Dates: 8-10 June 2015
Location: MiCo Milano Congressi, Milan, Italy
Local hosts: Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM), Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM)
More than 2,200 delegates from 83 countries attended the 61st UITP World Congress and Exhibition which took place in Milan on 8-10 June 2015 with the slogan ‘Smile in the City’.
“Smile” is the acronym of five keywords directly related to public transport challenges and to UITP’s PTx2 strategy: Sustainability – Mobility – Innovation – Lifestyle – Economy.
Participants
Countries
Exhibitors from 40 countries
Speakers
Journalists
Top Management Executives
Exhibition space
UITP exhibition is an extraordinary place where fertile ideas are born out of discussions, exchange of views and accidental encounters with old friends or new acquaintances.
Milan welcomed 284 exhibitors on 30,000 square meters, with a record number of 15,700 single-entry visitors. The Exhibition was representative of the diversity and strength of the association. It brought exhibitors representing all segments of the sector and of the membership of UITP, the industry of course, the operators, but also authorities.
It represented the geographical diversity of UITP with exhibitors from 38 countries.
It was also the place chosen by many to announce or launch for the first time in the world their new initiatives or products.
It was striking that several of the world premieres here illustrated the increasing cross fertilisation between industries within our sector. We had the concept of buses which look like trams, and trams which included bus and automotive technology, for instance for increasing safety. UITP was extremely proud that ITxPT, the open IT architecture developed for bus with the industry and the support of UITP and the European Commission, had been used in the integrated trams concept.
While operators were confirming their ambitions for clean bus fleets, the industry was responding with new vehicles, for instance running on natural gas, or, for several of the new ones, on electricity, relying also on new charging solutions, offered by all sides of the industry.
We needed vehicles and solutions for all type of demands in a variety of urban environments, and for this, the effort of the industry to offer solutions with buses accommodating small or record number of travellers was reassuring.
At the same time, the commitment of operators to automated metros remained steady.
In an increasingly connected environment, the exhibition offered the opportunity to discover innovations such as the connected bus stops or new solutions for ticketing and payment. UITP has been committed to continue to work with the industry for making the most out of digital solutions for our customers.
