Sustainable transport key to healthy growth

Across the Asia-Pacific region, especially in urban centers, electric cars and buses are increasingly replacing gasoline-powered ones as a means of transportation. Aided by the ubiquity of smart devices, smart mobility and other transport innovations are significantly reshaping everyday life through ride-sharing apps, driver-assistance technology and real-time traffic management. With new highways and railways operationalized in the last decade, the region is getting yet more connected, while the ongoing digitalization of road, rail and maritime freight transport further improves efficiency and cost reduction.

These are part of the wider trend of sustainable transport development, which benefits everyone through making transportation of people and goods safer, "greener", more efficient and more accessible. Countries across Asia and the Pacific have made great progress toward these goals, but major challenges remain. More cooperation will be needed to advance these trends and overcome obstacles.

The transition to sustainable transport leads to interlinked benefits that are felt across multiple aspects of life. The move toward public transport, walking and cycling not only improves general mobility by relieving congestion stress, but also significantly cuts down emissions from personal vehicles, reduces the risk of road accidents, and promotes physical fitness.