|
|
 |
From
the Secretary General's Desk |
|
Dear UITP members
With the theme ‘Public transport: Making the right mobility choices’, UITP has decided to focus its 58th World Congress on the complex issue of the right service portfolio.
Our flagship event will take place from 7 to 11 June in Vienna, Austria, in conjunction with the Mobility & City Transport Exhibition. You will find more information about this theme and the call for papers and sessions in these pages.
Together with members of our Asia-Pacific Division, I was happy to give a speech at the ‘International Forum for Shanghai Centennial Public Transport’ organised for the 100th anniversary of public transport in Shanghai. This also gave me the opportunity to meet with some of our members in China.
A few days later, members of the Asia-Pacific Division held their Assembly in Bangalore, India. This event will be covered in our May issue, together with a report of the recent UITP Policy Board meeting held in Vienna.
Enjoy your reading!
Regards
Hans Rat
|
|
|
UITP attends United Nations Environment Programme high-level meeting |
|
 |
UITP President Roberto Cavalieri met with Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, at the official launch of the joint TV campaign produced by UITP and UNEP.
|
|
|
UITP President Roberto Cavalieri officially launched the international TV campaign on climate change jointly produced by UNEP and UITP at UNEP’s Tenth Special Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Monaco on 21 February.
The ad was shown at the press and media launch of the UNEP Climate Neutral Network, where the UITP President and Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, sat on a panel with Ministers of Environment and other decision-makers from countries that pledged to make binding reductions in climate harmful emissions (Iceland, Norway, Monaco, Costa Rica and New Zealand).
The Climate Neutral Network is based on the success of UNEP’s ‘Billion Tree’ campaign where individuals, companies and governments were invited to plant trees. More than the estimated billion trees were pledged and planted and it is intended that this new campaign, targeting countries and business, will have a similar significant impact and help reduce emissions.
Watch the ad on our website at www.uitp.org/theworldisyourhome and join the initiative!
CONTACT: Heather Allen, heather.allen@uitp.org; Aline Talabard, aline.talabard@uitp.org (for information on how to use the ad)
 |
‘Public transport: Making the right mobility choices’ will be the theme of UITP’s 58th World Congress and Exhibition. A call for papers and sessions is open to all interested parties. Read more |
|
| |
Today, light rail is being challenged on its cost efficiency. We must demonstrate that it is good value for money.
Georg Drechsler, Chairperson of UITP's Light Rail Committee and CEO of Bremer Straßenbahn AG. Read more in ' Face to Face’ |
|
|
Public Transport Modes |
|
Trolleybus Workshop in Vologda
 |
Aleksander Kaledin, General Manager of JSC Vologdaelectrotrans and Chairman of the Board of Trans-Alfa, welcomed participants to the 3rd International Trolleybus Workshop.
|
|
UITP’S Trolleybus Working Group organised the 3rd International Workshop, ‘How to push forward your trolleybus system’, in Vologda, Russian Federation, on 28 February.
The event was hosted by Aleksander Kaledin, General Manager of the operator JSC Vologdaelectrotrans and Chairman of the Board of Trans-Alfa Trolleybus Factory. Together with the members of the Trolleybus Working Group, representatives of the Russian trolleybus sector participated in the workshop.
The cities of Volgograd, Kemerovo and Moscow presented the current situation of electric urban transport in the Russian Federation. Another session with speakers from the Russian Federation, Belarus and Czech Republic reviewed technical solutions for the future of this transport mode. Special consideration was given to the discussion on how to convince policy-makers of the advantages of trolleybus systems.
Two technical visits to the trolleybus operator JSC Vologdaelectrotrans and the plant of Trans-Alfa provided participants with an interesting view inside the Russian trolleybus business.
Prior to the workshop, the Trolleybus Working Group held a meeting in Vologda and its Chairman, Vitaly Ljulko, invited members in Moscow to get acquainted with the trolleybus facilities of Mosgortrans.
A CD-ROM with the workshop proceedings will soon be on sale and UITP members can find all presentations in Mobi+ at www.uitp.org/mos.
CONTACT: UITP Bus Division: Arno Kerkhof, arno.kerkhof@uitp.org; Eurasian Division: Constantin Dellis, constantin.dellis@uitp.org
|
|
Public Transport Sectors |
|
 |
The Organising Authorities Committee met in London in March.
|
|
Organising Authorities
TRANSPORT FOR LONDON (TfL) kindly hosted the meeting of the Organising Authorities Committee in London, United Kingdom, on 13-14 March.
