With the ‘Lead the TRANSITion’ theme, the UITP Global Public Transport Summit 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 said on the occasion of UITP Global Public Transport Summit held in in Montréal on 15-17 May 2017.
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,” 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 Flausch.
At the summit, 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.
The next UITP Summit will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, on 9-12 June 2019.
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