Transport reforms and its missing publics: Insights from marshrutka abolishment and transport ‘modernisation’ policies prior to FIFA World Cup 2018 in Volgograd, Russian Federation

Abstract

Public transport modernisation policies in relation to mega events are increasingly prone to ready-made planning solutions and the application of globally recognised best practices. Locally, the implementation of global transport solutions is usually promoted as a unique window of opportunity, which should finally contribute to the greater good of city societies through smooth traffic flows and better service quality. In contrast to this frictionless narrative, the article refers to the empirical case of transport reforms in Volgograd, Russia, prior to the FIFA World Soccer Championship in 2018 and shows how poorly conceived transport modernisation policies can have a detrimental impact on local citizens. Concretely, it builds on the local attempt to replace a commercial minibus system with an insufficient public–private partnership-based bus network and develops an argument that the public transport reform was doomed to fail as local stakeholders remained excluded from decision making. Deriving from the empirical case, a pragmatist perspective on transport modernisation policies as urban issues of concern is introduced to examine how hegemonic governance tactics are effectively silencing crucial publics at stake, rendering voices of contestation marginalised. Lastly, it will be argued that public transport reforms in Volgograd, although contested and subversively undermined, challenge idealistic notions of public space, while they provide scope for experimental practice based on implicit local knowledge and cooperation in mobile space.