ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Transport & mobility card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 114 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaPlaces & infrastructure
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Places & infrastructure

Transport & mobility

Modes, infrastructure & access

Railways, ports, airports and roads form the system that moves both people and cartons of milk. The big picture is decided in the Riksdag's infrastructure decisions and in a national plan that spans twelve years, longer than three terms of office.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · streets, ports & planning · approx 15 %
  • Region · county plan & public transport · approx 20 %
  • State · national plan & railways · approx 50 %
  • EU · transport network & emission rules · approx 15 %

Central government dominates through the national plan and Trafikverket. The general election shapes the billions, but the county plans give the regions a hand on the wheel of their own.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityClosest to the ground
The regionThe county plan & the transport
Central governmentThe system owner · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) and the committees for technical services and urban planning. Some municipalities own ports and airports.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige), which decides the county plan and is responsible for public transport.
The Riksdag, the Government, the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) and the Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen).
What do they decide?
Streets, cycle networks, the local conditions for freight traffic and detailed development plans (detaljplaner) that make room for tracks and roads.
Sets priorities for regional roads and cycle routes, and runs the trains and buses in the county.
The infrastructure bill, the national plan, the railway network, national roads and the rules for all modes of transport.
Where are decisions made?
In the committees and the council. Large projects are negotiated with central government and the region.
In the regional council, after dialogue with the municipalities and Trafikverket.
In the Riksdag and at Trafikverket. The plan is decided by the Government after a broad referral (remiss).
Who pays?
The municipal tax plus co-funding of central government projects.
Central government county plan money plus the regional tax for the transport.
The central government budget: hundreds of billions over twelve years.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Consultations (samråd) on detailed plans that make room for the infrastructure.
Regional election Consultations (samråd) on the county plan and the public transport plan.
General election Respond to the referral (remiss) on the national plan, as a private individual too.
EUThe EU points out the trans-European transport network and sets emission and safety rules for vehicles, trains and aircraft. The European Parliament election shapes the framework.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case The national plan comes into being
  1. EU

    The corridors are drawn in Brussels

    The EU points out the major freight and passenger routes across Europe and sets requirements on the standard. Swedish lines and roads in the network must measure up, and EU money can co-finance.

  2. State

    The Riksdag sets the frame

    The infrastructure bill states how many billions the transport system gets over the next twelve years. It is one of the term's largest economic decisions.

    Point of influence

    The general election is the biggest lever. The parties' positions on infrastructure differ, compare them.

  3. State

    Trafikverket proposes, everyone gets to respond

    Trafikverket weighs projects against each other and submits a proposal for a national plan. The proposal goes out for a broad referral (remiss) to municipalities, regions, organisations and the public.

    Point of influence

    The referral is open: private individuals and associations can respond too.

  4. Region

    The counties put together their own puzzles

    In parallel, each region decides a county plan for the regional infrastructure. Regions and municipalities at the same time work hard to get their projects into the national plan.

    Point of influence

    The county plan has a consultation (samråd) of its own, closer to you than the national one.

  5. Municipality

    The municipality provides room and money

    When a project is to be built, municipal detailed development plans (detaljplaner) are needed, and central government often negotiates municipal co-funding, sometimes in exchange for housing construction.

  6. Your everyday life

    The platform where you stand

    The double track that cuts the travel time was in a referral fifteen years ago. The next generation's journeys are decided in the plan that is on its way out for referral right now.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which transport project would change the most in your part of the country?

  2. How should the system weigh the city's congestion against the countryside's distances?

  3. Twelve years is longer than three terms of office. How is accountability demanded for such long decisions?

  4. What should be moved from road to rail or shipping, and what does that take?

  5. How much of the freight and travel through your municipality have you ever had a view on?

Glossary

Nationell plan
Central government's twelve-year plan for railways and national roads, decided by the Government.
Infrastrukturproposition
The Government's proposal to the Riksdag on the economic framework for the transport system.
Länsplan
The region's plan for central government money for regional transport infrastructure.
Medfinansiering
When a municipality or region pays part of a central government project.
TEN-T
The EU's designated transport network across Europe, with requirements on standard.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.