International Association of Public Transport
The International Association of Public Transport (UITP, from the French: L’Union internationale des transports publics) is a non-profit advocacy organization for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific institutes and the public transport supply and service industry. The association was founded on August 17, 1885 by King Leopold II in Brussels, Belgium to support the Belgian tram and steel industries.[1] UITP supports a holistic approach to urban mobility and advocates for public transport development and sustainable mobility.
French: Union Internationale des Transports Publics | |
Abbreviation | UITP |
---|---|
Motto | Advancing Public Transport |
Formation | 17 August 1885 |
Founder | King Leopold II |
Type | AISBL |
Legal status | Nonprofit Organization |
Purpose | Advocating Sustainable Transport |
Headquarters | Secretariat-General Rue Sainte-Marie 6, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, BRU, 1080, Belgium, Europe |
Region | Worldwide |
Membership | 1700 members |
Official language | English, French, German, Spanish |
President | Pere Calvet Tordera |
Vice-President | Ian Dobbs |
Secretary General | Mohamed Mezghani |
Main organ | General Assembly |
Subsidiaries | Youth For Public Transport (Y4PT) Foundation (created on 25 November 2005 by Policy Board) |
Website | www |
Organization
UITP represents an international network of 1,600 member companies located in 96 countries and covers all modes of public transport – metro,[2] light rail,[3][4] regional and suburban railways, bus,[5] and waterborne transport.[6] It also represents collective transport in a broader sense.
UITP's network counts one main and EU office in Brussels and fifteen regional and liaison offices worldwide (Abidjan, Astana, Bangalore, Casablanca, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Moscow, New York, Rome, São Paulo, Shenzhen, Singapore and Tehran).
Since May 2017, Pere Calvet Tordera has presided over UITP as its president alongside his role as General Manager of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya. He has been actively involved in UITP since May 1997. Over these 20 years, he has played several roles within the organisation, mostly within the Metro Assembly. From 2013 to 2017, Mr Calvet was Vice-President of UITP and Chairman of the Metropolitan Railways Assembly.
He has been re-elected as UITP President at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit 2019 in June 2019.
The General Secretariat in Brussels is managed by Mohamed Mezghani, who has been working for more than 25 years in public transport and urban mobility related fields. He has been the Deputy Secretary General of the Association since January 2014 until his election in 2017.
Activities
- UITP gathers and analyses facts and figures to provide quantitative and qualitative information on key aspects of public transport and urban mobility.[7]
- UITP manages an on-line information centre MyLibrary, 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 magazine: Public Transport International (PTI)
- UITP carries out studies, projects and surveys; the results are made available in brochures and reports.
- UITP works on projects for international institutions, such as the European Commission. Under the framework of these projects UITP launches and participates in thematic networks of mobility experts on public transport policy and organisation.
- UITP issues official positions on global mobility issues, representing the views of the sector.
- UITP tries to engages a number of international bodies - such as the United Nations (UNEP, UNDESA, UNFCCC, UNHABITAT), the World Bank and European institutions.
- UITP organises training courses, workshops and seminars for public transport experts
- UITP collaborates in the Transports Public show, in Paris.
- UITP empowers the youth for advocating sustainable transport through the Youth For Public Transport (Y4PT) Foundation (created on 25 November 2005 by UITP Policy Board).
- UITP organises a biennial event, the UITP Global Public Transport Summit.
- UITP is a member of the Group of Representative Bodies.
References
- European Conference of Ministers of Transport (2006). Improving Access to Public Transport: Guidelines for Transport Personnel. OECD Publishing. p. 2. ISBN 9789282113295.
- "Metro, light rail and tram systems in Europe" (pdf). The European Rail Research Advisory Council and UITP (L’Union internationale des transports publics). 2009. p. 4. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
- "Metro, light rail and tram systems in Europe" (pdf). The European Rail Research Advisory Council and UITP (L’Union internationale des transports publics). 2009. p. 18. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
- "Light Rail for Liveable Cities" (pdf). UITP (L’Union internationale des transports publics). June 2001. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
- "A bright future in store for the bus". UITP (L’Union internationale des transports publics). 9 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
- "Waterborne transport, a unique contribution to enhancing mobility for cities on water" (pdf). UITP (L’Union internationale des transports publics). May 2012. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
- Light Rail in Figures (2014)
External links
- UITP – official homepage
- UITP Global Public Transport Summit - uitpsummit.org
- Y4PT – official homepage
- A virtual exhibition about urban transportation in the world.