No city today can function efficiently without public transport. Indeed the development of public transport is a prerequisite for sustainable urban development. It is all the more critical in the light of some recent megatrends:
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Galloping urbanisation, congestion and the threat of traffic paralysis; |
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Air quality concerns; |
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Peak oil production and use; |
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The pressing need to take action to mitigate permanent and damaging climate change; |
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The need to maintain or improve the quality of urban life for citizens. |
All urban decision makers face the issue of meeting citizens’ mobility needs efficiently. In some cases infrastructure and equipment must be installed from scratch; in others decisions must be taken to renew, extend, change or complement the range of mobility services. In all cases the long-term evolution of networks and new services required for existing and new developments remains a preoccupation. Today, innovative options and technologies are available. Making the right choice of transport system has never been more complex, and there is certainly no ‘one size fits all’ strategy or decision-making process.
The time has come for UITP to highlight this universal debate, taking into account the various professional opinions and arguments. The aim of the Congress is therefore to:
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Review the available options with their advantages and drawbacks; |
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Review all parameters to take into account; |
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Provide participants with a broad view of the issues and a framework for analysis, enabling them to take the best possible decisions for the short, medium and long term. |
Decision-makers will never avoid a debate about this complex issue, but the Congress will contribute to providing all stakeholders with appropriate tools to perform a comprehensive analysis.
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The subject is multi-disciplinary by nature but it corresponds to the needs of most segments of UITP membership and can be covered by topical sessions such as:
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Planning, investments and decision-making issues |
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Modelling |
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Product and service development |
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Operational aspects in the widest sense (institutional and corporate organisation, interface with other stakeholders such as police, highway authorities etc) |
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Management aspects (business planning, human resources management, marketing) |
Further, the topic has to be analysed in a dynamic and evolving way:
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Geographically: Approaches can vary significantly between continents, countries or even regions. Urban structure, socio-economic development, industrial policies, and available expertise are very strong drivers for decision-makers. Optimal solutions must always correspond to their environment - they will never be universal. However benchmarking can help to identify key success factors that are transferable worldwide. |
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Culturally: attitudes of decision-makers and especially customers and citizens are strongly influence by cultural factors, travelling habits and life styles, (un)availability of minimum service provision etc. Therefore, expectations caqn differ and identical solutions planned, implemented and perceived differently, and reach very different grade of success. |
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Timely: Different approaches and options are available for network creation and evolution. As the optimal long-term solution may not be attained in the desired time frame, it is crucial to design ‘upgradable and expandable’ systems. By doing so, structuring transport corridors can be equipped with more appropriate technologies when the situation allows. |
The focal theme will be developed in several sessions and will examine the following issues:
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Capacity/costs
Planning and sizing the system: how to find a good compromise between capacity, costs and speed? |
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Urban aspects
Review of the system’s capability to integrate into and structure the urban fabric, trigger urban regeneration and contribute to healthier living conditions; |
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Viewpoint of customers/citizens, image, quality, satisfaction
Understanding and meeting citizens expectations with regard to the different systems. What are the modal attributes? how are they perceived? The role of travel experience and and the conditions to trigger individual behavioural changes; |
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Finance
Which financial and economic solutions cover the full life-cycle cost of the system (from design to replacement)? |
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Governance/decision making process
Steps and methods to unite all stakeholders around efficient public transport delivery, including HR aspects and risk management; |
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Asset modernisation/replacement
After 3 or 4 decades of operation, any system has to undergo major overhaul or to be replaced. How to plan, finance and implement large scale refurbishment? |
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Impacts: environment, congestion, modal shift
Measuring and comparing the various impacts of traffic: how to equip oneself with a set of relevant criteria and a performance score-board ? |
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