The Committee focused on its three main working topics: the definition of its mission and vision, financing, and quality provision in contracts.
Members also looked for possible synergies with other UITP activities such as the training for organising authorities, the Public Transport and Large Events Working Group, the youth project, the Sustainable Development Conference and the Move Together project.
Finally, Milan and London presented their best practices in terms of sustainable mobility, and the Committee also listened to the latest news from members in Israel and Canada.
CONTACT: André Niemegeers, andre.niemegeers@uitp.org
|
|
Public Transport Themes |
|
Information Technology and Service Industry
THE INFORMATION Technology and Service Industry Committee met in Brussels, Belgium, on 5 March. This was the first meeting held independently from the other Industry Committees.
Due to urgent obligations, Frithjof Struye, Chairperson of the Committee, entrusted Heidi Blengsli Aabel of Fara with the chairmanship of the meeting. Many topics were on the agenda: preparing for IT-TRANS 2010; the possible organisation of an IT Study Tour to Japan together with the Marketing and Product Development Commission; setting up a working group on tendering processes; progress on the Travel Information Market and the Interoperable Fare Management project and forum; possible cooperation with the Security Commission; and proposals for IT sessions at UITP's 58th World Congress.
CONTACT: Johan van Ieperen, johan.van.ieperen@uitp.org
Marketing and Product Development
THE MARKETING and Product Development Commission met in Nantes, France, on 21-22 February at the kind invitation of Pascal Leroy, Commercial Director, Semitan.
Members exchanged their views and experiences on the issue of innovation following presentations of successful projects developed in Nantes (Busway), Budapest, Hungary (Combino), and Florence, Italy (bike-sharing project). Other topics on the agenda were equally interesting with campaigns related to customers’ behaviour, and a very instructive presentation from Eddie So, MTR, Hong Kong, on the measurement and evaluation of marketing activities.
Several activities are in the pipeline including the Marketing Summer Course in Bilbao, on 26-29 June and the workshop on internal marketing and communication in Florence on 26 September with the support of the Commission on Human Resources and the Commission on Corporate Management. The Commission is also considering organising a study tour to Japan this November, and is already planning the 5th Marketing Conference in 2009 in Lisbon, Portugal.
CONTACT: Cécile Sadoux, cecile.sadoux@uitp.org
Public transport and large events
THE WORKING Group ‘Public Transport and Large Events’ met for the second time on 10 March in Brussels, Belgium.
Members developed a checklist for the organisation of large events with three themes: development and legacy; marketing and economics; and planning and operations. These themes correspond to the three subgroups of the Working Group. The checklist will be illustrated by case studies of good practices, which will be selected keeping in mind the importance of transferability.
Finally, members elected Volker von Rumohr, HVV, as Vice-Chairperson of the Working Group.
CONTACT: Jérôme Pourbaix, jerome.pourbaix@uitp.org; Caroline Cerfontaine, caroline.cerfontaine@uitp.org
CALL FOR PAPERS OPEN UNTIL 31 MAY
The change of culture in public transport. A business ‘by people for people’
UITP IS organising the 1st International Conference on Corporate Management and Human Resources in Public Transport in Bremen, Germany on 5-6 March 2009.
Delivering high-quality mobility services implies a fundamental overhaul of the mission of public transport companies, who have to move from a production activity to a service industry.
The conference will present a comprehensive overview of innovative and original experiences and practices aimed at developing efficient management, corporate social involvement, and excellence in human resources management.
UITP invites contributions from professionals working for operators or authorities, from representatives of trade-unions, and also from academics and consultants.
The call for papers is open until 31 May. Find it on our website at www.uitp.org/bremen2009 in English, French, German and Spanish.
CONTACT: Agnès Peter, agnes.peter@uitp.org
|
|
|
Projects, Training and Initiatives |
|
Fifth edition of UITP Marketing Summer Course
THE FIFTH edition of UITP Marketing Summer Course will take place in Bilbao, Spain, on 26-29 June. The deadline for registering is 18 April. The number of participants is limited to ensure an interactivity course, so do not waste time if you want to participate!
Full details are available at www.uitp.org/marketingcourse.
