42 meetings. 14 members. 24 months: UITP Covid-19 Task Force mobilises action across two years

Since early 2020, the coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented change to our daily lives.

Throughout this time, the public transport sector provided an essential service to the world, working tirelessly to keep our cities, and the essential employees working within them, moving.

For UITP and our global membership and our partners around the world, the time to step up and acknowledge the work to be done was immediate.

Like many sectors, public transport was greatly impacted by the pandemic, with ridership plummeting, and financial revenue heavily reduced.

Our sector is defined by its strength of community, and to best face the challenges that Covid-19 would bring, UITP launched a dedicated pandemic Task Force.

Action was required, and as the overarching voice for the sector across the globe, UITP knew that by bringing our members even closer to each other, we could work to enact a response to best serve cities and citizens, and those who rely on public transport.

Led by our Director of Knowledge and Innovation Karine Sbirrazzuoli and Senior Director of Strategy Sylvain Haon, we welcomed members from Argentina, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Norway, and the UK to share their insights, and drive the direction of our reaction on all pandemic-themed topics.

With each weekly meeting, the Task Force members, featuring representation from all relevant UITP departments, would share information on ridership, finances, health, and structure.

When the pandemic worsened, the Task Force would meet to determine how best to respond with content-themed publications, expert-driven webinars, and dedicated policy to help guide the national and local decision-makers and the sector through the toughest of times.

Working to mirror the pandemic status of our cities, the Task Force began gathering on a two-week basis, then moving to a once a month agenda when the pandemic began to ease in certain parts of the world.

Now, after 42 meetings, across exactly two years, the UITP Covid-19 Task Force has drawn to a close.

And with that conclusion, it’s time to consider its legacy…

The Covid-19 Task Force has served a truly impressive purpose within UITP, helping to engage our members, and define our output around a serious and significant topic for our cities and sector.

Although the group’s work may have concluded, the expertise shared, and the outcome produced, will live on within UITP as relevant and informative content for the sector to consider.

We would like to thank our team of UITP experts who contributed input, and shared their insight across the past two years.

But above all else, the biggest thank you must go to our members. Who not only showed up week after week, but shared content and their thoughts with us when their daily workload was at its most hectic.

The personal connections built between the team, allowing us to best face any next challenge to impact our sector, stands as the UITP Covid-19 Task Force’s true legacy.

UITP and Covid-19: our dedicated page

UITP members can access MyLibrary for all Covid-themed content