International Union of Public Transport



The International Association of Public Transport is the organization for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific institutes and the public transport supply and service industry. UITP supports a holistic approach to urban mobility and advocates for public transport development and sustainable mobility. UITP represents an international network of 3,100 members located in 90 countries and covers all modes of public transport - metro, bus, light rail, regional and suburban railways, and waterborne transport. It also represents collective transport in a broader sense. UITP's network counts one main and EU office in Brussels and ten regional and liaison offices worldwide (Abidjan, Bangalore, Canberra, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Moscow, Rome, Sao Paulo, and Tehran). UITP celebrated its 120th birthday in 2005. The current President is Roberto Cavalieri, Managing Director of Metropolitana di Roma (Met.Ro). The General Secretariat in Brussels is managed by Hans Rat, the Secretary General.

Definition and benefits of public transport

Public transport, public transportation, public transit or mass transit comprises all transport systems in which the passengers do not travel in their own vehicles. While it is generally taken to include rail and bus services, wider definitions include scheduled ferries, taxicab services etc — in other words, any system that transports members of the general public. Public transport is usually regulated as a common carrier and is usually configured to provide scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis. The majority of transit passengers are traveling within a local area or region between their homes and places of employment, shopping, or schools. Public transport offers many advantages over individual transport modes. It:

• costs less to the community,
• needs less urban space,
• is less energy-intensive,
• pollutes less,
• is the safest mode,
• improves accessibility to jobs, and
• offers mobility for all.

Activities

• UITP gathers and analyzes facts and figures to provide quantitative and qualitative information on key aspects of public transport and urban mobility.
• UITP manages an on-line information centre MOBI+. Which gives access to the full texts of UITP’s studies and conference papers, as well as references to books, articles and websites. A picture library and statistics on public transport operators are also available.
• UITP publishes a quarterly magazine Public Transport International (PTI)
• UITP carries out studies, projects and surveys, the results are regularly made available in high-quality brochures, reports and CD-ROM's.
• UITP regularly leads projects for international institutions, such as the European Commission. Under the framework of these projects UITP launches and manages thematic networks of mobility experts on public transport policy and organization.
• UITP issues Focus Papers, which are official positions of UITP on global mobility issues, representing the views of the sector.
• UITP actively engages a number of international bodies - such as the United Nations (UNEP, UNDESA, UNFCCC,UNHABITAT ), the World Bank and European institutions.
• UITP provides training courses for public transport managers
• UITP organizes a biennial event, the World Congress and Mobility and City Transport Exhibition. The 58th edition will be held from 8 to 11 June 2009 in Vienna, Austria,

Most recent position papers

• Tackling social exclusion - the role of public transport

Social exclusion is linked to a combination of unemployment, poor skills, low income, poor housing, high crime environment; bad health and family break down. An essential component of the social inclusion agenda is to re-connect socially excluded citizens to the social and economic structures of society. Public transport is a key factor of social inclusion and this Focus Paper highlights good practices from around the world. It recommends actions to take at international, national and local level and puts forward a number of tools for the implementation of these actions.

• Urban mobility and congestion charging

A previous UITP Focus Paper on ‘Pricing and Urban Mobility’ recommends how best to charge for public transport, parking, company cars and road space. It also tackles the principles driving public transport investments and funding. In particular, it describes why transport fares and taxes should be calculated with reference to marginal social costs to maximise overall welfare. This new Focus Paper extends the analysis to look in more detail as to when charging for road space is appropriate compared to other pricing policies (such as parking policies) or wider transport policies. It also examines what decision-makers and transport professionals need to do to make such a policy acceptable to the public.

• Everybody local everywhere

Right now, in many regions and nations, high investments are being made for the implementation of electronic ticketing projects with the goal to contribute to customer convenience and efficiency of public transport operations. Like in other industries in a competitive environment (banking and telecoms sector), technical interoperability and organisational cooperation should be established to make effective use of developments and to serve the customer better. This UITP Focus Paper presents an overview of the issues and opportunities for electronic ticketing over the next decade in the light of current developments.

Latest news

16.09.08 European Mobility Week: Challenging car-dependent lifestyles. UITP supports the European Mobility Week.

04.09.08 The project “European bus of the Future” was launched on September 4, under UITP leadership. This project is one of the largest surface transport projects ever funded by the European Union with a total budget of around 26 million Euros.

26.06.08 “The voice of reason”, a 30-seconds ad jointly developed with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), translated into 14 languages, broadcast worldwide has been prized by a prestigious award from the European Association of Communications Agencies (EACA).

19.05.08 UITP opens a liaison office in Iran as part of an agreement between the Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Company (TUSRC) and UITP.

04.04.08 UITP expands its presence in eastern Europe with an official agreement of collaboration with the Polish public transport association, IGKM and with a collaboration agreement with the Romanian public transport association, URTP.
21.03.08 Public transport: Making the right mobility choices’ will be the theme of the next World Congress and Exhibition to take place from 7 to 11 of June 209 in Vienna.
19.03.08 The EU Committee of the UITP has just submitted to the European institutions its priority areas for developing a European policy on sustainable urban mobility. Last September the European Commission published a Green paper on urban transport, ‘Towards a new culture for urban mobility’, thereby marking the start of a consultation phase which will result in an Action Plan on urban mobility. UITP’s recent position came in response to this consultation. The priorities of UITP’s EU Committee are:

• Ensuring coherence of all European policies and initiatives;
• Introducing binding requirements to regularly measure CO2 emissions in agglomerations;
• Introducing binding requirements to develop long-term sustainable urban transport plans;
• Supporting communications and awareness campaigns that promote more sustainable transport modes;
• Developing a European observatory for urban mobility.

21.02.08 UITP and UNEP launch a Major international TV campaign, inviting consumers to use public transport and help combat climate change. The advertisement was officially launched at the UNEP Tenth Special Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum. It is the second joint animation that UITP and UNEP have made and it is one of the first contributions to UNEP’s recently launched Climate Neutral Network. The advertisement, called ‘The voice of reason (Aged 6)’, is in the style of a child’s drawing and views the world through a little girl’s eyes. This gives it an emotional appeal and a voice of hope for the future. It signs off with the message, ‘The world is your home. Look after it.’

See also

• Sustainable development
• Sustainable transport

References

External links

• Official homepage of the UITP