Skip to main content

2016 Polis conference calls greater understanding of automated transport

The recent Polis 2016 Conference was attended by 450 mobility professionals from across Europe and beyond who met to debate on urban and regional mobility. Local and regional authorities called for greater understanding of where automated road transport can benefit cities. The conference plenary session brought together local governments, the automobile industry, research and the European and international institutions to explore where automated vehicles can deliver benefit for cities and what needs to b
December 5, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The recent Polis 2016 Conference was attended by 450 mobility professionals from across Europe and beyond who met to debate on urban and regional mobility. Local and regional authorities called for greater understanding of where automated road transport can benefit cities.

The conference plenary session brought together local governments, the automobile industry, research and the European and international institutions to explore where automated vehicles can deliver benefit for cities and what needs to be done to make this happen. The panellists acknowledged that automated vehicles are not an end in themselves.

Using an online live voting tool, conference delegates proposed public transport as the most adapted mode for full automation, ahead of public transport feeders for the first/last mile, shared mobility and urban delivery services.

Automation will be a priority item on the Polis agenda for 2017 and will draw on information from Polis members involved in automated vehicle projects and the knowledge gained through Polis involvement in several European projects dealing with automation, including CityMobil2 which demonstrated fully automated first/last mile transport services, and MAVEN which is investigating the implications of fully automated vehicles on traffic management.

Related Content

  • FIA welcomes call for intelligent transport systems to improve urban mobility
    November 11, 2015
    On 10 November, the European Parliament’s Transport Committee adopted its report on sustainable urban mobility. FIA Region I welcomes the balanced outcome, which acknowledges that diverse local situations must not be decided upon in Brussels. Jacob Bangsgaard, FIA Region I Director General, said: “With the population in European cities growing by 2 million each year, policymakers need a clear strategy to bring about the mobility solutions that can meet the needs of city residents. Intelligent Transport
  • Air quality tops transportation agendas
    November 17, 2014
    Colin Sowman catches up on some of the latest research around outdoor pollution and looks at options available to authorities in areas of poor air quality. Iair quality hasn’t already reached the top of the agenda in transportation department meetings in your area, it probably soon will with national, trans-national and even global bodies calling for authorities to reduce pollution levels.
  • Carbon finance delivers critical support to mass transit schemes
    February 2, 2012
    David Crawford investigates carbon finance in transport. World Bank carbon finance grants are delivering critical support to major mass transit deployments in emerging and developing economies. Only recently operative in the transport sector, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM, see panel) is designed to generate additional income streams and improve internal rates of return on projects funded from public- and private-sector sources.
  • Polis x Pride 2022: Mind the queer public transport gap
    June 29, 2022
    Cities are striving to provide inclusive public transport for all. This cannot and will not be achieved without tackling gender and homophobic-based violence across our transit systems. While this is undoubtedly a major undertaking, Polis members — and their peers — are proving real action is possible...