Project-led insights from Hamburg: Research & Innovation take the floor

The UITP Summit took over Hamburg, and for four days, the city became the global capital of public transport!

Through third-party-funded projects, UITP and its partners are tackling some of the sector’s most pressing challenges, from designing more walkable cities to managing mobility data and planning automation. The Summit was the perfect place to show what’s being tested, what’s working, and what’s ready to roll.

So, how is research and innovation helping cities build more inclusive, resilient, and efficient mobility networks? We took notes, and here’s what stood out!

You can’t talk about good public transport without talking about walking. Whether it’s getting to the station, changing lines, or heading home at the end of the day – every trip starts and ends with your feet.

That’s why NetZeroCities and UPPER teamed up for a joint session about the role of walkable streets in creating inclusive public transport systems. While the projects may have different scopes, both are redesigning urban areas and mobility. NetZeroCities supports municipalities in developing climate-neutral strategies. UPPER focuses on boosting post-pandemic public transport use through better service, inclusive design, and behaviour change.

Research shows that walking can account for up to half of a public transport journey’s time. Poorly connected or unsafe infrastructure turns people away, especially vulnerable groups and those with mobility limitations. As mentioned during the session, “If the streets don’t work, the system doesn’t either.”

So, what are the tools to fix it? One example cited during the session was the Walkability App, a tool that collects pedestrian data and guides targeted interventions. It’s already making an impact in Kumasi, Ghana, through the TRANS-SAFE project.

Hamburg itself is also walking the talk, treating pedestrian access as part of its public transport network: improving station access, transforming car-dominated streets with tactical urbanism, and making infrastructure work for everyone.

And at the policy level, countries like Austria, France, and Portugal are backing this shift with co-funding schemes, national strategies, and shared learning, all contributing to the Pan-European Master Plan for Walking.

Read in more about the session here.

UPPER used the Summit to launch its Replication Programme: an open call for 10 new “Take-up Cities” ready to learn from the UPPER Living Labs, adapt proven measures, and build their own roadmaps for action. It’s not about copy-pasting solutions, but about translating successful approaches to fit local realities, with a curated learning process, one-on-one exchanges, and support to build a tailored roadmap for improvement.

Sounds like something your city could benefit from? Head over to the UPPER website for all the details, just don’t wait too long: applications close on 1 October 2025!

Following BRT’s 50th anniversary in 2024, the eBRT2030 project brought the conversation to Hamburg with a two-part session exploring where BRT stands today, and where it’s heading.

The first discussion spotlighted cities as diverse as Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Braga, Nairobi, and Dakar. From infrastructure workarounds to integration tactics and new financing models, each city showed how they’re adapting BRT to local realities. Despite the differences, a few key elements kept coming up: strong corridor planning, reliable service, and system-wide integration.

The second part zoomed out to ask a bigger question: what makes BRT a mode in its own right? A lively dialogue among international experts, including members of the eBRT2030 Advisory Board, sparked debate on infrastructure thresholds, quality standards, and how technology is reshaping the mode.

Both sessions made it clear that BRT, with its relatively quick rollout and tangible impact, can play a major role in decarbonising cities, and do so within a single political mandate. For a deeper dive into eBRT2030’s presence at the Summit, read the full recap at the eBRT2030 website.

In a sector where reliable data powers everything from multimodal trip planning to cross-border mobility, the challenge today isn’t collecting more – it’s making existing data work across platforms, systems, and national boundaries.

At the Summit, the TEADAL and NAPCORE projects explored how Europe is shifting from groundwork to practical implementation of interoperable, multimodal data systems, and what it will take to scale that progress.

TEADAL, wrapping up later this year, showcased how it has bridged large mobility data sets with decentralised data-sharing frameworks. NAPCORE, meanwhile, presented a UITP-led study on how EU Member States define and manage Multimodal Access Nodes. With approaches ranging from structured to unregulated, the findings show there’s still a way to go in harmonising practices across the EU.

These insights will carry into NAPCORE X, the next phase of NAPCORE, starting in July 2025. The focus will shift to practical coordination: aligning national systems, boosting data accessibility on National Access Points (NAPs), and advancing a unified EU-wide identification system for access nodes, with UITP closely involved in both areas.

The ULTIMO project side event looked into why the rollout of automated shared mobility services across Europe is still moving slowly, focusing on the tangled web of barriers facing CCAM (Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility) deployment.

While technology readiness, particularly at Level 4, is advancing, scale-up remains uneven. Challenges range from infrastructure and funding gaps to fragmented regulation and low public trust. To move forward, panellists called for simpler authorisations, modernising procurement processes, and supporting scalable business models. But perhaps most important: making sure automated vehicles (AVs) are fully integrated into the public transport network, not something tacked on the side.

And while Europe might not lead the race in speed of deployment, it leads in what really counts: operational know-how. And this is what needs leveraging!

This year’s edition showcased UITP’s leadership in action, highlighting the impact of research and innovation projects, and how their outcomes can be implemented and scaled across different urban contexts. With plenty still in the pipeline, there’s sure to be even more to share in the next Summit!

Until then, relive the moments through the Summit’s wrap-up video! And don’t forget: all session presentations are available to browse in MyLibrary.