Bologna’s review of upgrading public transport stops to be presented at Annual Polis Conference

While conditions for local authorities to implement transport measures are difficult, new ways for more efficient management assets to deliver better services at low costs have to be found. At the Annual Polis Conference on 29 and 30 November 2011 in Brussels innovative examples will be demonstrated. Polis member Bologna’s Tommaso Bonino will share his experience of Bologna’s Public Transport Authority SRM efforts to upgrade and improve safety at Bologna’s public transport stops.

While investments for individual car users are seen as necessary, even if they are very expensive, investments in existing bus networks seem to be overwhelming: their small per user impact on costs and their usefulness are not clear enough. SRM decided to make a safety review of public transport stops to make safety a priority, to improve user satisfaction regarding service quality - and with the hope of to increasing the public transport modal share.

“A new tool to monitor public transport stops, measure safety/security and prioritise upgrades” will be presented at the Annual Polis conference on 30 November in parallel session 4 Optimising infrastructure maintenance, costs and safety. Other sessions addressing public transportation are “Raising quality in public transport”, which is organised in conjunction with the ENERQI project, “Advanced public transport systems and services” and “Buses with a high level of service – Fundamental characteristics and recommendations for decision-making and research”, organised as the COST action final event.

The draft programme of the 2011 Annual Polis Conference has been released and can be downloaded from the conference page of the Polis website. Over a day and a half, more than 40 presentations will be given on a wide range of topical transport subjects with special emphasis on public transport, freight, road safety, soft modes and social inclusion. In addition, the conference will offer four round tables bringing together experts and practitioners on ITS, electromobility, sustainable transport planning and transport and health.

Due to limited seating capacity, members are urged to register as soon as possible via the online registration facility. Polis negiotiated special rates with two hotels in Brussels. Book soon before the reservation period expires.