BUS2TALK: THE SOCIAL VALUE OF INNOVATIVE MOBILITY WITH PROF. DR. HAUCAP

“We are a little bit behind in some areas of the mobility industry, having relied too much on what we were always good at or because we lacked the courage” says Prof. Dr. Justus Haucap. From 2006 to 2014 the professor of economics at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf was a member of the German government’s Monopolies Commission which he chaired for four years (2008 - 2012). Since 2013 the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) has listed him annually as one of Germany’s 30 most influential economists. Haucap’s work focuses on preventing individuals from gaining excessive power and ensuring people have choices.

At the end of April Justus Haucap was a guest in the podcast studio at BUS2BUS. In the interview with Totinia Hörner he reveals why the conversation about electromobility reminds him a bit about German football and why he believes success makes you sluggish and that “carrying on as usual“ doesn’t work.

“When you’re under pressure you become creative“, says Haucap. And that is what the transport sector, which according to Haucap is furthest from achieving climate targets, is in need of. He describes the benefits of the congestion charge in London and Stockholm which has reduced inner-city traffic by around 20 per cent, for which initially there was little support, but which the public now generally accepts. “As a politician you have to take some knocks at first. People have now almost all switched to public transport. It saddens me a bit that in Germany not a single city has even begun to trial such a scheme”, Haucup says.

In conversation with Totinia Hörner he explains the factors currently distorting competition in the transport sector, the influence of political frameworks and bureaucracy, and why funding alone is not the solution. He sees one of Germany’s most important tasks as developing technologies that can be exported and used in countries that lack the human resources to realise such ideas. “These are areas where we should not just be focusing on ourselves“, Haucap says.

A note for all non German-speaking listeners: this episode is only available in German.

Guests:

Justus Haucap, Professor of Economics, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
Totinia Hörner, Moderator

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