UITP Australia Roadshow

Mr Jeffrey Sim Vee Ming is the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SBS Transit.

He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES), and serves on its Transportation Standards Committee. He also chairs the National Workplace Learning Certification Award Committee.

Internationally, Mr Sim is the elected Chairman of the Metro Division of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP). He concurrently chairs the UITP Asia-Pacific Urban Rail Committee, and serves as UITP National Ambassador for Singapore and a member of the UITP Policy Board.

Recognised for his expertise in urban mobility, Mr Sim is a C-Suite in Residence at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), and serves on the Advisory Board of its Engineering Systems and Design pillar. He also sits on the advisory boards of the National University of Singapore’s Mechanical Engineering programme, the Singapore Institute of Technology’s Engineering Systems programme and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Asia.

For his leadership in environmental stewardship and corporate sustainability, Mr Sim received the Impact Leader Excellence Award at the Sustainability Impact Awards 2025, organised by The Business Times and UOB. He is also a recipient of the NTUC Medal of Commendation for his efforts in championing the welfare and well-being of SBS Transit’s 10,000 employees.

Mr Sim holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and a Master of Engineering from the National University of Singapore, and a Master of Arts (with distinction) from Massey University, New Zealand. He has also attended executive management programmes at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and NUS Business School, as well as the Advanced Management Programme at INSEAD.

Civil engineer by Catalonia Polytechnical University. Postgraduate studies in economy, business and urban management.

With more than 30 years of experience in the transportation and mobility sector.

Since 2015 is the Director of Mobility, Transport and Sustainability Division in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, which involves 36 municipalities, with competences in the subway network, taxi and more than 2000 buses, carrying more than 650 million passengers per year.

Member of the UITP Bus Committee and Vice Chair of Organizing Authorities Committee.

CEO of AMB Informació i Serveis S.A., a public company providing ITS projects and information about PT services.

Howard Collins OBE is a highly experienced Transport Executive who has spent close to 50 years working in the British and Australian transport industries.  As Coordinator-General at Transport for NSW, he oversees public transport, roads and maritime operations – connecting NSW through safe, reliable and integrated services.

He has held senior roles including Chief Operations Officer (Greater Sydney), Chief Executive of Sydney Trains and Chief Operating Officer at London Underground. Howard has led large-scale operations, major transformations and critical recovery efforts, including the London Underground’s response to the 2005 bombings and the 2012 Olympic Games.

In addition to his role at Transport NSW, Howard is on the Boards of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), TrackSAFE Foundation, Transport Heritage New South Wales, and Sydney Metro.

He was awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to public transport.

Liz Reddy is a strategic leader with over 10 years’ experience managing complex operational portfolios on Victoria’s public transport network. Her experience across operational roles has given her deep knowledge of the public transport operating environment and continues to focus on core deliverables of reliable passenger services.

Liz’s current role as Chief Operating Officer at Yarra Trams oversees all network operations to deliver more than 5,000 passenger services per day across 24 routes. She leads a team which includes more than 1400 drivers across eight depots and Yarra Trams’ Operations Centre, teams planning for changes across the network including major events and disruptions, as well as teams monitoring operational performance to deliver the best service possible for passengers.

Mr Yap Soon Hua, Nicholas, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Australia Business Unit and ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia Pty Ltd (CDC) on 1 July 2019. Prior to this appointment, he was the Chief Executive Officer of CDC Victoria and Chief Operating Officer of ComfortDelGro Cabcharge Pty Ltd. Mr Yap joined the Group in 1994 and was Vice President, Group Business Development, before his posting to Australia. He also served as a Manager in the Service Development Department of SBS Transit Ltd.

Mr Yap holds a Bachelor of Economic and Social Studies (Hons) from the University of Wales in Accounting and Law. He also completed the Executive Programme in Transportation Management from the Nanyang Technological University & Chartered Institute of Transport,
Singapore.

