They go completely unnoticed next to the Formula 1 teams or the Primavera Sound artists, but the headliners of the public transport sector are also seen in Barcelona these days. The global summit of public transport brings together the top managers of operators, manufacturers and associated industry at the Gran Via site of the Fira de Barcelona in a biennial congress that changes its place of celebration in each edition.
Organized by the International Union of Public Transport for more than a century, it is one of the main meetings of the sector on an international scale. About 15,000 people will pass through its conferences and exhibition spaces until tomorrow. At the event there will be electric buses of the latest generation and trains that have just left the factory, as well as those responsible for public transport from the major international metropolises who will share experiences and problems
After a few years marked by the covid crisis and the skyrocketing increase in the cost of energy, the sector is euphoric: operators are celebrating that they are already moving even more passengers than before the pandemic and manufacturers have of lists of projects to execute halfway around the world. They are aware that it is a crucial moment in which cities – with mayors of all colors – are evolving and no one wants to be left behind.
Barcelona is the scene of all this, although neither the City Council nor the Generalitat have wanted to give it the repercussion it deserved. The regulars of the congress, which took place in Stockholm four years ago, remember other cities where the vehicles were displayed in the main square of the place and the buses were decorated with flags to show that they were special days. Outside of the three fair halls of Gran Via, there is no sign of the congress, although the Catalan capital is full of professionals who observe the interiors and the daily operation of public transport.
The CEO of Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), Gerardo Lertxundi, to give an example, was yesterday the host of a large delegation arriving from the United States, which included representatives from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and the 'metropolitan area of Washington, headed by the American federal transport agency (FTA). They were visiting electric buses at the garages and were also interested in the hydrogen projects. Later it was time for a delegation from Hamburg who wanted to see the automatic metro line that can be used to reach the congress.
Regardless of where they are from, public transport managers are looking for the formula to continue to gain passengers and reduce emissions. For this reason, the kings of the exhibition space at the summit are the 100% electric buses. "Public transport is one of the best ways to help make cities more livable and the people who make decisions about it are gathered here", summarizes Sylvain Haon, director of strategy at the UITP. The other sustainability, financial, is also a reason for debate at the round tables, in which the investments and the benefits obtained are weighed, both in the economic and social spheres.
There is also no free space on the agenda of the CEOs of major railway companies such as Alstom and Siemens. The French multinational exhibits the first train that visitors encounter when they enter: one of the carriages that just debuted on line 3 of the Barcelona metro a few weeks ago. The German company, for its part, has a motorcycle for rent by the minute on its stand as a demonstration of the evolution of companies that continue to manufacture frames for trains, although their product catalog is already much more wide. They also share a serious concern for the security of their systems. And in fact, the more digitization, the more risks of cyberattacks.
The Barcelona summit is also the scene of an unusual display of unity. Renfe and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) share a stand where TMB is also present as hosts of the congress. Getting them to go together has taken so much effort that it has resulted in a neutral space where absolutely nothing is displayed beyond generic clichés about public transport. In this way they have ensured that they do not hurt each other's sensitivities. That is why there are already politicians, who took it upon themselves to stir up once again the controversy over the transfer of Rodalies during the inauguration, which was attended by the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, and in a subsequent visit by the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès.
