Sustainable transport key to achieving Asia-Pacific region’s development ambitions

Across the Asia-Pacific region, especially in urban centers, electric cars and buses are increasingly replacing gasoline-powered vehicles as part of the transition to more sustainable transport systems. Aided by the ubiquity of smart devices, innovations in smart mobility, and other transport technologies, everyday life is being reshaped through ride-sharing apps, driver assistance technology, and real-time traffic management. With new highways and railways coming online in the past decade, the region is becoming even more interconnected. The ongoing digitalization of road, rail, and maritime freight transport is further enhancing efficiency, promoting cost reduction, and driving the shift toward more sustainable transport solutions across the region.These are part of the wider trend of sustainable transport development, which benefits everyone through making the transport of people and goods safer, “greener,” more efficient and more accessible.

Many tasks, such as transport decarbonization, cannot be overcome by any country alone; meanwhile, the benefits of transport innovations such as digitalization and automation will only be fully realized if widely implemented. With Asia and the Pacific 32 years behind in achieving the SDGs, accelerating sustainable transport development benefits everyone so everyone needs to get on board to make it happen.