A series of free evening talks open to the public are to be held on the theme of connected transport systems of the future.

The presentation series will examine how the future of transport systems may look and the increasing role of technology, as well as how sustainable transport solutions can be further developed between cities and rural areas, linking them to national, regional and local transport policy.

They are being held on February 28, March 28, April26 and May 30, 2018, as part of the European-wide Civitas Portis transportation project, which is worth £3.2m to the north-east led by Aberdeen City Council, and involves a consortium of council, university and private partners aimed at improving travel in the area.

The first event on February 28 includes three presentations - an overview of the Civitas Portis project and its benefits to the Aberdeen region, by Amye Robinson, senior projects officer, Aberdeen City Council - smart city transport solutions by Richard Laing, professor of built environment visualisation, Robert Gordon University – and freight & freight routeing by Rab Dickson, transport strategy manager, NESTRANS.

The second event on March 28 is about mobility as a service by professor John Nelson, chairman in transport studies, at the University of Aberdeen. Jenny Milne from JLM Consulting will also be speaking on the topic of Mobility as a Service.

The next event on April 26 has two presentations – one on Aberdeen South Harbour, by Keith Young, engineering director, Aberdeen Harbour Board – and the second about the transport elements of the Aberdeen City Region Deal including new links to Bay of Nigg, by Paul Finch, strategic transport projects manager, Aberdeenshire Council.

The last talks, on May 30, include one on Big Data Presentation from Dr Caitlin Cottrill, senior lecturer, University of Aberdeen as well a presentation from Dr David Corsar, also from the University of Aberdeen.

All events open at 5.30pm with refreshments, and presentations start at 6pm with a 7.30pm finish.

Aberdeen Lord Provost, the city’s Civitas Portis champion, said: “We encourage people to think about using alternative forms of transport such as walking or cycling, and we’re also working hard to look at existing and future transport infrastructure needs for the city and wider area.

”We need to continue to work hard and make new IT transportation systems meet the pace of change and work best for Aberdeen, its people and its port.

“I’d encourage anyone with an interest in sustainable transport and how technology is used for transportation infrastructure to come along to the events.”

The Civitas Portis European Union grant is being used to examine transport solutions with a connection with port operations, supporting sustainable urban mobility through changes in behaviour and the attitudes of citizens, planners, politicians and industries. It will also help address social inclusion and provide opportunities for economic growth.

The partners for the project also include Aberdeenshire Council, Nestrans, The Robert Gordon University, the University of Aberdeen, and Aberdeen Harbour Board.

Civitas Portis is aiming to make a positive impact on five European port cities - Aberdeen, Trieste, Antwerp in Belgium, Constance in Romania, and Klaipeda in Lithuania.

The solutions include innovative approaches for sustainable urban mobility and social and functional connections between city centres and ports using for example digital technologies which will improve both governance methods and the information provided to the citizens as well as the access to new, services, already available or to be invented.

Civitas Portis has received 100% funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, and it started on September 11, 2016 and finishes on August 31, 2020.

Anyone interested in attending any of the talks should book a place through Eventbrite.on https://www.eventbrite.com/e/connected-transport-systems-evening-talk-series-tickets-42314828792?aff=es2.

More like this…

View all