Our Second Year at the Transport Innovation Summit: A Recap
We recently had the pleasure of chairing a panel at the Transport Innovation Summit for the second time, and it was another great experience. This year's event had a more intimate setting compared to the previous one at Twickenham Stadium, which worked wonders for someone like me, not particularly skilled in the art of networking! It made those coffee conversations with "strangers" a lot less intimidating.
What sets this conference apart is the absence of shameless self-promotion. Instead, it's a gathering of passionate transport people engaging in genuine and insightful discussions about the future of transportation.
Here are some of our standout moments from this year's summit:
Chicago's Transportation Transformation: Gia Biagi's keynote presentation on the Chicago Department of Transportation's work, especially the #divvyforeveryone program, left us captivated. This initiative offers eligible residents annual access to the bikeshare scheme for just $5.
Optimising Public Transport: It was good to see our former Spin colleague, Borbala Nagy, expertly moderating a discussion on optimising service performance in public transport.
Exploring Mobility as a Service (MaaS): The conversations covered a wide array of topics, including Mobility as a Service (#maas), the influential role of data in public transport, the ascent of autonomous vehicles, and a thought-provoking discussion on how #micromobility is reshaping urban travel.
A pod of Policy experts?: The final session of day one was chaired by Steve Pyer of MMP, alongside industry colleagues: Benjamin Bell (Tier), Jean Andrews (Superpedestrian), Aisling Dunne (Bolt), and Hal Stevenson (Lime). They shared invaluable insights, including:
Micromobility's potential in small towns and cities with the right support.
The importance of segregated space, integration with larger transit, and simplicity of access in fostering the growth of Micromobility.
How data empowers operators to tailor their schemes to suit each unique city.
In summary, it was yet another outstanding summit, and we're already counting down the days until 2024. The Transport Innovation Summit continues to be well organised, sparking important conversations that are steering the future of transportation in exciting directions.