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Articles

The BAPTS project – Boosting Advanced Public Transport Systems

22 June 2011 | By Gregor Moss, Transport Commissioner, City of Bielefeld and Georg Werdermann, Rupprecht Consult

High-quality sustainable urban transport is a fundamental precondition for making European cities and regions better places to live. Since cities themselves are usually in the best position to find the right strategies, nine leading cities and regions from six countries in North-West Europe develop concrete model solutions for sustainable urban…

CPT’s challenges in 2011

6 May 2011 | By Simon Posner, Chief Executive, Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT)

The Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) is recognised by Government as the voice of the coach, bus and light-rail industries and is the focus for consultation and negotiation on national and international legislation, local regulations, operational practices and engineering standards. The benefits of CPT membership are not solely political…

An ambitious future for Manchester’s Metrolink

6 May 2011 | By Philip Purdy. Director of Metrolink, Transport for Greater Manchester

Bringing people together is one of the greatest benefits of any transport system, and here in Manchester, we’re transforming the city’s iconic Metrolink service to connect passengers with new areas across the region. New routes, new trams and new ticket machines are only part of the ambitious work currently being…

The future looks bright for UK light-rail systems

6 May 2011 | By Colin Walton, President, Light Rapid Transit Forum (LRTF)

While most would admit that the United Kingdom lags behind much of Europe in opening new light-rail systems in its major cities, the current coalition government seems keen to draw a line in the sand and examine major new developments as soon as the economic clouds lift. Urban transit schemes…

Simple, easy, quick, hassle free… the case for ITSO

6 May 2011 | By John Verity, Head of Security and Compliance, ITSO

Earlier in 2011, Transport Secretary Norman Baker released a White Paper setting out the UK Government’s vision for local transport. It includes a statement on the Government’s commitment to delivering the infrastructure that will enable most public transport journeys in the UK to be undertaken using smart ticketing by December…

Cheshire – Smart since 2002

6 May 2011 | By Colin Kennington, Principal Transport Officer for Cheshire West & Chester Council

Since bus services started, paying for bus travel in the UK has largely relied on cash and paper tickets. This is now starting to change with the introduction of smartcards – plastic cards which contain a microchip to store data and radio aerial to communicate with ticket machines. One of…

Assessing fire development in underground metro cars

6 May 2011 | By Professor Haukur Ingason, Senior Research Scientist, SP Technical Research Institute

In the fire safety design process for underground metro systems, the design fire is usually an issue that requires long discussions and consensus among designers. The main reason is the complexity of fires in metro cars and lack of large scale test results which confirm the design assumptions. This article…

Evaluating safety aspects for underground metro networks

6 May 2011 | By Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alfred Haack, former Executive Board Member at STUVA (Research Association for Underground Transportation Facilities) and Past President of ITA (International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association)

A functioning mass transit system is most important to back up mobility in large cities and conglomerations. This has been recognised for nearly 150 years: the first metro worldwide was inaugurated in London in January 1863. It was a steam driven system. The first electrified trains started in November 1890,…

EIB financial support to sustainable urban mobility projects

6 May 2011 | By Mario Aymerich, Head of Division for Urban Transport and Other Urban Infrastructures, European Investment Bank (EIB)

According to the Treaty of the European Union, the EU has formal responsibility for Regional Policy but, in accordance with the subsidiarity principle, not for Urban Policy. Legislation on urban development therefore remains the responsibility of local administrations (towns, cities and regions). The urban dimension is nevertheless incorpor - ated…

Innovation as a catalyst for local public transport

25 February 2011 | By Dr. Peter Ramsauer, Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development, Germany

Facilitating mobility rather than hampering it – as Germany’s Federal Minister of Transport, this is my basic philosophy. Because being mobile means taking part in social life, economic growth, employment and prosperity. Local public transport plays a substantial role, since guaranteeing mobility for everyone would not be possible without it.…

Extending the network brings improvements to services

25 February 2011 | By Wolfgang Arnold, Chairman of the Board of Management, Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB)

On the second weekend of December 2010, all the train, bus and tram operators in Germany set the pre-conceived changes in their timetables and systems into function. For the majority of their customers it may result in little or no changes in their daily mobility routine, but for the customers…

Investing in the future of the company, city and region

25 February 2011 | By Michael Budig, Managing Director, Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main (VGF) and Bernd Conrads, Director of Corporate Communications, Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main (VGF)

The Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt am Main Transport Company) is not only one of the largest employers in the city but it also invests millions of Euros into new construction, modernisation and maintenance of its mobile and stationary infrastructure. On workday mornings when the commuter flow begins, Frankfurt becomes…

Ticket to Kyoto: 5 European partners, 1 goal

25 February 2011 | By GMPTE (Manchester), moBiel (Bielefeld), RATP (Paris), RET (Rotterdam) and STIB (Brussels)

Five European public transport companies have joined forces in a four-year project against climate change. With concrete energy saving measures they aim to introduce the principle of low CO2 emissions as the new standard for public transport companies. The name of the project: Ticket to Kyoto (T2K). Ticket to Kyoto…

Keeping the transport sector safe

25 February 2011 | By Pauline Norstrom, Chairman of the BSIA's CCTV Section

In challenging economic times, the need for robust security measures to minimise losses and damage within the transport industry has never been greater. With transport companies facing a range of threats from petty vandalism to large-scale terrorist attacks, being able to identify and counteract these risks as soon as they…