The transport system is part of the climate problem, but also part of its solution. So says Minister for Communications Åsa Torstensson, who brought together EU transport ministers in Södertälje on Monday afternoon to test drive Scania’s 25-metre long trucks.

Image gallery: Ministers behind the wheel at Scania

Photo: Gunnar Seijbold/Regeringskansliet

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Image gallery: Ministers behind the wheel at Scania

Photo: Gunnar Seijbold/Regeringskansliet

Scania DemoCenter, Södertälje

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Image gallery: Ministers behind the wheel at Scania

Photo: Gunnar Seijbold/Regeringskansliet

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Image gallery: Ministers behind the wheel at Scania

Photo: Gunnar Seijbold/Regeringskansliet

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Image gallery: Ministers behind the wheel at Scania

Photo: Gunnar Seijbold/Regeringskansliet

Scania DemoCenter, Södertälje

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Image gallery: Ministers behind the wheel at Scania

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Scania DemoCenter, Södertälje

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On the opening day of the ITS World Congress – the world’s largest conference on intelligent transport systems – the ministers had the opportunity to test drive trucks and buses at Scania’s DemoCenter. Sweden has already been pursuing the issue of transports with longer vehicles on European roads.
“I believe that transports with longer vehicles are the right way to go. They have less impact on the environment and this results in a more efficient transport system,” says Ms Torstensson.

Under the supervision of Scania’s staff, the ministers drove for over an hour on cordoned off roads close to the DemoCenter. Many of them took the opportunity to test several different models, but there was no doubt that the most popular was the 25.25 metre-long truck that can carry a load of up to 60 tonnes.

Later that evening, Ms Torstensson hosted a joint working dinner for her ministerial colleagues on the theme ‘The future EU transport policy’.

“We now have a unique opportunity to set the agenda for EU transport policy and to take the next step towards efficient and sustainable solutions, both within and between countries,” says Ms Torstensson.

Soon the policy document, or White Paper, that has governed transport policy since 2001 will cease to be in effect and it is time to draft a new one to guide the work over the next decade. The basis of the discussions during the dinner was the Communication presented by the European Commission last summer, ‘A sustainable future for transport’.

“We have had a very rewarding day in Södertälje. The discussions on the future of transport mean that we have now come one step closer to better and more sustainable transport,” Ms Torstensson said after the dinner.