CONTACT: Sarah Foulon, sarah.foulon@uitp.org |
|
UITP Worldwide |
|
Asia-Pacific
UITP luncheon in Hong Kong
A LUNCHEON talk hosted by MTR Corporation Ltd was organised in Hong Kong on 25 February.
Hans Rat, UITP Secretary General, gave a presentation on ‘Trends in public transport and institutional relations’. Some 30 members of UITP’s Asia-Pacific Division and other transport professionals attended the event. It was agreed that similar events should be organised on a regular basis.
Shanghai celebrates 100 years of public transport
 |
| UITP representatives visited the Shenzhen Metro Interchange. |
|
UITP was invited to the ‘International Forum for Shanghai Centennial Public Transport’ to celebrate the 100th anniversary of public transport in Shanghai. Organised by the Shanghai Urban Transport Bureau, the Forum featured a series of sessions on integrated and sustainable public transport systems.
UITP Secretary General Hans Rat as well as members from Seoul, Singapore, Beijing and Hong Kong delivered speeches and shared their views on this issue.
Visits and meetings were also organised with other members in China, including Beijing Public Transport Holdings Ltd, Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corp Ltd and Shenzhen Metro Co Ltd. Mr Rat was informed about the arrangements of public transport services for the Beijing Olympics whose preparations are now in full swing.
Shenzhen is also planning and building a massive metro network for the 2011 Summer Universiade.
CONTACT: Sandy Chan, sandy.chan@uitp.org
Eurasia
 |
| The First Deputy Head of Moscow Metro, Mr Ermolenko, and Hans Rat at the signature of the renewed agreement. |
|
UITP and Russian Metro Association renew their collaboration
UITP and the Metro Association of the Russian Federation renewed their collaboration agreement for 2008. The agreement was signed by Hans Rat and Mr Ermolenko, First Deputy Head of Moscow Metro, on behalf of Dmitry Gaev, Head of Moscow Metro, on the occasion of UITP’s Executive Board meeting in February.
This collaboration ensures UITP membership to 17 metro operators and supply industries from the Commonwealth of Independent States who are part of our Metro and Industry Divisions.
CONTACT: Constantin Dellis, constantin.dellis@uitp.org
|
|
Advocacy |
|
UITP in the press
FROM The Hindu in India, to The Guardian in the UK or the US-based Business Week; from La Reforma in Mexico, to Le Soir in Belgium, to L’Economiste in Tunisia… These are just some of the media sources of UITP information over the past months. To find out more about recent international coverage, read our full report on www.uitp.org/news/UITP-in-the-press.cfm .
CONTACT: Cara McLaughlin, cara.mclaughlin@uitp.org |
|
New members |
|
FULL MEMBERS
Authority
Ayuntamiento de Ponferrada, Spain
Fujairah Transport UAE Gov, United Arab Emirates
Operator
Calgary Transit, Canada
Chartres – TEL, France
Citram Aquitaine / Veolia Transport - direction régionale (Sud-Ouest), France
Connex Auckland, New Zealand
Connex Melbourne Pty Ltd, Australia
Connex Nancy, France
Empresa Municipal de Transports Urbans de Palma de Mallorca S.A., Spain
Eurolines France, France
FCC – Connex, Spain
Istanbul Deniz Otobüsleri Sanayi, Turkey
Khartoum Public Transport Company, Sudan
KMV BUS, sro - Slovenská autobusová doprava Nitra as, Slovakia
Kraftverkehrsgesellschaft Paderborn mbH, Germany
MÁV-START Railway Passenger Transport Co, Hungary
MBCR, United States of America
Metro Ligero Oeste SA, Spain
Panturist dd, Croatia
Regia Autonoma de Transport in Comun Constanta, Romania
Regia Autonoma de Transport Timisoara, Romania
Regia Autonoma de Transport Urban Calatori, Romania
RMTT (Toulon), France
Saint Brieuc Mobilités, France
SC Compania de Transport Public SA Arad, Romania
SC Transport Public SA, Romania
SITM "TransMilenio", Colombia
ST2N (Nice), France
The General Transportation Center, Saudi Arabia
TPAS St-Etienne (STAS), France
Veolia Transport – Bordeaux, France
Veolia Transport - direction régionale (Grand Centre) Veolia Transport Ligeria, France
Veolia Transport - direction régionale (Ile de France), France
Veolia Transport - direction régionale (Nord-Ouest), France
Veolia Transport - direction régionale (Ouest), France
Veolia Transport - Est (Nancy), France
Veolia Transport – Paris, France
Veolia Transport Asia (Beijing), China PR
Veolia Transport Belgium, Belgium
Veolia Transport Canada, Canada
