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Initial findings from the UMii (Urban Mobility innovation index) project were presented today in the plenary session of the UITP Global Public Transport Summit (15-17 May 2017) in Montréal and pointed to the great potential available to cities that foster innovation in urban mobility.
The initial findings of the UMii project, initiated by RTA (Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai) and implemented by UITP (the International Association of Public Transport), in partnership with Future Cities Catapult highlighted the fact that although innovation is often perceived as technology-based, it’s much more than that.
New types of governance, adapted processes of regulation or different ways to create, plan and collaborate can also have a significant role in enhancing urban mobility. Neither is it about major investments or shiny new infrastructure: seemingly minor but smart improvements can make a big difference and, in harnessing them, offer massive untapped potential for cities.
Key messages for urban leaders from the project focus on the need to share (sharing the ownership of the city’s strategy with the ones benefiting from it) to look at mobility in the wider context of sustainable urban planning (it’s not just a transport challenge) or to explore the power of data.
The UMii project has sought to provide insights into urban mobility and innovation in cities across the world and to deliver a guide for cities to foster innovation in their urban mobility services and systems. Data has been collected globally from 30 cities.
Whilst most of the innovative ideas identified in the project were local and contextual - there are also common threads that can be applied in other cities in order to remove obstacles to innovation that are often present. The project also focused on the need for clarity: the increasing focus on innovation globally has led to a need to fully understand it in order to exploit its potential and one of the focal points of UMii was to develop qualitative indicators for cities to make mobility smarter.
“There is enormous scope for cities to really take charge to be more innovative and to be owners of their innovation strategies,” said Karine Sbirrazzuoli, UMii Project Manager at UITP.
A detailed report including individual city’s innovation profiles will be launched later in the year as well as a Policy Paper including final recommendations and key enablers for innovation in urban mobility. For more information: www.umi-index.org
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 Public 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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