UITP 2021 Global Public Transport Summit: Melbourne Unveiled as Host City

UITP has announced that its 2021 Global Public Transport Summit (June 6-9 2021) will be held in Melbourne, Australia — the first time in more than 25 years that the event will make its way to the Southern Hemisphere.

The local host for the event will be UITP member Public Transport Victoria.

Melbourne was one of three outstanding candidate cities for 2021 Summit host, with Moscow and Hamburg also in the running.

UITP's Summit gathers together all transport modes, industry, authorities and operators, as well as exhibitors from all over the world.

"I’m delighted to see that the Executive Board has unveiled Melbourne as the host city for the 2021 UITP Global Public Transport Summit. All three candidate cities were fantastic in their approach and showed what their city has to offer. I'd like to thank Hamburg and Moscow for submitting their bids and for their kind and detailed collaborations. UITP is in full planning mode for its 2019 Summit in Stockholm and I cannot wait to see what they will deliver for 2021 in Melbourne. This is UITP’s pillar event and the biggest of its kind in the sector, so to see it take place in a city with public transport as outstanding as Melbourne is great news for UITP and its members," said Pere Calvet, UITP president.

UITP and Melbourne : A collaboration in the making

When it comes to public transport, infrastructure investment and liveability for its residents, Melbourne is one of the leading cities across the world. The capital of the Australian state of Victoria has ranked first as the world’s most liveable city for the past six years.

"We're thrilled to be partnering with UITP to host their Global Public Transport Summit in Melbourne in 2021, and we look forward to welcoming delegates from across the world to showcase what our city has to offer," said Jeroen Weimar, CEO Public Transport Victoria.

Along with 800 killometers of train track, Melbourne boasts the world’s largest tram network (250 killometers), making it a large and multi-modal destination for the 2021 UITP Global Public Transport Summit.

More than AUD $30 billion ($22.52 billion) is being invested in transforming transport in Victoria through major projects including the construction of the AUD $11 billion ($8.26 billion) Metro Tunnel project, the AUD $6.9 billion ($5.18 billion) Level Crossing Removal Program and AUD $2.3 billion ($1.73 billion) for 65 new High Capacity Metro Trains.

A key component of the Victorian Government’s vision to develop a world-leading transport network is to draw on the expertise of transport leaders — innovating and developing its modal networks in a competitive environment with the global private sector which is the ideal setting to attract business for our Summit.

Melbourne offers a strong investment environment for the best and brightest companies across the globe to compete.

Melbourne’s strong and proactive approach to understanding Mobility as a Service will place the city in a strong position to showcase this emerging sector at the Melbourne 2021 UITP Summit.

Melbourne is also a great showcase for ITS and will allow UITP to widen the global impact in the Asia-Pacific region.

Have you heard about our 2019 Summit?

Before UITP heads down under, our 2019 Global Public Transport Summit will be held in Stockholm, Sweden (June 9-12, 2019) under the theme “The Art of Public Transport.”

Our local hosts in the Swedish capital will be SL, the Public Transport Administration (Trafikförvaltningen).

“The UITP Global Public Transport Summit is the world-leading event for our sector. It is the only event of its kind to bring together so many figures from our industry in order to discuss what the future may hold for public transport and what advancements can be made. I’m sure that our 2019 Summit in Stockholm will be outstanding and will set us well on the way to Melbourne in 2021. I encourage all to attend this global event to witness first-hand what is next for public transport across the world," said Mohamed Mezghani, UITP secretary general.