Veolia Transport Central Europe (Berlin), Germany
Veolia Transport Ceska Republika AS, Czech Republic
Veolia Transport CFTI - direction régionale (Rhône-Alpes/Auvergne), France
Veolia Transport China Limited (Shanghai Representative Office), China PR
Veolia Transport Finland (Helsinki), Finland
Veolia Transport Hungary, Hungary
Veolia Transport India under incorporation c/o Veolia Water Pvt, India
Veolia Transport Israel, Israel
Veolia Transport Méditerranée - direction régionale (Méditerranée), France
Veolia Transport Nederland, Netherlands
Veolia Transport Norge AS (Stavanger), Norway
Veolia Transport Northern Europe AB, Sweden
Veolia Transport Polska sp.z.o.o, Poland
Veolia Transport Serbia, Serbia
Veolia Transport Slovenia (Maribor), Slovenia
Veolia Transport Suisse (Dupraz Bus Genève), Switzerland
Veolia Transport Sverige (Stockholm Tunnelbanan), Sweden
Veolia Transport UK, United Kingdom
Veolia Transportation - North America HQ, United States of America
Veolia Verkehr (Berlin), Germany
Industry and Services Providers
ACTIA SA, France
Alstom Transport (S) PTE, Singapore
Berends-Consult, Germany
D'Appolonia SpA, Italy
eB Corp., Korea (Republic of South)
ELBAS Schweiz AG, Switzerland
Hogia Public Transport Systems AB, Sweden
ICA Traffic GmbH, Germany
Illogic Software- und Systemdesign, Germany
ING Lease Nederland, Netherlands
PE International GmbH, Germany
Polaris Elektronik Limited Sirketi, Turkey
SKODA ELECTRIC AS, CzechRepublic
Tehran Wagon Manufacturing Co., Iran
Temsa Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS, Turkey
TRICON Design AG, Germany
Vultron Ltd, Hungary
X-ident technology, Germany
ACADEMIC AND ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Greenwheels, Netherlands
Fundacja Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich, Poland
Haftpflichtgemeinschaft Deutscher Nahverkehrs- und Versorgungsunternehmen, Germany
Karlstad University, Sweden
University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom
|
|
EU Policy |
|
The Green Paper on Urban Transport
THE UITP EU Committee welcomes the publishing of the Green Paper on Urban Transport ‘Towards a new culture for urban mobility’ by the European Commission. The Green Paper addresses in a very comprehensive way all relevant main fields and issues connected to urban transport and represents a good possibility to initiate fruitful and target-oriented discussions about the future design of the European framework for sustainable urban transport.
In its response to the consultation, the EU Committee put forward its priorities that aim at equipping local decision-makers with the necessary long-term planning instruments as well as the tools for measuring policy results.
Those elements are - in the view of the Committee - a condition sine qua non for enabling informed decisions at local level facilitating sustainable urban mobility.
“For sustainable urban mobility, we need well informed and courageous decisions at local and regional levels,” stated Guido del Mese, Chairperson of UITP’s EU Committee.
The UITP EU Committee is looking forward to the further steps being taken by the European Commission from autumn 2008. A special webpage is dedicated to the Green Paper on Urban Transport at
www.uitp.org/eupolicy/New_culture_for_urban_mobility.cfm
CONTACT: Ariane de Viron, ariane.deviron@uitp.org
Recent reports
THE FOLLOWING EU policy monitoring reports are available in the ‘Members only’ section of the website, www.uitp.org/mos:
- No. 552 - UITP and European Rail Legislation Impacting Local Rail Networks
- No. 553 - Public procurement: Commission interpretative communication on the application of Community law on Public Procurement and
Concessions to Institutionalised Public-Private Partnerships (IPPP)
- No. 554 - European Union 2009 – What changes?
- No. 555 - Information and Initiative days (I&I days) on Directive 2003/59 regarding the initial and continued training of professional drivers, Brussels, 13 and 14 November 2008
- No. 556 - UITP and UNEP launch an international climate change TV campaign
- No. 557 - The Green Paper on Urban Transport: Promotion of the positions of the UITP EU Committee
Check the latest position papers and news of the EU Committee on www.uitp.org/eupolicy
|
|
Event News |
|
 Public transport: Making the right mobility choices
UITP is pleased to announce the theme of its 58th World Congress and Exhibition: ‘Public transport: Making the right mobility choices’.
