Knowledge & Research
Committees and working groups, the beating heart of UITP
This year was another year of achievement for UITP. 2023 saw a hugely successful Summit take place in Barcelona, the election of a new President, and over 70 productive committee and working group meetings worldwide.
And of course, we can't forget the launch of our brand new Shared Mobility Division! The Shared Mobility Division and its two affiliated Committees (Shared Vehicles and On-demand Mobility), enable UITP to better advance a sector that is an increasingly important part of any integrated mobility system.
With an average of 30 member representatives at each meeting, there have been plenty of insights and best practices shared between members. Indeed, UITP members can be proud of the work our committees have achieved this year. Together, we are advancing the sector to be more resilient, sustainable, and equitable.
Bus depot adaptations for clean bus technologies 2: hydrogen bus depots
How does the sector plan, deploy and maintain hydrogen buses? This year saw the release of the second bus depot factsheet - following on from the first on battery-powered buses, which was one of the top three most downloaded documents of 2023. That goes to show how valuable these publications are! As a key stakeholder in the energy transition, the bus sector is committed to decarbonisation and this document helps the sector achieve that.
The road to sustainability: Transition to renewable energy in public transport
How do we decarbonise transport? This publication issues guidance on reaching our green goals. The report covers whole-life carbon costs, explores the growth in Power Purchase Agreements, contains a dozen notable case studies with best practices, and provides extensive details on the sector's progress. For issues around sustainability, it's essential reading.
Pathways to a multimodal lifestyle: Reinforcing public transport with active and micromobility
Cities need to tackle car-based lifestyles. This Policy Brief advances the case for the multimodal city and outlines how cities can build complementarity between public transport, active and micromobility to achieve it. What's more, case studies from six countries around the globe show how some cities are already leading the way forward.
All our publications are available to all the staff of our members on MyLibrary,
where almost 65,000 public transport resources have been uploaded.
Highlighted projects
Steering our sector forward with research and innovation
In our sector, research and innovation (R&I) are pivotal to move forward. For many years, UITP has been recognised as world leader when it comes to R&I in public transport, having led and contributed to groundbreaking projects that have steered the way to a better, more sustainable future.
By keeping the magnifying glass on R&I, UITP strives to provide its members and the wider urban mobility community with cutting-edge solutions and services, with a clear focus on sustainability and efficiency. In 2023, UITP was engaged in over 20 EU and third party projects focused on important themes such as automation, safety and security, big data and sustainable development, among many others!
NEW PROJECTS LAUNCHED IN 2023
UPPER, A14CCAM, EBRT2030, R2DATO, Sustainable Gender Practices in Mobility
January 2023 saw a milestone with the launch of UPPER, the UITP-led project seeking to put public transport at the centre of the mobility ecosystem. UPPER aims at spearheading a public transport revolution that will strengthen its role as the flagship of sustainability and innovation of mobility in cities. This EU project will be very strongly linked with the goals of the Cities Mission and supports the transition towards zero-emission mobility.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is considered one of the key enabling technologies that can lead to the successful deployment of AVs. Indeed, AI can revolutionise the future of automotive mobility services by taking advantage of the huge amount of sensor data that it can assimilate. The EU-funded AI4CCAM project was launched in January 2023 to address this hurdle by developing trustworthy tools and solutions for AVs using Artificial Intelligence. Since January 2023 UITP participates in this project, which gathers 14 partners from across the EU.
In January 2023, UITP was proud to launch eBRT2030 and lead this major milestone to advance European Bus Rapid Transit (eBRT). The project aims to demonstrate the applicability of a new generation of eBRT systems in different urban contexts with innovative solutions that are economically viable and enhanced with new automation and connectivity functionalities.
The R2DATO project seeks to advance automation in railways and leverage digitalisation to make our mobility smarter, more efficient, and greener. Since January 2023, UITP participates in this project coordinated by SNCF. R2DATO will propose the implementation of ongoing and future innovations in digital and automation technologies for (urban) rail operation, developed in such a way that will allow operators to deploy them in a timely and cost-effective way.
Sustainable Gender Practices in Mobility is a 6-month project commissioned by the European Investment Bank, and undertaken by UITP and Goodpoint. Over this period, we will develop benchmarks on current gender practices in sustainable mobility and identify best practices related to planning, project implementation and operations. The research will contribute to mainstreaming gender equality in public transport projects.