Active Mobility Meets Public Transport: A2PT at UITP Global Summit

At the world’s leading public transport event, the UITP Global Summit, the Active2Public Transport (A2PT) project took the stage to present its latest findings to an international professional audience. The summit brought together over 10,000 mobility experts from more than 100 countries, offering a unique platform for sharing innovations and shaping the future of sustainable urban transport.

Within the session “Socially inclusive net-zero cities”, the A2PT team delivered a compelling case for better integrating walking and cycling with public transport to achieve real modal shift and climate goals.

Why is this integration so crucial? As A2PT project coordinator Andreas Friedwagner highlighted, cities that successfully reduce private car use are not just those with strong public transport systems. What truly makes the difference is a combination of high public transport use and a high share of walking. In other words, the transition to net-zero transport doesn’t happen in trains or trams alone—it starts on foot or by bike.

A2PT’s comprehensive fieldwork at 45 stations across 9 countries confirms this. By applying walkability assessments and multimodal checks, the project mapped out existing gaps: missing signage, poor cycling/walking infrastructure, unsafe crossings. But it also offered concrete solutions—from bike boxes and improved apps to pedestrian friendly street transformations in pilot sites across the Danube Region.

The project’s central message in Hamburg was clear: we can win more passengers for public transport not just by increasing frequency, but by making it easier, safer and more pleasant to get to the station actively.

This approach isn’t just smart—it’s cost-effective, inclusive, and climate-responsible.

To follow the project or explore the soon-to-be-launched A2PT online toolbox with pilot examples and recommendations, visit: http://interreg-danube.eu/projects/active2public-transport