In recent years, the big question for city planners has shifted from whether to invest in public transport, to which public transport mode is most appropriate.
“Making the right choice of transport system for a city has never been more vital or more complex. There is no ‘one size fits all’ strategy or decision-making process. What our Congress will do however is to help stakeholders make informed and appropriate mobility choices,” stated UITP Secretary General, Hans Rat.
The Congress will also examine other topical issues such as how the sector can compete with the car, zero emissions, IT and innovation, and how to make public transport the preferred mobility choice of the young.
The Congress and Exhibition will be held from 7 to 11 June 2009 in Vienna, Austria, a city that offers an extensive multimodal public transport system and where over a third of all trips are taken by public transport.
The call for papers and sessions is open and UITP invites contributions from all interested parties. Please visit www.uitp.org/vienna2009/papers.
CONTACT: Laurent Dauby, laurent.dauby@uitp.org |
| |
|
UITP Direct welcomes Georg Drechsler, Chairperson of UITP’s Light Rail Committee and CEO of Bremer Straßenbahn AG.
Light rail transit (LRT) seems to be booming in many countries nowadays. Good news for you!
- Yes of course, it is good to see that this great concept invented some 35-40 years ago continues to grow. However, we should not relax our efforts. For example, in the former USSR, around 100 systems have to operate in very tough conditions, offering poor service and not a credible image compared to the car. In this context, I hope that our new study ‘Modernising old tram systems’ will be helpful to many colleagues and give ideas for affordable modernisation.
What are the main issues and challenges for new developments?
- With growing complexity and sophistication, investment prices tends to rise quicker than inflation. If we do not take care, LRT may find itself in a similar situation than the one which triggered its invention in the late 60s: confronted with high construction costs for metros, engineers developed the concept of LRT around the philosophy of ‘80% of attributes of metro for 20% of the costs’. Today, LRT is being challenged on its cost efficiency. We must demonstrate that it is good value for money.
How can you do this?
- We are issuing numerous reports on financing, performance analysis and multi-criteria analyses to demonstrate the strong added value of electrical and rail transport in city centres. In June, our 9th Light Rail Conference, and its study tour, will provide the opportunity to discover the latest trends and meet with international experts… I hope to see many of you in Istanbul!
Mr Drechsler, thank you very much.
| |
 |
Today, LRT is being challenged on its cost efficiency. We must demonstrate that it is good value for money.
9th Light Rail Conference and Study Tour
Keep the world cool with LRT!
Global solutions for a changing environment
11-13 June 2008, Istanbul, Turkey
www.uitp.org/istanbul2008 |
|
|
|
UITP Online |
|
MOBI+
UITP E-LIBRARY Mobi+ is recording encouraging figures! Since December last year, we registered more than 7,500 visits. Thank you for your ongoing interest in this service.
New documents in Mobi+:
- IT-TRANS Conference, Karlsruhe
- Third International Workshop ‘How to push forward your trolleybus system’
- Asia-Pacific Assembly, Bangalore
- Working bodies: Information Technology and Service Industry Committee; Marketing and Product Development Commission; Public Transport and Large Events Working Group.
Access this invaluable resource through our ‘Members only’ section of the website at www.uitp.org/mos.
CONTACT: Thierry Maréchal, thierry.marechal@uitp.org
Your contacts at UITP
We would like to remind you that since we re-launched our website as www.uitp.org last year, all UITP staff’s email addresses also changed as follows: firstname.lastname@uitp.org.
We kindly ask that you change your e-mail address books accordingly in order to ensure that we continue to receive your messages.
|
|
Hot off the press |
|
 IT Solutions for Public Transport
THE FULL set of presentations of the first IT-TRANS Conference, ‘IT Solutions for Public Transport’, held in Karlsruhe, Germany, in February are now available on CD-ROM.
The conference covered topics such as electronic passenger information, e-ticketing, chipcards, safety solutions for passengers, intelligent solutions for passenger services, vehicle location systems and automatic fare collection.
To order this CD-ROM or other UITP publications, visit www.uitp.org/publications
CONTACT: Doriano Angotzi, doriano.angotzi@uitp.org
|
|
|
