and economies need what our industry actually offers: an optimal solution to current and future mobility and travel challenges. Bus and coach transport is almost always the most safe, green, efficient, user-friendly and affordable transport choice, on short and long distances alike. We are proud of this outstanding performance and are eager to do even better and see politicians make the most of it when designing transport policies. This is what Smart Move is all about: raising policy makers’ awareness that the solution they are looking for is at their fingertips.”

Over the past year, Smart Move has gained foothold in the Middle East, Russia, Asia and the Pacific. Green characteristics of bus and coach transport were also promoted at the United Nation’s COP15 global summit in December 2009. Finally, the European Parliament also has integrated Smart Move’s objective of doubling the use of buses in its June 2010 report on a Sustainable Future for Transport in the European Union, which will serve as a basis for designing the strategic EU White Paper on Transport Policy for the period 2010-2020.

Smart Move is now gaining global momentum with 82 committed partners around the world, including leading industry organisations, vehicle manufacturers and media, as well as thousands of bus/coach operators and individual supporters, sharing the values and advocating the objective of Smart Move.

Through its website in 8 languages, a newsletter, factsheets, proven practical solutions, best industry practices, sister campaigns at national level and social media support, Smart Move will keep providing industry, citizens, partners, policy-makers, stakeholders and media with facts, figures and best practices on buses and coaches, whose potential in achieving sustainable mobility remains largely untapped in both urban and interurban transport, and in coach tourism.

In Europe alone, achieving the Smart Move political and business objective of doubling the use of buses and coaches over the next decade would:

• - reduce CO2 emissions by at least 50 million tonnes per year;

- reduce road fatalities by more than 3000 per year; 

- reduce congestion in cities at zero cost for taxpayers, as a result of the  expected    10-15% fall of car traffic;

- create 4 million new, green jobs.

So make the Smart Move: take the bus and support the campaign!

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See Smart policies and practices

Press contact: Juliette Ebélé, +41 22 918 27 07, press@iru.org