As the United Nations inaugurates the Decade of Sustainable Transport (2025–2035), Youth for Road Safety (YOURS) presents its official position for the decade ahead: A call for transport systems that honour human dignity, protect life, and expand opportunity for all. Transport defines how people access education, work, healthcare, connection, and possibilities. Yet for millions, mobility remains unsafe, unequal, and unsustainable. As the global transport community steps into this decade, YOURS underscores that sustainable transport will only succeed if it is built through inclusion, collaboration and accountability, where communities shape the solutions that affect their lives, young people help drive decision-making, and every system is designed with safety at its core to ensure that no one is left behind.
“The Decade challenges us to rethink transport systems based on evidence and concrete action, listening to communities, working across sectors, and embedding accountability in every decision. Only by placing safety and communities at the centre can sustainable transport move from ambition to impact,” said Raquel Barrios, Executive Director of YOURS.
Grounded in lived experience and global youth leadership, YOURS outlines a set of non-negotiable priorities that must guide the actions of this new decade, based on the global vision of youth: safety, equity, decarbonization, finance, technology, accessibility, and accountability.
Road Safety at the Foundation
Any system that calls itself sustainable must pass the safety test. Nothing else matters if people keep dying on the way to school or work. Governments must embed the Safe System approach everywhere: designing roads and vehicles that protect people even when mistakes occur, managing speed to prevent crashes from being fatal, and building accountability into every decision. A truly sustainable transport system is one that protects and preserves life.
Equity Begins with Access
Transport must work for everyone, not just those with cars or privilege. Women walking unsafe streets, children crossing chaotic roads, and elders and people with disabilities left out by design; this is the inequality we must end. Universal design must be at the centre of every transportation system to ensure equal access for all, gender- and disability-responsive planning, and regular safety and equity audits. Equity starts when everyone can move safely and affordably. By 2035, cities must invest in and have in place urban and mobility plans that ensure social equity in mobility for all, especially in low- and middle-income countries and rural areas, where most marginalised and disconnected communities are located.
Decarbonise Transport, Decentralise Power
We refuse a future where mobility accelerates the climate crisis. Transport must decarbonise faster, not later, if we are to safeguard health, equity, and the planet’s future. Governments must demonstrate progress in phasing out fossil-fuel vehicles, electrify public transport and two- and three-wheelers, and invest in cycling and walking infrastructure as climate and active mobility solutions. A just transition must protect workers and low-income communities while ensuring that transport contributes its fair share to global climate goals.
Financing that Works for People and Planet
Financial resources should reflect values. If financing continues to flow to car-dependent, fossil-heavy systems, then talk of “sustainability” is meaningless. This Decade must mobilise financial resources guided by proven solutions, global goals and community needs, redirecting investments toward equitable, low-carbon mobility. Every public dollar must be traceable, every project transparent, and every investor accountable. By 2035, government investment must focus on implementing the NDCs, as well as urban and transportation plans, to ensure a return on investment in people, communities, and a healthy environment.
Technology for Safety and Dignity
The future of transport is digital and AI-powered, and that demands a new social contract. Data and information must be accessible so young entrepreneurs can build and refine the tools that will shape tomorrow’s mobility. Governments must also safeguard user data and ensure technology serves the public good. Every digital advancement in transport should increase safety, expand access, and protect the dignity of every traveller. Anything less isn’t progress.
Accessible Systems that Move Everyone
Progress isn’t measured by the speed of cars but by the freedom of people. Cities must set mode-share targets that prioritise walking, cycling, and public transport, and build continuous, safe networks for each. Every person should be able to reach school, work, and healthcare safely without owning a car or risking their life. By 2035, cities must invest in multimodal transportation systems that enhance connections and foster economic growth within their communities, at a price that is accessible to everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status.
Accountability Through Action
Accountability is what brings promises closer to real progress. Every country must set measurable annual targets for safety, accessibility, and emissions in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), developed in collaboration with communities and monitored in the public domain. What isn’t transparent cannot be trusted. This decade will be remembered for what it delivers, not what it declares. To achieve these seven priorities, civil society, communities, and youth must be recognised not merely as beneficiaries of change, but as essential allies in shaping it. Lived experiences, local knowledge, and collective power are critical to designing transport systems that are equitable, inclusive, and effective. When youth and communities are treated as co-creators, rather than passive recipients, policies become more grounded, resilient, and responsive. This decade requires a shift from top-down decision-making to collaborative governance, where those most affected by mobility challenges help lead the solutions. Alongside global partners, YOURS commits to driving community-led, evidence-based actions that bring safety and sustainability closer to reality.
A Call to Collective Action!
YOURS invites governments, civil society, youth networks and global partners to work together to build mobility systems that safeguard dignity, protect life, support the planet, and enable a sustainable future for all. Stay tuned for updates as YOURS continues contributing to the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, and check out our official commitments on the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport website. 