Dr. Vikas Kumar, graduated in Electrical Engineering from University of Roorkee (a premier Engineering Institute in India). He belongs to 1988 batch of Indian Railway Traffic Service. He completed his Masters in Opto-Electronics & Optical Communications from IIT-Delhi. He possesses a vast experience of 37 years in all aspects of Rail based Urban Transportation Projects including 22 years’ experience with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.

As a Managing Director/CEO he is presently leading Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. – the largest MRTS in India having an operating network of 416 km and catering approx. 7 million passengers daily.

He is a versatile personality equally good in sports & academics. He has led a trekking team of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie to the Roopkund Glacier and has won many awards in swimming & badminton championships of Indian Railway.

In his career, he has successfully accomplished many challenging tasks. One of such task was to organise Maha-Kumbh Mela at Allahabad in 2001, as a Mela-Officer. Maha Kumbh Mela is a major pilgrimage in India, which is held after every 12 years. It is celebrated for more than 30 days. More than 70 million people participated in the Maha Khumbh of 2001. He managed and organised the event successfully. For his meticulous work he has been awarded with General Manager Award and Operational Shield by Indian Railways.

He was associated with opening of 1st Underground section of Delhi Metro, which was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. He also handled Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi successfully and was instrumental in 1st Driverless Train Operations of Delhi Metro in Dec 2020.

He has been instrumental in development and commissioning of Indigenous Automatic train control system (I-ATS) in DMRC. Further, DMRC and BEL (another public sector company) are jointly working to develop indigenous CBTC system known as I-CBTC.

In his present capacity of Managing Director/CEO Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd., he is responsible for all aspects of its working which includes Project-Planning & execution, operation of metro-train services, maintenance of infrastructure, Business Development including Fare & Non-Fare Box Revenue.

He is involved in overall planning of various metro rail projects in India and abroad, which includes tendering, finalization of network alignment, operation planning, passenger amenities and services, training of officers & staff etc. Under his able guidance and vision, DMRC is providing consultancy to all major Indian metros & some foreign metros e.g. Dhaka MRTS, Jakarta Metro, etc.

Under his capable leadership, organisation has already added 22 km of network in the beginning of 2026 and another 104 km of network will be commissioned in the coming two years. Environment protection is another area of priority for him. DMRC is among the few public transport companies which are generating their own green energy. At present, the organisation is deriving 35% of its total energy from renewable sources. He has a target to increase it to 50% by 2030. DMRC’s operational Line 4, Metro Bhawan (Head Quarter), and a staff quarter in Noida Sec 52 have achieved net zero status. Sultanpur Depot has also attained water and carbon neutrality through water conservation and solar energy generation. The depot’s non-traction energy consumption is being offset by the solar system installed there, making it a sustainable model for others.

He has been part of courses on Transportation and Sustainable Development organised by National & International organizations like IUT, World Bank, UIC France, KOTI Korea, etc. He is an active member of Policy Board of UITP [International Association of Public Transport].

Lena began her career with consultancies working on a wide range of projects from masterplans to hotels, luxury residences, data centres and sustainable developments. Having spent 17 years with one of Malaysia’s largest public-listed corporations, her role now with Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) is to support the creation of transit-oriented developments and regenerating RAC’s railway heritage assets for future generations of Malaysia.

RAC’s objectives today go beyond asset management but also aim to unlock the economic potential of railway lands, generate sustainable revenue, and improve the overall passenger experience. TODs for RAC must be aligned with national policies like the KL City Masterplan 2040 and the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13), which emphasize infrastructure investment, urban regeneration, and regional growth. By leveraging railway infrastructure into new regional developments such as Ipoh Sentral and Seremban Sentral, RAC is helping to create development throughout Malaysia with regional TODs.

Prof John Nelson holds the Transport for NSW Chair in Public Transport, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney where he is currently Acting Deputy Director. John is particularly interested in the application and evaluation of new technologies to improve transport systems as well as the policy frameworks and regulatory regimes necessary to achieve sustainable mobility. His most recent book, the Elgar Encyclopedia of Transport and Society (edited with Corinne Mulley and Steve Ison) will be published in 2025.

