Working hard to deliver a specific solution or project can mean losing sight of the wider context. A review by external experts can provide fresh insight and valuable recommendations. UITP, in its mission to generate and share cutting-edge knowledge and expertise, offers on-demand, tailor-made peer reviews.

The goal of UITP’s Peer Reviews is to draw upon the expertise of professionals to assess the overall transport policy or the urban mobility plan for a city/region, or to focus on the network and/or one or more of its various components including operations, pricing and ticketing, safety and security, human resources management, marketing strategy and more.

The Peer Review can also cover a specific project or system, for example a BRT line, a metro extension, an interchange station, the set-up of a transport authority or a security review.

Recently, the Moscow Department of Transport requested a UITP Peer Review to assess the new measures they had implemented. Following UITP’s recommendations, the Moscow Department of Transport has decided to launch a feasibility study and a pilot project to implement a BRT system.

Recent events have put terrorism back in the spotlight. Senior UITP staff along with an international pool of experts will review, in the coming months, one of its European members’ entire security system to help detect areas for improvement in their security concept.

A UITP Peer Review provides valuable feedback and perspective for improvement, helping UITP members to implement, assess or further develop their public transport business.

Upon request, UITP will provide a proposal and cost estimate. For more information, please contact: Mohamed Mezghani, Deputy Secretary General, mohamed.mezghani@uitp.org

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DISCOVER UITP’S RECOMMENDATIONS TO MOSCOW DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT

UITP’s publication that tracks and analyses public transport demand in EU Member States is back. This UITP statistics publication provides detailed figures by country and the breakdown of journeys by public transport mode.

The 2016 ‘Local public transport in the European Union’ Statistics Brief illustrates that 2014 saw the highest number of local public transport journeys in the 28 EU Member States since the turn of the millennium.

The modal breakdown of the 57.9 billion journeys recorded in 2014 has remained stable, with road-based services accounting for 32.3 billion journeys, the remainder being rather equally split between rail modes: 9.34 billion journeys on metro networks, 8.38 billion journeys in trams and light rail vehicle and 7.84 billion journeys on suburban railway services. Put differently, urban and suburban public transport services carried approximately 185 million passengers on an average working day across the EU, providing the backbone of urban mobility in many EU cities.

CONTACT: Mircea STERIU, Statistics Manager

The use of public transport in the EU reached its highest level since 2000, with a total of 57.9 billion journeys made in 2014 according to UITP's new Statistics Brief, 'Local public transport in the European Union'. 

2014 was the first year of distinct growth in demand for public transport after years of stable demand following the start of the economic crisis in 2008.

The highest total demand in 2014 for bus, tram, metro and suburban rail was recorded in Germany (10.9bn journeys), UK (7.7bn) and France (7.6bn). Between 2013 and 2014, ‘growth leaders’ France, Italy, Poland and the UK had a combined increase of 600 million journeys, driving up the total EU figure.

Public transport journeys by bus, tram and metro in the EU-28, 2000-2014

Of the 57.9 billion public transport journeys made in 2014, 55.8% were by bus, 16.1% by metro, 14.5% by tram and 13.6% by suburban rail. 

The developments mask significant national variations, however, which are quite closely linked to national employment figures. 17 EU countries saw higher ridership in 2014 compared to 2010 but only seven had sustained growth: Austria, France, Germany, Lithuania, Malta, Sweden and the UK. Bulgaria was the only country where ridership dropped every year since 2000. Encouragingly, countries such as Spain, Ireland and Italy that have been impacted by the crisis, saw a return to growth in 2014.

EU-28 Public transport journeys by bus, tram and metro per urban inhabitant in 2014 and evolution trend in the previous fve years.

In EU capital cities, the average annual percentage growth in demand (2010-2014) was highest in Brussels; demand per capita is approximately 2.5 times higher in capital cities than the national average.   
“On an average working day in the EU, urban and suburban public transport carried 185 million passengers with an average urban dweller making three public transport journeys per week,” said Alain Flausch, UITP Secretary General. “2014 was the first return to growth since the crisis, which could be linked to the economic pickup or a shift to public transport and it will be interesting to see if this recent increase will become a trend”. 

See the full Statistics Brief: ‘Local public transport in the European Union’.

The COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh focused on implementation and UITP is proud to announce that public transport is gaining increasing recognition as an indispensable tool to help countries' increase their efforts to reduce emissions.

UITP was actively involved in the transport action days, which showcased key initiatives that countries can implement to meet their climate objectives agreed upon at COP21 in Paris. UITP’s message at the COP was simple: public transport is essential to reach the Paris Agreement’s goals and without a greater shift to sustainable mobility, reaching these goals will be increasingly unlikely.

Public transport is increasingly gaining a reputation for implementation. UITP’s Declaration on Climate Leadership was recognised as one of 12 transport initiatives in the UN’s Global Climate Action Agenda, which will help provide inspiration for action countries to meet their carbon-cutting commitments. The Declaration includes over 350 pledges – 45% of which have already been implemented in 60 cities - from the public transport sector to increase carbon-cutting measures and encourage a shift from private cars to public transport. The Declaration was also recognised by the UNEP Climate Initiatives Platform as a success story. 

