Executive summary

Passenger transport is fundamental to Europe’s wealth and social cohesion, but it is also a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Multimodal transport—seamlessly combining travel by air, rail, or coach—holds out the promise of strengthening the transport sector’s already significant contribution to European prosperity and well-being, while mitigating its impact on the environment. How? By breaking down barriers to create a more transparent, competitive, and integrated system that presents consumers with a full array of faster, cheaper, and cleaner options to get from point A to point B.

Infrastructure is the backbone of any transport system. To build an effective multimodal transport system, however, passenger transport facilities, rail lines, and roadways are not enough. Technology infrastructures are equally important. In this regard, digital platforms, in the form of multimodal digital mobility services (MDMS), hold out the promise of greater transparency and ease of use by allowing consumers to conduct mode-agnostic travel searches for information on schedules, availability, fares, and carbon emissions—and potentially even offering them convenient booking, ticketing, and payment on the very same platform. Green energy infrastructures, of course, must also play a major role in any multimodal system if we are to ensure a sustainable future for our planet.

Putting travelers at the center of the transport system and connecting physical and digital infrastructures will create a significant growth opportunity for all industry players. Travel demand is highly responsive to selection, price, and convenience, and MDMS would improve all three dimensions for consumers. We estimate that an MDMS-focused digital approach to multimodality can supercharge the growth in passenger traffic of Europe’s intercity passenger transport system by 50 percent through 2030, unlocking a new pool of 500 million travelers that can generate €30 billion in additional revenue—equivalent to 13 percent of 2019 market size.

Moreover, we calculate that MDMS-driven multimodality can reduce CO₂ emissions per passenger kilometer by 5 percent through the end of this decade by encouraging travelers to use public transport rather than private vehicles, and by shifting demand from air to rail on short- and medium-haul routes.

Because multimodality blurs long-standing boundaries, concerted action among all stakeholders—from industry players (regardless of mode) to regulators and policymakers—will be essential to secure the conditions needed to invest in the physical and digital infrastructures to support a truly multimodal ecosystem in Europe. The European Commission’s Multimodal Digital Mobility Services regulatory initiative underlines the strategic importance of collaboration among all industry stakeholders, supported by a regulatory framework that facilitates system interoperability and access to transport content on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms.

By removing barriers between modes to provide its citizens and visitors with the world’s first truly multimodal, pan-regional system, Europe can future-proof its intercity transport system, offering consumers a quantum leap in the traveler experience and fueling a more decarbonized economy.

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