About the European Transport Conference

The European Transport Conference (ETC) is the annual conference of the Association for European Transport.

Each year the conference presents the opportunity to interact with a range of speakers across the Transport Industry. The range of topics, the multi-seminar approach and the networking environment makes ETC unique among transport conferences, making it the established premier event of its type.

The conference attracts transport practitioners and researchers from all over Europe where they can find in-depth presentations on policy issues, best practice and research findings across the broad spectrum of transport. The range of topics and the multi-seminar approach makes ETC unique among transport conferences and it is well established as the premier event of its type. The conference programme covers supranational issues, national and local policy and the implementation of projects at a local level.

As transport practitioners and researchers throughout Europe respond to the challenges of economic growth, social change, demographics and the need to become more sustainable, the European Transport Conference provides a forum for the presentation of, and discussion on, robust and affordable responses.

It is truly a conference for all ages and levels of experience, making it an excellent opportunity for networking and forging excellent professional relationships. The conference takes an open, participative approach to its programme. Members who join the programme committees can vote to shape the contents of the conference itself, allowing it to adapt to the needs of the attendees. 

Each year the conference looks to recruit a more diverse, inclusive and representative Europe-wide membership, to ensure it remains relevant to the important transport issues of the day and reflects the needs of the current members.

Call for papers are announced in December each year. 

Registration opens in the Spring of each year.

Click here to review past conferences

Click here to search ETC past papers

Click here for information on this year's ETC 

History of the ETC

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the European Transport Conference the opportunity was taken to reflect on the history.

The conference started in 1973 as the PTRC Summer Annual Meeting (SAM), evolving over the years to the European Transport Conference (ETC) that we know today.

The reflections take two parts: the first provides some insight into how the conference has developed from its early origins; the second provides some personal recollections from some delegates and the two main organisers.

Read the review here  (opens in new window).

Read the personal memoires here (opens in new window).

We hope you find this reflection interesting and showing how the conference has evolved over these 40 years.

Michael Bach and Broos Baanders AET Council members London / The Hague, October 2012