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The MENA Transport Congress & Exhibition has held a plenary session entitled (Public Transport Into the Future) in Zabeel Hall 4, Dubai World Trade Center. The session was chaired by Mohamed MEZGHANI Secretary-General, UITP, Brussels, Belgium. Panellists included Ahmed BAHROZYAN CEO, Public Transport Agency, RTA, who reviewed the vision of the RTA for the future.
Christopher FREE, Strategy Lead for Europe, Middle East and Africa, spoke about the future of public transport. Ralf BARON Partner, Head of Global Travel & Transportation Practice, Arthur D. Little, GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany shared his experience with attendees, and so did Stefan KLOCKE Shareholder – Member of the Board, Volocopter GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Topics of the session covered key mobility developments and replying to the question: What will be the shape of the MENA region in the next 10 to 20 years? What will be the shape of the business model in future? Will it be joint or individual? And will we head to a world free from private vehicles?
Speakers reviewed the progress made in the public transport and its related cost. Shall we see air vehicles soon? How long will it take to make it? With the new safety & security challenges, how long will the systems take to keep up with these challenges? Will the MENA region lead innovation in mobility?
“We have to look into the future such that the transit means we decide now will be compatible with the future, and compliant with health, environment, pollution and technology issues. This renders sustainability one of the key attributes of future transport. We should have transport services whenever we need without obliging us to use our private vehicles,” said MEZGHANI.
In a documentary movie, Bahrozyan stated that Dubai vision for the future of transport was based on a strategy to rank it the happiest city in the world, and elaborated on Dubai Strategy for Smart Mobility, and praised the safety and security feature of smart transport.
Mr. GRESTA announced the start of construction works of the first pilot, a full-size model dedicated to transporting goods and passengers in Toulouse, France. It will be tested later this year before the debut in the UAE. It sets the base for the first commercial hyperloop in the world, here in the UAE, to link Abu Dhabi with Al Ain and Dubai, and Riyadh. The company hopes to start the operation with the launch of Expo 2020.
Baron said, “Our mission is to make innovation a fact. We have to be the best in using these tools and enablers as the numbers are rising and technology has to be utilised. Dubai has made progress in setting transport standards and is committed to innovation.
Bahrozyan highlighted mega-regional public transport projects and customers happiness under the innovations and smart technologies era. Christopher reviewed the idea of establishing Uber and how the company had fared up to now under its philosophy of convenience in use, and customers happy.
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