Skip to main content

Debut of Eastern Europe transport ticketing conference

The Transport Ticketing Central and Eastern Europe conference made its debut in Warsaw in October, welcoming 200 transport executives from across the region to discuss the ways to make paying and accessing public transport fast, efficient and flexible.
November 3, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

 The Transport Ticketing Central and Eastern Europe conference made its debut in Warsaw in October, welcoming 200 transport executives from across the region to discuss the ways to make paying and accessing public transport fast, efficient and flexible.

Supported by the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Development and 476 Arriva Poland, the event saw speakers lead a programme for an audience representing 27 different nations, including the Association of Train Operating Companies, 2001 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 1690 European Commission, International Union of Railways (UIC), 1756 MasterCard Europe, Central European Initiative (CEI), as well as transport and telecommunications organisations from across the region.

Conference director, Zehra Chudry said “This event was a fantastic platform which hosted refreshingly honest and transparent debates about the obstacles operators are facing in implementing smart ticketing initiatives. The conversations onsite opened so many avenues for this region’s transport sector in terms of shared learning and working to build a collective approach to the challenges faced. I personally look forward to finding out how public transport networks evolve as a result of the discussions conducted throughout the conference.

“As a region, Central and Eastern Europe has caught the international public transport community’s attention because of its uncharacteristically fast adoption of new ticketing and payment technology. The Central and Eastern European transport landscape is typically characterised by minimal heavy infrastructure and a dependency on paper ticketing. This should present a ‘blank canvas’ for transport operators looking to introduce a new channel for fare collection but there are a number of barriers to implementation.

“The need for understanding around new technology integration and transport ticketing strategies has become vital. The conference session leaders not only provided critical insight and expertise but gave the audience the opportunity to share experiences and debate what solutions have to look like to suit their passengers, but also, what are we actually trying to achieve with ‘smart’ ticketing.”

The discussions will continue at Transport Ticketing Global 2015 in London on 27-29 January.

Related Content

  • MaaS Market conference platform for pioneering projects
    August 21, 2017
    In opening the session on putting MaaS ideas into practice, Hans Arby, chief executive of UbiGo, told the conference that, “MaaS can mean different things to different people. This is why we decided to run MaaS under real conditions and launch the Gothenburg pilot scheme in 2013.” The trial involved 70 households paying €130/month for 6 months with participants agreeing that 20 cars could be put into storage. More than 12,000 bookings/transactions took place during the trial and there were no drop-outs. Ac
  • MaaS Market conference platform for pioneering projects
    August 21, 2017
    In opening the session on putting MaaS ideas into practice, Hans Arby, chief executive of UbiGo, told the conference that, “MaaS can mean different things to different people. This is why we decided to run MaaS under real conditions and launch the Gothenburg pilot scheme in 2013.” The trial involved 70 households paying €130/month for 6 months with participants agreeing that 20 cars could be put into storage. More than 12,000 bookings/transactions took place during the trial and there were no drop-outs. Ac
  • Australia faces tough choices over toll tags
    September 12, 2014
    With more than seven million tolling tags nearing the end of their life, delegates to ITS Australia’s 2014 National Electronic Tolling Conference had more than a passing interest debating possible ways forward. Rex Wright, chair of the Australian Toll Road Users’ Group, said the industry was potentially facing an AUD$100million bill over the next five years but the toll operators are committed to a unified national approach, consistent with the current interoperability.
  • Australian ITS Summit and NeTC Forum – the top Down Under 2015 ITS event
    March 19, 2015
    Australia’s two leading annual intelligent transport systems conferences, the Australian ITS Summit and the National Electronic Tolling Forum (NeTC), will be held at the Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne from 12 to 14 May with national and international guest speakers and more than 400 delegates expected to attend. Hosted by Intelligent Transport Systems Australia (ITS Australia), the events bring together ITS industry leaders, government, transport businesses and users, and academics to explore ways to ma