Introduction

In order to limit private car use in the city and to improve the quality, offer and image of public transport, more and more networks chose to provide seamless mobility to their customers. They are thus providing an ever broader mix of mobility services by building new alliances with actors such as Car-Sharing and bicycle operators, taxis, etc. In this way they promote the use of soft modes and launch mobility packages to ensure door-to-door mobility and bundle customer needs into a single card. These new mobility solutions induce a change of behaviour in the population towards private car use.

By supporting innovative mobility solutions, public transport operators will significantly alleviate congestion in cities as customers are able to choose between various mobility options. Thus they have a real alternative to the owning of a car.

This is even stated as one of the solutions in the UITP strategy “Public transport: the smart green solution”: to deliver life style services to become the mode of choice for citizens. UITP asks public transport operators to become true mobility providers by developing intermodal strategic partnerships and alliances with taxis, bikes and Car-Sharing, parking facilities, information providers and all major mobility generators.

Moreover complementary modes can be used as new marketing tools as they are innovative and intelligent mobility solutions. Moreover they bring a fresher image to public transport and help reaching other customer profiles. Therefore it often happens that joint advertising campaigns are organized in cooperation with the different operators.

This Workshop will give the floor to representatives from public transport companies and organizing authorities who have a lot of experience in the cooperation with soft modes but also to Car-Sharing and cycling organizations
as well as to the academic world.