UITP Global Public Transport Summit offers glimpse at the future of urban mobility

The UITP Global Public Transport Summit (15-17 May 2017) in Montréal offered a tantalising glimpse at the future of a public transport market that is rapidly evolving and emphasised the importance of taking a leading role in navigating the change.

The theme of the biennial UITP (International Association of Public Transport) Global Public Transport Summit was ‘Lead the TRANSITion’ and served to highlight the need for public transport to take the lead faced with the numerous changes and challenges such as digitalisation, advances in green energy and the emergence of new players on the mobility market. The event also served to highlight the vast amount of innovation in the sector, from data wizards to autonomous vehicle pioneers.

There were several main takeaways from the event. “In order to lead the transition, the business model of public transport will need to change and is changing to fully integrate new services like bike- or car-sharing,” said UITP Secretary General Alain Flausch. Customers will need to be put at the heart of public transport companies’ concerns and working together in collaboration will be key.

Public transport is making great efforts to decarbonise and it is “leading the show in setting an example for the rest of the transport sector,” Mr Flausch added. However, in an age where expectations for rapid delivery are so high, public transport will need to be more reactive and increase the to-market time of projects. Finally, the last takeaway was the word ‘partnership’: “working together with partners such as new mobility players will allow the sector to become more agile,” commented Mr Flausch.

UITP’s Global Public Transport Summit was indeed truly global: 2500 participants from 84 countries around the world came to exchange best practice with international experts and explore the 330 companies from 30 countries displaying their very latest innovative products and solutions in the 25,000m² Exhibition, attracting 13,000 visitors over the three days.

The Summit, hosted by local transport operators AMT and STM, put Montréal’s extensive integrated public transport system (which includes car- and bike-sharing) in the international spotlight and highlighted the major strides taking place in Canadian urban transport: “At this UITP Summit, the Canadian transit industry is having a real moment on the world stage,” explained Patrick Leclerc, President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Association.

UITP will be looking ahead to its next Summit in 2019 in Stockholm with Pere Calvet now at the helm as the Association’s new president. Mr Calvet, a civil engineer with more than 30 years of experience in public transport, most of it spent in urban rail, was voted in as President at the Association’s General Assembly during the Summit.

“We are about to enter a new era in public transport driven by huge social and technological changes. I am looking forward to continue the excellent work of Mr Masaki Ogata as UITP President as the Association has a major role to play in this new scenario,” said Mr Calvet. “UITP will lead the evolution towards more liveable cities and a more equitable society by promoting modern, efficient and sustainable Public Transport all around the world”.

About The Global Public Transport Summit

The Global Public Transport Summit is a unique event that covers all urban and regional transport modes. It combines a full programme of congress sessions with an exhibition of the latest solutions, innovations and products in public transport and urban mobility. The last edition of the event - previously known as the UITP World Congress & Exhibition - took place in Milan in June 2015. The event attracted more than 2,200 delegates from 83 countries and 284 exhibitors from across the industry.

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About The International Association of Pblic Transport (UITP)

The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) is a passionate champion of sustainable urban mobility and is the only worldwide network to bring together all public transport stakeholders and all sustainable transport modes. We have 1,400 member companies giving access to 16,000 contacts from 96 countries. Our members are public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, research institutes and the public transport supply and service industry.

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