Seize the opportunity to make travel easier and greener: An ambitious Multimodal Digital Mobility Services proposal is vital

The question of how European travelers search, combine and book their travel has garnered increased attention over the past months. Rightfully, citizens and policymakers are asking why it is still so difficult to find and book the best tickets, to combine train, coach and plane and receive comprehensive emissions information.

Against this background, pressure has been building for the European Commission to deliver on its political commitments to make traveling easier and to enable those passengers who wish to travel more sustainably to do so. Ambitious commitments were made in the 2020 Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. The result has been the Commission’s work on the Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS) Regulation, a cornerstone of its green mobility policy. Unfortunately, the MDMS proposal has been delayed again and again. It now appears to have been put on hold until the end of this European Commission.

Despite past promises, the von der Leyen European Commission risks missing the train on this topic. The opportunity to make travel easier and greener must be seized now. An ambitious proposal for an MDMS Regulation must be proposed by the Commission without further delay. We call on EU policymakers of all institutions to continue supporting the MDMS Regulation as an urgently needed solution and to make the MDMS proposal a key priority in EU transport policy.

As representatives of passengers (leisure or business travelers), environmental groups, and ticket intermediaries, we have consistently advocated for an ambitious MDMS framework that enables convenient combination and booking of transport options and supports the European Green Deal objectives. We hope that the European Union will remain committed to the MDMS Regulation as a necessary solution to provide real added value for European citizens, competition in transport, and the environment.

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