The Declaration supports the sector objective to double the modal share of public transport globally by 2025. If this objective is achieved, per capita urban transport emissions would be reduced by 25%, a saving of half a billion tonnes of CO².

“It’s clear that the current modal share of public transport in many cities around the world is not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement targets,” said UITP Secretary General, Alain Flausch. “Decarbonisation efforts in the transport sector therefore must go beyond technical actions and focus on long-term systemic shifts that will lock us into a low carbon pathway, making it easier to decarbonise the sector. This is where public transport is playing - and will continue to play - a vital role”.

As part of the development of its activities, the UITP Centre for Training launched new programmes on different aspects of bus transportation. One of the new programmes focused on Electric Buses based on the experience gathered with the EU funded ZeEUS project. A first pilot edition took place in Warsaw, Poland, on 7-8 April 2016 and given its success, the UITP Centre for Training organised a second edition on 26-28 September 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland.

This new course offers a comprehensive overview of all implications from strategic considerations, the assessment of financial benefits, performance measurement and the direct impact and challenges at operational and technical levels. The involvement of the industry allows a deep yet inclusive insight and understanding of the available technology today, while operators are providing a first return on experience on the implications in terms of operations, auxiliary and infrastructure management.  

UITP training programme on electric buses in Geneva, Switzerland, September 2016

Other training programmes addressed bus related issues in 2016 like the Bus Operations Planning and Execution held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 27-29 July 2016. Customised training programme were organised on Bus Planning and Operations in October in Riyadh and also on Bus Network Design and Route Structuring in Madina, Saudi Arabia. UITP also organised training programmes in the cities of Kazan and Kaliningrad, Russian Federation, in collaboration with UNDP covering topics of Bus Procurement and Commissioning and Bus Operations Planning.

In 2017, the bus will again be on the agenda of UITP training programmes with different topics and locations:

Bus transport planning and operations, 14-16 Feburary 2017, Muscat, Oman

Electric buses (combined with a study tour), Shenzhen and Zhengzhou, China, on 20-24 February 2017

Maintenance and asset management, 27-29 March 2017, Frankfurt, Germany

Electric Buses, Barcelona, Spain, on 19-21 June 2017

Procurement and commissioning of buses, 4-6 December 2017, London, United Kingdom

More information on our upcoming programmes

The International Rail Forum for North America facilitates the exchange of knowledge and best practices, bringing the region into a global discourse about the latest trends in the industry.

Following the success of the inaugural meeting in 2016, the 2017 edition will take place on December 7-8 in Washington, D.C. The theme of the Forum is “Public Transit as a Business”, focusing on funding streams, investment, and public-private partnerships. The sessions will feature global success stories, case studies, and discussions with industry leaders.

Ahead of the event, we sat down with Robert Puentes, President and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, to discuss mobility challenges in North America and innovation in the sector.

Can you tell us how public transport is leading the mobility transition?

I think right now that public transport is leading the large transitions that are happening all across the world. We’re going through a period of dramatic transition – in terms of the global economy, demographics, and of course technological developments. These changes are affecting every aspect of the public transport environment.

It’s natural for public transport agencies to lead the transition, as they are usually rooted in centre cities and provide access to economic opportunities, connecting people with jobs. Also the industry has always been very technologically focused, meaning that the sector is perfectly positioned to lead the transition.

Can you discuss a specific contribution of public transport to solving current mobility problems?

One thing that public transport is doing to ease mobility problems is beginning to partner with other firms, particularly private firms, which brings a significant amount of innovation to the sector. Bringing in tech firms that are providing ride sharing services, bike-share, car-share, new routing software, means that public transport agencies can take advantage of this innovation.

What is your opinion on public-private partnerships in the sector?

For me, the most interesting thing is how the public and private sectors are working together with true partnerships, not just transactions, not selling off assets, but truly working together to solve problems that cities are dealing with. Public agencies and the private sector, cities, they are all working together and I think that is a positive thing.

Tell us about some of the key challenges facing North America concerning public transport, and how the area is responding.

In North America, the biggest problem is declining ridership. We’re seeing this in almost every single metropolitan area, particularly with regards to the bus system. A large number of people are leaving public transport and we’re not sure exactly why. But this is a significant problem that the sector must deal with. On top of that, we have declining levels of service, and infrastructure that is well beyond its life. We need to reinvest in the system to bring back riders in order to stabilise the sector.

These problems provide an exciting climate for experimentation and innovation. Cities are not sitting around waiting for public transport problems to be solved, but getting out there and engaging in pilot projects. These experiments will provide models for the whole world to follow.

How can innovation in public transport solve some of these problems?

The current model of most public transport agencies is rooted in the 1950s, so it desperately needs an upgrade so that it can face the challenges of today. Cities today look nothing like they did a generation ago, so we have to make sure that the transport agencies take advantage of new technological developments to serve 21st century passengers.

