Innovation is only real when shared: UITP showcases at TRA 2024 how R&I is shaping sustainable mobility worldwide

To shape the integrated sustainable mobility systems of the future our sector must continually invest in research and innovation (R&I): a commitment UITP wholeheartedly shares by engaging in many groundbreaking initiatives on topics serving our sector.

Beyond the development and testing of new technologies, solutions and services, R&I projects are vital to foster the collaboration needed to spread knowledge throughout the sector and bring innovation into our cities.

At the Transport Research Arena (TRA) in Dublin (15-18 April), UITP will join researchers, operators and policymakers to exchange at the largest European research and technology conference on transport. With an exhibition booth, high-level meetings, and various spots in the conference agenda, UITP is thrilled to contribute to discussions looking to enhance the sustainability, resilience, and efficiency of our sector.

As no man is an island, the same saying goes for R&I. Many of our EU-funded projects are fostering collaboration with partners or initiatives either within the EU or beyond, to amplify findings and allow replication worldwide. In fact, global collaboration is at the heart of many EU projects, and also at the TRA Conference, they will show how they are enabling research beyond borders.

What do the SOLUTIONSplus, TRANSSAFE and eBRT2030 projects have in common? They all count on strong international collaboration to enable change towards more sustainable, safer urban mobility.

SOLUTIONSplus boosts the integration of different types of e-mobility, and with ‘Living Labs’ in Hanoi, Dar es Salaam and Kigali (among others), the project has supported operators and businesses through peer-to-peer exchange on innovative e-mobility services. In one of its latest trainings in Bogota, 25 operators and authorities from the LATAM region attended a tailored-made training, offering a complete overview on how to procure, plan and fund electric buses.

Also the eBRT2030 project looks at enabling replicability in the global south. By demonstrating an advanced electrified BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) concept that takes into account local conditions such as legislations and affordability, the project wants to leverage BRT as a tool to transform public transport in cities worldwide.

Moving from electric mobility to safety, the EU-funded TRANS-SAFE project is on a quest to transform road safety in Africa, bringing together road safety agencies and experts from Europe and Africa to drive policy actions. Together, they will provide effective approaches for road safety development to ensure road conditions will meet the recommendations of the Road Safety Cluster of the African-EU Transport Task Force.

On 16 April, SOLUTIONSplus, eBRT2030 and TRANS-SAFE will speak about how international collaboration is key to the success of their projects (UITP stand, 17.30 – 18.30)

Also within EU borders, collaboration is key to achieve results, as will be highlighted at TRA.

Networking and cooperation is also at the heart of the NetZeroCities project. In support of the EU’s Mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”, the project connects these ambitious cities that want to show the way forward towards an inclusive, thriving, climate resilient and sustainable future. At TRA, join NZC for a talk highlighting the mobility measures from the local host city Dublin (15 April 13.00, UITP Stand).

In UPPER, 10 cities across Europe are uniting to tackle urban mobility challenges, implementing over 80 measures to advance public transport under the lead of UITP. At TRA, you can explore UPPER in numerous sessions, including a presentation on the software tools UPPER will deploy (16 April 15.00, UITP stand) and a talk exploring the measures that Valencia and Thessaloniki will implement (17 April 11.00, UITP stand).

Another project that is all about collaboration is DATA4PT, which looks to smoothen pan-EU travel through better data practices. At TRA, DATA4PT and its sister project NAPCORE will talk about how data is the new gold to achieve better urban mobility (17 April, 15.15, UITP stand). Explore more here.

The session will showcase the key European projects which are advancing multi-modal open data sharing practices following the EU data standards to achieve better urban mobility. The session will delve deeper into the challenges and opportunities for standardised data exchange, enabling seamless and interoperable mobility services for the passengers.

Finally, the JIVE (Joint Initiative for hydrogen Vehicles across Europe) project will showcase the latest results and lessons learned on the biggest deployment of fuel cell buses – all through intensive EU collaboration (15 April, 14.00, UITP stand).

If there is one sector leveraging international collaboration, it’s CCAM. On Thursday 18 April, UITP will join experts from the EU, Japan, and the United States for an exchange on success factors worldwide when it comes to automated mobility.

Two of UITP’s projects on automated mobility, SHOW and ULTIMO, are collaborating with the Japanese automated mobility initiative CooL4, (Cooperative Level 4 Automated Mobility Service in mixed environment), committing to exchange know-how and best practices acquired on the design, development, and demonstration of automated mobility.

At TRA, those learnings will be explored further, aiming to unravel the complexities of CCAM on a global scale, promoting collaborative dialogue and cross-cultural understanding within the realm of transformative transportation research. You can find more here.

At TRA, come and greet UITP at Hall , booth 23. The full conference programme is available here.