Sustainable Transport

Geneva, Switzerland | The International Road Federation (IRF), represented by Julia Funk, Head of Data, Programmes and Knowledge, participated in the SLOCAT–UNECE Monitoring and Tracking Workshop for the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, held at the Palais des Nations.

The event brought together government representatives, UN agencies, development banks, research institutions and civil society to address a central question: How can the world effectively track progress on sustainable transport between now and 2030?

Why Monitoring Matters: Setting the Stage

Discussions opened with an examination of why monitoring is essential to the UN Decade. Participants reviewed existing frameworks and took stock of current global indicators.

IRF highlighted that monitoring should function more as a governance tool versus a reporting exercise. The Decade’s Implementation Plan emphasises improved data collection, analysis and use. For IRF, the purpose of monitoring is to help governments assess whether transport systems are becoming more inclusive, safer, lower-carbon, more resilient and more efficient and not simply whether infrastructure has been delivered.

Drawing on IRF’s long-standing experience with the World Road Statistics (WRS), the organisation noted that the most effective monitoring systems rely on continuity of data over time and harmonised definitions. Countries engage more actively when indicators are linked to policy levers, budgeting and investment frameworks. A well-designed monitoring system should therefore support benchmarking, mid-term assessment ahead of the Decade’s 2030 milestone and practical course corrections.

What Should Be Measured?

The second session focused on identifying priority areas for monitoring. IRF underscored that WRS already provides a solid foundation for several dimensions of the Decade.

For more than six decades, IRF has collected national data from over 200 countries and territories, including:

• road network length and paved share
• motorisation rates and vehicle fleet composition
• road safety outcomes
• freight volumes
• fuel consumption

These indicators already align with many of the Decade’s focus areas—access, safety, emissions and connectivity. However, the conversation also made clear that significant gaps remain:

• Access and inclusion: Data needs further disaggregation and must move beyond infrastructure length to capture meaningful accessibility.
• Climate and resilience: Lifecycle emissions, adaptation investment and infrastructure condition under stress remain under-measured.
• Efficiency and logistics: Corridor performance and congestion indicators are often absent.
• Urban mobility: Mode share, active mobility and public transport performance require better coverage.
• Technology and innovation: Indicators for digital asset management, ITS deployment and related technologies lack consistency.

Designing a Practical and Scalable Global Framework

During interactive “world café” discussions, participants explored how a global monitoring framework could be structured. IRF encouraged a layered approach:

• a small set of core global indicators that every country can report,
• supplemented by thematic modules for deeper exploration of areas such as urban mobility, resilience or logistics.

This structure would allow countries to tailor monitoring to their priorities while maintaining comparability. IRF stressed three design principles:

1. Measurability — indicators must be realistic for most countries to collect;
2. Continuity — data should be comparable over time;
3. Policy relevance — indicators should support decision-making, not sit unused.

IRF also pointed to the value of digital-first monitoring systems, including interactive dashboards, automated data integration and interoperable tools that builds on IRF’s own progress with data warehouse dashboards and country profiles.

Addressing Data Challenges: From Definitions to Institutional Capacity

The final session addressed the persistent constraints affecting transport data globally. Drawing on IRF’s operational experience with WRS, Julia Funk noted common issues: inconsistent definitions across ministries, missing reporting years, under-disaggregation and capacity limitations, especially in lower-income countries. Road safety and emissions data can also be politically sensitive, contributing to underreporting.

IRF emphasised that many data challenges are fundamentally institutional. Strengthening statistical capacity, governance coordination and institutional ownership is just as important as refining indicators.

Proposed solutions included:

• harmonised templates for data submission
• continuous engagement with national focal points
• digital reporting systems to reduce errors and delays
• targeted capacity-building for data collection and analysis

The discussion also explored the potential of remote sensing, administrative datasets and AI-based validation as complementary sources to enhance accuracy and fill data gaps.

Looking Ahead

The workshop laid important groundwork for a global framework capable of tracking progress across the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport. IRF’s contribution underscored the need for systems that are practical, interoperable and genuinely useful for decision-makers.

By bringing decades of experience in road and mobility data, IRF is helping shape a monitoring approach that supports countries in building transport systems that are inclusive, safe, low-carbon, resilient and efficient - and that can be reliably measured over time.