The 6th European Transport Research Conference began yesterday in Warsaw, Poland, with Pan European Networks attending.

European commissioner for transport Violeta Bulc took to the podium to congratulate the city of Warsaw and the event’s organisers on another successful opening session of the annual conference. Bulc also asked: “Why do we innovate in transport? To keep connecting people. This is my primary mission. To support the founding vision of the EU, which is to foster peace and a single market; that is why we are together, and to allow the planet to regenerate itself and provide a safe place for humans to co-exist with the rest of Nature for many centuries to come. This is what drives me.”

Bulc also met with Poland’s deputy prime minister and minister for development Mateusz Morawiecki to find that they shared ideas and goals on transport’s future. Morawiecki committed himself and his nation to co-operation and collaboration as a means to advance European transport.

Commissioner for research and development Carlos Moedas appeared via a videolink to explain how transport needs to evolve alongside Europe’s cities in the digital age: “Transport is still a significant contributor to CO₂ emissions, producing a quarter of the EU’s greenhouse gas, so it’s time to get smart and sustainable. Through my open innovation priority I am working to create an innovation friendly environment, so that Europe can benefit from market-creating innovation in transport, and to help us achieve our energy goals. Later this year we will adopt a strategic transport research and innovation agenda.”

Ursula Zechner, the Austrian minister for transport, innovation and technology highlighted the necessity of cross-border travel and a real-time traffic information service, whilst her counterpart from the Czech Republic, Dan Tok, re-established his commitment to collaborate with Zechner regarding urban transport, by admitting that data was crucial to the future of the transport industry, and that software in this “new era” was soon to become more important than hardware.

The conference continues today with speakers including former Swedish minister for infrastructure and current chair of Sweden’s Programme Board Drive Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd, and chair of the Inland Transport Committee, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Jerzy Kleniewski.

You can follow the events as they happen through the hashtag #TRA2016.

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