Two trends that are promising to transform the world of urban mobility, mobility as a service and digitalization, will be under the spotlight at the upcoming UITP Global Public Transport Summit May 15 to 17 in Montréal.

The Global Public Transport Summit, organized by UITP (the International Association of Public Transport), will focus in total on seven key trends and themes affecting urban mobility, under the slogan “Lead the TRANSITion,” reflecting the rapid changes underway in urban mobility.

New mobility services are an exciting development and the challenge now is integrating them into the existing offer to best meet customers’ needs. Accordingly, the Summit will throw a spotlight on emerging players in Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and combined mobility and discuss their potential to reduce car ownership. The Summit will highlight how public transport is leading the deployment of autonomous mobility services and look at their exciting potential, including an autonomous vehicle test ride that will operate outside the venue during the Summit.

These discussions will take place within the context of increasing digitalization and the Summit will explore the potential opportunities opening up for traditional industry players in harnessing the vast amounts of data at the sector’s fingertips.

“We are in a time of some of the most fundamental change we’ve ever seen and it’s being powered by technology,” commented Jay Walder, CEO of bike-sharing company, Motivate. “What we’re going to see going forward will be of a scale, power, and speed that we’ve never seen before and it’s exciting.” 

Public transport is driving further innovative solutions, such as alternative propulsion systems, that are allowing for ever-greater energy efficiency in the rush for decarbonization, increasingly on the agenda since the landmark COP21 climate agreement. The Summit will explore new policy pathways, success factors, and actions driving the push from concept to implementation, such as the roll-out of electric buses or more energy efficient solutions for rail.

Another cross-cutting theme will be service excellence, which, due to rising passenger expectations, is increasingly at the forefront of public transport companies’ strategies. In parallel, the issues of governance, planning, and funding will also be on the agenda as experts delve into the challenges in delivering high-quality public transport projects within budget and on time.

The Summit will also explore some of the cutting-edge innovation in bus and rail, from electric buses and the prospect of autonomous buses to new technologies that are boosting rail’s energy efficiency and exploring rail’s ability to adapt to and survive the digital age.