Polis kicks off 2018 Conference

Opening of the 2018 Polis Conference

The conference at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester was opened by a welcome address from the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham. He emphasised that transport policies should not only benefit individuals, but that they should also serve the public interest.

During the Opening Plenary, Polis Secretary General, Karen Vancluysen, signed a manifesto in support of Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA). ISA is a vehicle safety technology helping to prevent speeding. The manifesto was then handed over to Deputy Director-General Matthew Baldwin, as the EU is currently negotiating new safety standards for vehicles in the future.

Elections at Polis member assembly

Prior to the opening of the conference, the Polis members assembly re-elected Transport for Greater Manchester as President of Polis for a second term. Following the elections, the members Budapest, Île de France, Gothenburg and Leuven were elected as new members of the Management Committee.

Road safety and urban freight workshops

Workshops were organised which brought forward the dialogue between cities, regions, research and industry. On 20 and 21 November, a joint workshop in London and Manchester of Polis and the International Transport Forum (ITF) discussed how city streets can become safer. The Polis Working Group meeting on urban freight launched a public-private stakeholder dialogue to pave the way and speed up the transition to CO2-free city logistics by 2030.

[Download the press release here.]

The hashtag used on twitter is #polis18.