Looking ahead to the UITP Summit in Hamburg

Hamburg will be the host city for the UITP Summit 2025 (15-18 June), how is the team preparing for this year’s edition?

In some ways it’s hard to believe that we’re on the cusp of hosting the next UITP Summit, when the 2023 edition in Barcelona feels so close to mind. It’s not an easy task to arrange an event such as this, but it’s important for our members, partners and stakeholders that we do this. We say that ‘the public transport sector meets here’ for a reason. It’s the place to be, and the standout moment in the calendars of all urban mobility professionals.

But you are not just attending the Summit, you also have the opportunity to discover our host city. In Hamburg, you will be welcomed to a city with a rich culture that offers seamless connections for its residents and visitors. With a public transport network to be proud of–and ambitious mobility plans in place–Hamburg is an ideal setting to welcome the UITP Summit.

Has UITP been interacting with the local players and audience in the lead-up to the 2025 edition?

It’s important to build a special relationship with the local and national audience, especially now that we will go back to Hamburg for a further edition in 2027. We have many members in Germany, and our connections are strong. But when it comes to the Summit, you need to go beyond existing relationships and expand your community. Last Autumn we held a Summit launch in Hamburg with the explicit reason of meeting and interacting with the local and national players. They play a key role as major stakeholders and supporters of Hamburg’s success as a Summit host city.

With politicians, CEOs, national press, and industry leaders gathering together, the Summit has a chance to shine under a different kind of spotlight–one that shows how important bringing the Summit to your city is for the local and national economy. It’s also clear that Hamburg is a city on the cutting edge of innovation, mobility expansion, and an active arena for public transport that others can aspire to.

What can you share with us about the Summit programme at this stage?

The UITP Summit Programme Committee has worked to deliver a very relevant and topical programme, which is now fully available. Defined by our six tracks: Net Zero Cities, Operations, Lifestyle, People-Centricity, Sustainability and Technology, the programme will be guided by these tracks, and when expanded they will focus on driving policies to net zero, operating according to local needs, sustainable mobility as a lifestyle, focus on people and communities, aligning mobility planning with the SDGs, and technologies for change. The Summit programme will be notable in that it will discuss topics in the context of recent political developments and changes. Climate action, services, urban living, passenger and employee wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, sustainability targets, and technological innovations…these will be the guiding direction, and people will remain as the red thread throughout it.