Review of previous conferences...

European Transport Conference 2018 - 2019

Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland

The 46th ETC was held for the first year, in Dublin, in October 2018, and the 47th event in October 2019. Thanks to the host sponsor DTTaS (Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport), we could use three buildings in the historical site of Dublin Castle.

600 Participants

With more than 600 participants the conference reached an all-time high. In terms of attendance there was an increase in delegate days of 35% compared to 2017, from 921 to 1.252, largely attributed to the uptake of discounted delegate places offered to Local Authorities and organisations linked to the host sponsor.

The conference was opened by the Irish Minister of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD and was followed by a keynote by Professor Peter Balázs, coordinator of the North Sea-Mediterranean EU Corridor.

The ETC: a discussion platform for mobility professionals

At the conference we provide the opportunity to present new and challenging developments coming from the day-to-day experiences of all kind of European mobility professionals. The format consists of a minimum of 9 parallel sessions each day and a plenary session on the Wednesday. The conference succeeded with the choice of topics of great relevance and in line with the European mobility packages designed to ensure a smooth transition towards a mobility system which is safe, clean and connected & automated. In fact, the conference program included over 280 articles and research studies presented, contributed to enriching the debate on mobility and transport and covering supranational crosscutting issues dealing with Innovation, Digitisation and Decarbonisation of Transport in Europe. Most of them are now under review for being published in a special issue of Transportation Research Procedia journal.

Technical visits and social interaction

Several technical visits were offered to all ETC participants, and two bicycle tours and a running tour throughout Dublin city center were organised. On Tuesday evening, the Icebreaker Drinks Reception took place at Wood Quay at the Civic Offices of Dublin City Council. This offered delegates the opportunity to socialise and relax before the official start of the conference. On Wednesday evening delegates were invited to attend the Civic Reception hosted by Dublin City Council. This took place at the impressive Dublin City Hall. Dating back to 1769 it took a decade to build and is a popular tourist destination. Finally, the Conference Dinner, was held on Thursday evening at the historic Trinity College Dining Hall. The venue is situated on the main campus of Trinity College, Ireland’s oldest University.

European Transport Conference 2016 - 2017

Casa de Convalescència, Barcelona, Spain

In October 2017 Nine streams were held over three days with nearly 90 sessions attracting more than 350 delegates. The popular evening social and networking events included ice-breaker drinks, a civic reception at Barcelona's town hall and a sit-down conference dinner in a brewery! 

During the conference time was put aside for those wanting to get more active with walking, running and cycling tours of Barcelona. Delegates were also spoiled for choice on which technical visits to attending including visiting the newest part of Barcelona's metro, a port visit and bus interchange visit.

Keynote and plenary talks were given by:

• Welcome from Barcelona City Council
• Barcelona in the 25 years since the Olympic Games - Francesc Munoz (Director, Observatori de la Urbanització Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
• Looking to the Future for Barcelona - Chief Executive Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona

To get a feel of the conference search for #etcbarcelona2017 on twitter or LinkedIn!