Register here to join the conversation at the International Rail Forum for North America in Washington D.C. this December!

Watch the full interview with Robert Puentes below!

Following the positive results of the European Bus System of the Future project (EBSF) about the development of standard on-board IT architecture for buses, the Information Technology for Public Transport (ITxPT), founded in 2015, continues to support the full interoperability of IT systems in public transport applications.

A very important step towards this goal was the release of the ITxPT Technical Specifications 2.0 in November 2017. The new specifications refer to data sharing between buses and the back-office systems, and also specify standards on how to format this shared data. ITxPT Specifications are used by PTAs (public transport authorities) and PTOs (public transport operators) as tender requirements, and industry suppliers to design and develop products using ITxPT standards. The pioneer in this field is RUTER, the Public Transport Authority of Oslo, which refers to the ITxPT Specifications as requirements in a recently issued tender.

Anders Selling, ITxPT Secretary General, highlights the importance of the ITxPT v2.0 release: “ITxPT 2.0 directly supports deployment in the field. The response from public transport authorities, operators as well as suppliers has been very positive and we grow quickly as an association right now. I am convinced that ITxPT will add great value to all stakeholders as it is now implemented.”

In a next step, deployment guidelines will be updated and available in January 2018. ITxPT Technical Specifications and Deployment Guidelines are available on the ITxPT Wiki Documentation Centre. Request public access here.

For further information, please read the complete article here.

Are you interested in innovative IT solutions in public transport? Do not miss IT-TRANS 2018, the leading conference and exhibition in the exchange and advancement of IT solutions in public transport taking place from 6 to 8 March 2018 in Karlsruhe, Germany. Register now!
 

The COP22 climate talks in Marrakesh focused on implementation and UITP is proud to announce that public transport is gaining increasing recognition as an indispensable tool to help countries' increase their efforts to reduce emissions.

UITP was actively involved in the transport action days, which showcased key initiatives that countries can implement to meet their climate objectives agreed upon at COP21 in Paris. UITP’s message at the COP was simple: public transport is essential to reach the Paris Agreement’s goals and without a greater shift to sustainable mobility, reaching these goals will be increasingly unlikely.

Public transport is increasingly gaining a reputation for implementation. UITP’s Declaration on Climate Leadership was recognised as one of 12 transport initiatives in the UN’s Global Climate Action Agenda, which will help provide inspiration for action countries to meet their carbon-cutting commitments. The Declaration includes over 350 pledges – 45% of which have already been implemented in 60 cities - from the public transport sector to increase carbon-cutting measures and encourage a shift from private cars to public transport. The Declaration was also recognised by the UNEP Climate Initiatives Platform as a success story. 

The Declaration supports the sector objective to double the modal share of public transport globally by 2025. If this objective is achieved, per capita urban transport emissions would be reduced by 25%, a saving of half a billion tonnes of CO².

“It’s clear that the current modal share of public transport in many cities around the world is not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement targets,” said UITP Secretary General, Alain Flausch. “Decarbonisation efforts in the transport sector therefore must go beyond technical actions and focus on long-term systemic shifts that will lock us into a low carbon pathway, making it easier to decarbonise the sector. This is where public transport is playing - and will continue to play - a vital role”.

As part of the development of its activities, the UITP Centre for Training launched new programmes on different aspects of bus transportation. One of the new programmes focused on Electric Buses based on the experience gathered with the EU funded ZeEUS project. A first pilot edition took place in Warsaw, Poland, on 7-8 April 2016 and given its success, the UITP Centre for Training organised a second edition on 26-28 September 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland.

This new course offers a comprehensive overview of all implications from strategic considerations, the assessment of financial benefits, performance measurement and the direct impact and challenges at operational and technical levels. The involvement of the industry allows a deep yet inclusive insight and understanding of the available technology today, while operators are providing a first return on experience on the implications in terms of operations, auxiliary and infrastructure management.  

UITP training programme on electric buses in Geneva, Switzerland, September 2016

Other training programmes addressed bus related issues in 2016 like the Bus Operations Planning and Execution held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 27-29 July 2016. Customised training programme were organised on Bus Planning and Operations in October in Riyadh and also on Bus Network Design and Route Structuring in Madina, Saudi Arabia. UITP also organised training programmes in the cities of Kazan and Kaliningrad, Russian Federation, in collaboration with UNDP covering topics of Bus Procurement and Commissioning and Bus Operations Planning.

In 2017, the bus will again be on the agenda of UITP training programmes with different topics and locations:

Bus transport planning and operations, 14-16 Feburary 2017, Muscat, Oman

Electric buses (combined with a study tour), Shenzhen and Zhengzhou, China, on 20-24 February 2017

Maintenance and asset management, 27-29 March 2017, Frankfurt, Germany

Electric Buses, Barcelona, Spain, on 19-21 June 2017

Procurement and commissioning of buses, 4-6 December 2017, London, United Kingdom

More information on our upcoming programmes