Cities warn against technocratic transport policy
The "Transport 45" report presented by Federal Councillor Albert Rösti is the first comprehensive future scenario for road, rail and conurbation transport. However, while DETEC emphasizes the ETH study as a strategic basis for the coming decades, the cities are voicing clear criticism. The report neglects central future goals such as net zero, space efficiency and sustainable settlement development.
The Swiss Association of Cities recognizes the attempt to present coordinated planning following the political turbulence surrounding the freeway expansion and the financial bottlenecks for the railroads. At the same time, it criticizes the narrow circle of those involved. Although cities and municipalities were represented in the support group, they were not involved enough in the content of the planning, even though they directly bear the consequences of infrastructure decisions.
The results are surprising. In the view of many cities, the postponement of important public transport projects in Basel and the deprioritization of the Bern East bypass contradict spatial planning priorities. In some cases, the logic of short-term capacity expansions overrides the long-term principles of sustainable development.
Paradigm shift required
A key point of the ETH analysis, namely that new infrastructure alone hardly brings any additional benefits, has so far been largely ignored in the public debate. The intelligent use of existing systems through digitalization, operational optimization and multimodal linking is crucial.
For the association of cities, this results in a clear mandate for action. A transport policy of the future must place greater emphasis on steering and pricing instruments such as mobility pricing, incentive systems for efficient use and consistent cost transparency. “Traffic 45” provides little basis for this.
Target vision instead of staged thinking
The association warns that political decisions should not be based solely on the ETH report. Instead, the discussion about mobility and space 2050 should be conducted on a broad, interdisciplinary basis. This should involve the cantons, cities, municipalities and the scientific community. This is the only way to prevent existing hierarchies between road and rail projects from becoming entrenched.
Financing with open flanks
The report also outlines an area of tension in financial terms. The rail infrastructure fund is not sufficient for the planned expansions. The Association of Cities welcomes the variant with an additional CHF 24 billion, but warns against cost-cutting measures in the BIF and NAF. Without reliable funding, there is a risk of a strategic standstill in rail expansion.
Broad debate instead of fast-track procedure
The consultation draft by January 2026 envisaged by Federal Councillor Rösti is considered too ambitious by the cities. It is hardly realistic to seriously involve the affected agglomerations within a few weeks.
The “Transport 45” report can be seen as a milestone for national infrastructure planning, but only if it is followed by an open, scientifically sound debate on mobility, space and climate targets that is anchored in the local community.