Europe

As UITP was born in Brussels, the heart of Europe, its activity in this region dates back to the very first days of the organisation.

In Europe, UITP’s main activity consists of working closely with European Union Institutions, bringing together more than 450 urban, suburban and regional public transport operators and authorities from all member states. UITP represents the perspective of local passenger transport services by all sustainable road, rail and waterborne modes.

A team of UITP experts monitors EU legislative developments impacting the public transport sector. They assist and advise members and EU decision-makers concerning all aspects of relevant European policies and inform of these developments through various publications and activities.

Furthermore, UITP has been a leading partner in a wide range of EU-funded research projects for many years, with the European Commission recognising UITP as a key interlocutor in promoting public transport stakeholders’ priorities for research and innovation.

We publish official EU position papers on a range of policy issues impacting the public transport sector. They present the views of our members (public transport operators and authorities) and make concrete policy recommendations on EU legislative initiatives.

Our last position & EU papers:

• Position Paper: the new CEF
• Joint Open Letter: Make Local and Regional Public Transport a European Priority
• UITP Policy Position on Social Climate Fund
• Joint Open Letter: Public transport as the backbone of sustainable urban mobility
• UITP, ETF, CER Joint Statement on the upcoming EU economic governance reform
• More EU budget for transport: Joint Leaflet
• UITP Position Paper: Passenger Rights in Multimodal Journeys
• UITP EU Policy Paper: Public transport sector priorities for the legislative term 2024-2029
• UITP Policy Paper on Connecting Europe Facility’s 2023-2027 Work Programme for Transport

See the full list of our EU papers

Our position & EU papers are also available here

The Urban Rail Platform, the European platform for urban rail co-chaired by UITP and UNIFE and with the active participation of the European Commission, adopted a definition of urban rail. The objective is to have a better understanding of “urban rail” in the context of:

• EU technical rail legislation
• Acknowledging overlaps between heavy rail and urban rail
• Reminding of the operational characteristics and functional requirements of urban rail
• Providing a better visibility of urban rail in the landscape of EU funds and financing programme

Discover the definition

We also issue publications and reports to present the state of affairs on EU dossiers impacting the public transport sector, help our members implement EU legislation and share good practice examples on topics discussed at the European level such as accessibility.

Our last publications:

• Technical Specifications on Safety, Security and Cybersecurity – Applicable for non-SERA urban rail systems in the European Union
• EU Investments in the local public transport sector: Insights from the 2014-2020 financial programming (members-only!)
• EU Policy Priorities for local public transport: A UITP Perspective

Discover our publications

You will also find here all UITP publications

On 12 February, UITP launched its European elections campaign ‘I Vote Public Transport’. With this motto, we ask Europe to advance public transport and sustainable mobility. For this, we invite all European citizens to share why they love public transport and why they think the EU should do more for making our cities more liveable and sustainable with more and better public transport.

To celebrate the incredible support and passion for public transport, UITP has put together a video that showcases some of the inspiring quotes shared by participants throughout the campaign!

These voices emphasise the real impact that public transport has on people’s daily lives and the shared vision for a more sustainable future.

In December 2020, UITP launched a digital campaign highlighting the benefits of public transport for citizens, cities, and the planet (see HERE). Based on the success of the campaign, UITP decided to organise pop-up activities going directly to public transport stations to promote the positive impacts of public transport to citizens and set up stands at various European events (EU Week of Regions and Cities, Urban Mobility Days, etc.).

As a further step, UITP is now inviting cities and public transport networks to join the campaign by organising local actions with our digital toolbox developed to help communicate the benefits of public transport. The toolbox contains brochures, posters, visuals, animations, and much more, which could be used for local or social media campaigns. Contact us to access the toolbox at europe@uitp.org!

Discover the benefits of public transport

Find out more about the toolbox

Find here the pdf version