Two years after Milan, the biggest event in public transport is back. The 2017 UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Montréal comes at a time when the urban mobility industry is witnessing a rapid and significant transition.
The slogan of the UITP Global Public Transport Summit, "Lead the TRANSITion," reflects this rapidly changing landscape. We are seeing the emergence of new mobility services and the challenge now is integrating them into the existing offer to best meet customers’ needs. Accordingly, the summit will delve into emerging players in mobility as a service (MaaS) and combined mobility and explore their ability to reduce car ownership as well as the exciting potential of autonomous mobility services.
These discussions will take place within the context of increasing digitalization and the summit will explore the opportunities opening up for traditional industry players in harnessing the power of data. The event will also explore new policy pathways, success factors and actions driving the push for decarbonization, 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 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 examine 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 its ability to adapt to and survive the digital age.
Featuring an exhibition of almost 30,000 square meters (322,917 square feet), the summit will unveil the most important industry trends and developments, including numerous world premieres, from ground-breaking electric buses to innovative rail and IT solutions. This edition will also offer an overview of the new players entering the sector and provide a tantalizing glimpse of the future of public transport.
A Logical Choice
2017 will be the second time that Montréal has played host to the biggest event in public transport, the first occasion back in 1977. It will also be the third time that the event has visited Canada, with the event last visiting the country almost two decades ago in Toronto in 1999.
Over the last few years, public transport has enjoyed an historic success in the Montréal region, which saw 514.7 million journeys made on public transport in 2015. The establishment of a new metropolitan governance structure and a federal government infrastructure program will help usher in a new and vibrant era for public transport. During the event, a North American day exploring topics affecting the continent, will showcase a public transport market enjoying somewhat of a renaissance.
The 2017 UITP Global Public Transport Summit will provide a timely forum for the entire urban mobility world to come together in times of such unprecedented change. Montréal will see the likes of urban leaders, tech wizards and policy watchers gather to discuss, debate and determine the direction of this dynamic sector.
We hope you can join us.
UITP Global Public Transport Summit, Montréal, 15-17 May 2017.
For more information and to register: www.uitpsummit.org