Dr. Luisiana Paganelli is the Principal Transport Planner at the City of Ballarat, leading the development and implementation of the city’s strategic transport planning program. She is a senior urban planner and architect from Curitiba, Brazil, with more than twenty years of experience in executive, technical and research roles, mainly as a local government official, and has completed a PhD in Transport Planning at RMIT University. She has also worked as the City of Kingston’s Sustainable Transport Officer and has performed different technical and executive roles for 15 years at the Institute for Research and Urban Planning of Curitiba (IPPUC).

Dusty Miller is Director of Digital Solutions at Translink, leading the development and delivery of digital products and emerging technology initiatives that improve the public transport customer experience. He works closely with customers, industry and stakeholders to explore, test and apply new technologies, turning emerging ideas into practical solutions. His portfolio spans customer-facing digital products, digital innovation and the use of technology to support better customer information and services. Dusty is passionate about using technology to solve real-world problems and drive meaningful organisational change, with a particular focus on how digital innovation can improve the way customers plan, navigate and experience public transport.

Robbie Napper is an Industrial Designer, Researcher and Associate Professor with the Department of Design at Monash University. Robbie’s aim is to make sustainable transport the easiest choice to make. He pursues this goal by designing innovative vehicles and transport systems, studying a cross section of the built environment including bicycles, buses, the road rules, and how people use mobility systems.

Robbie’s research outputs span practice and theory, from innovative vehicles and parking, to novel studies on the transition to sustainable modes of transport. He has created novel ways of studying bicycle use and guiding industry through the transition to renewables.

Examples of Robbie’s work include his leadership of a partnership with Volgren Australia Pty Ltd to develop the Optimus route bus – Australia’s top selling route bus. He developed The Wheelie bike parking device in response to a need for new bike parking hardware, and the Napper Cycling Typology to better understand, and represent, the different uses of bicycles.

Robbie is an active member of the Australasian College of Road Safety and an Associate of Monash University’s Public Transport Research Group. He rides all kinds of bicycles.

Suresh Patel works for Auckland Transport (AT) in New Zealand as the Delivery Manager – Network Infrastructure Integration. He has been involved with the City Rail Link (CRL) project since 2019. Throughout this period his key roles were as AT lead for Network Integration and Disruption Management and towards the end of the project, also as the Customer Readiness Lead. His team also manages operational readiness and commencement of services for major rapid transit infrastructure and projects across the Auckland region.

Prior to the CRL project, Suresh had a lead role in the design, consultation and implementation of the Auckland New Network bus services, contracts and operating model.

Sue Chan is the Head of UITP Australia and New Zealand, bringing over 17 years of senior management experience in the transport and consulting sectors. Before rejoining UITP, she served as the Chief Operating Officer at the Public Transport Association Australia New Zealand (PTAANZ). Prior to relocating to Australia, Sue held the position of Head of UITP Asia-Pacific for seven years, where she successfully managed the UITP Asia-Pacific Committee and its sub-committees. This role involved overseeing members from transport authorities, operators, and suppliers across 12 countries. During her tenure, she grew the Asia-Pacific office into the regional office with the largest number of members outside Europe.

Sue has developed strong, lasting relationships with key transportation operators, government authorities, international institutions, and universities across both the Asia-Pacific and ANZ regions. A seasoned professional, she excels at leading teams to deliver exceptional outcomes, particularly in policy and strategy development, business development, stakeholder engagement, and project management.

Earlier in her career, Sue held senior roles at several international transport consulting firms. She led teams of internal consultants and external contractors, successfully completing various global transport planning and traffic engineering projects. Fluent in six languages/dialects, including English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, and Hokkien), Malay, and Indonesian, Sue can navigate diverse cultural and business environments with ease.