How the UPPER project is making public transport the first choice in Europe
In Lisbon, renewing a monthly public transport pass no longer has to mean a trip to a ticket machine. In the Hannover Region, a shared shuttle is helping fill gaps in the network. And in Valencia, busy streets are becoming safer for pedestrians, cyclists and passengers.
All these changes are about making public transport easier to reach, simpler to use and more accessible.
And this is what UPPER, an EU-funded project coordinated by UITP, is working towards. Across ten cities and regions, partners are deploying different solutions to make public transport more attractive and encourage more people to use it.
As the project draws to a close, it’s time to share the results and lessons learned. Save the date: 10 March 2027! Discover what the cities have achieved, the challenges they have faced and the opportunities that have emerged along the way. Registration and further details about the final event will follow soon, so stay tuned!
But first, let’s see what unleashing the potential of public transport looks like across Europe.
Reaching beyond the city centre
Living on the outskirts of a city often means fewer public transport options: services are less frequent, connections can be difficult and, naturally, a private vehicle becomes the most convenient way to travel.
In the Hannover Region, sprinti offers another option. The on-demand service allows residents to book shared journeys, complementing the existing PT services.
What began in three municipalities in 2021 has grown to serve twelve across the region’s outer tariff zone. By June 2026, sprinti had completed more than 4.5 million journeys, becoming an established part of the public transport network.
Further south, Thessaloniki is tackling the same challenge by making use of something already available in the city: taxis.
In Panorama, a low-density area within the municipality of Pylaia-Chortiatis, a shared taxi service is being developed with the local operator Taxiway to improve connections with the wider PT network. Instead of introducing a new bus fleet, the idea is to use existing taxis to offer more flexible journeys.
The service is progressing through a phased rollout, with technical testing and a limited opening planned ahead of a wider public launch.
Demand-responsive transport (DRT) is emerging as a strategic complement to conventional PT in low-demand and peri-urban areas. It can bridge service gaps, improve access for people with limited travel options and reduce the reliance on private cars.
For a closer look at these approaches, continue reading UPPER’s DRT case studies.
An easier way to commute
Standing in a queue just to renew a monthly pass might seem like a small inconvenience, but it costs passengers time and adds another layer to their journey. And this influences how people experience and perceive public transport. In an age when so much can be done on a smartphone, why should buying a PT ticket be complicated?
Lisbon is successfully removing this extra step. Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa (TML) developed its own navegante app, allowing passengers to purchase and load monthly passes directly through their phones.
The uptake has been significant: in 2025, 745,408 monthly passes were purchased and loaded through the app, 19% of the monthly navegante passes sold across the metropolitan area.
And the app has continued to evolve. In January 2026, TML began introducing the mobile ticket validation for eligible Carris Metropolitana passengers, removing the need for a physical card. In June, real-time vehicle location and arrival predictions were added.
In Hannover, another complication is being removed: understanding fares and tariff zones. The ÜSTRA easy app, launched in March 2026, allows passengers to check in before travelling and leave the fare calculation to the system. Rather than figuring out which ticket to buy or which zones they will cross, passengers pay according to the distance travelled. And the good news is: the app works with sprinti!
Budapest has also been improving how passengers find their way through the network. BKK updated the BudapestGO journey planner to recommend more practical routes, taking waiting times, transfers and walking distances into account.
Meanwhile, in Île-de-France, dedicated mobility apps were tested during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, helping visitors and participants navigate the PT network with multimodal routes and up-to-date travel information.
Giving the streets back to people
On Avenida Blasco Ibáñez in Valencia, a cycle lane running behind a bus shelter created conflicts between passengers and cyclists.
To understand the problem, the city used cameras and computer-vision technology to study how people move around the stop. The findings helped with significant improvements to pedestrian crossings, barriers and warning signs designed to make the area safer.
Valencia has also introduced pedestrian-priority traffic signals at a crossing providing access to PT. The city is assessing the effectiveness of these measures and whether similar solutions should be introduced elsewhere.
The Eternal City, Rome, is also changing how its streets are used. Its Green Area low-emission zone, known as Fascia Verde, restricts access to the most polluting vehicles, with electronic access controls being progressively installed.
Since January 2026, a 30km/h speed limit has applied throughout the historic centre’s daytime restricted traffic zone, aiming to make streets safer for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
Discover more about Rome’s restrictions.
Accessibility starts with listening
In Oslo, Ruter offers an age-friendly transport service, allowing older passengers to book door-to-door minibus journeys in advance. To offer more flexibility, the operator tested same-day bookings.
Surprisingly, uptake was limited. The pilot highlighted the importance of familiar routines and planning ahead for older passengers, while creating operational difficulties since managing both booking options created extra work for staff. It showed that what seems more convenient in theory does not always make travelling easier in practice.
Changing perceptions to change habits
Even when services improve, getting people to change how they travel is another challenge. The car represents comfort, independence and familiarity, so it is often the first choice.
In Thessaloniki, the HIT App is giving people another reason to choose sustainable transport: it rewards journeys made by public transport, walking and cycling with points that can be exchanged for gifts and discounts from participating local businesses.
In Leuven, the challenge is getting people to see what public transport can offer. When De Lijn introduced a revised bus network in January 2025, passengers had to get used to new routes, connections and line numbers. The city and De Lijn rolled out information through journey planners, posters at stops, social media and advertising on buses to help people find their way around the changes. After all, even an improved service can go unnoticed if people don’t know about it!
In Mannheim, operator rnv has taken a playful approach to another problem affecting the passenger experience: littering and vandalism.
In July 2026, it launched Mission: SAUBER, an arcade-style online game in which passengers become agents tasked with keeping buses, trams and stops clean. The game encourages players to recognise problems and learn how to report them.
By autumn 2026, rnv reported around 5,200 games played, approximately 6,000 tracked visits to its campaign page and increased passenger reports of cleanliness problems.
Whether this leads to a lasting reduction in vandalism remains to be seen, but the engagement shows how passengers can be encouraged to take a more active role in looking after the network they use.
The legacy of UPPER
Some UPPER measures are already part of everyday journeys across Europe. Others have shown just how important it is to test new ideas, listen to passengers and adapt when things don’t go as planned. After all, understanding what doesn’t work, and why, can be just as valuable as a successful launch.
Achievements, challenges, unexpected lessons and much more to discover on 10 March 2027! UPPER and its sister project SPINE will come together to share their experiences and explore how other cities can learn from them and adapt these solutions to their own needs.
Save the date and follow UPPER for the latest updates and registration details!
Watch the recap of the latest General Assembly from UPPER and feel the spirit!
