UITP and Busworld Announce Strategic Partnership

UITP (the International Association of Public Transport) and Busworld have announced a strategic partnership that will see UITP's established International Bus Conference take place in conjunction with the Busworld Europe exhibition in Kortrijk, Belgium.

The event, entitled ‘UITP-Busworld International Bus Conference,’ combining UITP and Busworld’s unrivalled major bus events, will be held in conjunction with Busworld Europe in Kortrijk (20-25 October 2017), the world’s oldest and most famous bus and coach exhibition.

The two-day conference (23-24 October) will highlight the major trends and developments affecting the bus industry, from connected and autonomous buses to the rollout of clean electric bus fleets. A third day of sessions will be devoted to exploring Research & Innovation in Europe and the rest of the world in buses and bus systems.

The move is a logical partnership, combining UITP’s global knowledge base with Busworld’s more than 40 years’ experience and will see the two partners working closely together to develop the conference programme. The 2015 edition of Busworld Kortrijk attracted some 34,932 visitors from 118 countries (up 9% on the previous edition) and more than 411 exhibitors. 

“We are delighted to be partnering with Busworld,” explained UITP Secretary General, Alain Flausch. “The partnership will offer visitors the complete picture of everything that’s going on in this dynamic industry, when capacity is higher than ever thanks to double-articulated and Bus Rapid Transit and when buses are cleaner than ever thanks to hybrid and electric propulsion. We hope this move will enable the event to continue to grow in stature and become an even-more unmissable occasion on the industry calendar”.

Jan Deman, director of Busworld Academy, strongly believes in this partnership. He explained: “The world of bus and coach is changing so rapidly, that constantly updated information is crucial to the industry and its players. It is a responsibility that the Busworld exhibitions fully want to take by organizing conference programs in addition to the exhibitions. We are convinced of the added value for our visitors that this partnership will bring.”