DRIVING INNOVATION: STA IMPACTS TRA 2024 IN DUBLIN, IRELAND
From 15 to 18 April 2024, the Smart Transportation Alliance (STA) and its Members were active participants in the Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2024 held in Dublin, Ireland.
KEYSTONE project (where STA is a consortium member) partners met with its sister project partners, SETO at the KEYSTONE booth.
From left to right: Dr David Betaille (Gustave Eiffel University), Mr Alex Papacharalampous (Aethon Engineering), Mrs Friederike L. Kühl (Smart Transportation Alliance), Dr Miguel Casero Flórez (University College Dublin), Dr Giulia Renzi (UNIMORE), Dr Beatriz Martínez Pastor (University College Dublin), Prof Bernard Jacob (Gustave Eiffel University)
TRA stands out as Europe's largest research and technology conference focused on transport and mobility. Co-organized by the European Commission with the support of various platforms and networks, including the Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe (ACARE), the Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration (ALICE), the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR), the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP), the European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC), the European Road Transport Research Advisory Council (ERTRAC), the European Transport Research Alliance (ETRA) and the European Research and Innovation Platform for Waterborne Industries (WATERBORNE).
This prestigious event attracted experts and stakeholders from Europe and beyond. Under the theme "Advancing Sustainable and Inclusive Mobility," TRA served as a vital platform for driving discussions and actions toward a more sustainable and inclusive future in transportation.
During the TRA event, STA and its Members showcased their involvement in two ongoing EU-funded projects: KEYSTONE and SCALE-UP, while actively engaged with attendees to showcase the achievements of its projects, raise awareness, and promote their impact on the wider transportation community.
As the Communication and Dissemination Leader of the KEYSTONE and SCALE-UP Projects, STA played a central role in ensuring effective outreach and knowledge dissemination. Leveraging its expertise and network, STA facilitated the dissemination of project findings, advancements, and best practices to a diverse audience of stakeholders. For the KEYSTONE project, a dedicated booth at the ALICE Innovation Village (AL 101) served as a platform to showcase the project's groundbreaking work and overarching goal: the development of a sustainable, efficient, and safe transport system enabling enforcement authorities to access data for compliance checks.
The conference also facilitated valuable exchanges with representatives from other EU-funded projects, such as the opportunity to connect with KEYSTONE’s sister project, SETO and share insights and expertise.
Both KEYSTONE and SCALE-UP posters were prominently featured at the TRA Poster Area in Simmonscourt Hall, spotlighting the projects’ activities.
Additionally, several STA Members actively participated in the conference, namely Cidaut, Etelätär Innovation, the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), and the University of Antwerp. Representatives from these institutions engaged in various sessions throughout the event, contributing their expertise and insights to discussions on the future of transportation. Moreover, they presented cutting-edge research papers, further strengthening their commitment to advancing innovative solutions in the transport and mobility sectors.
Cidaut
Mr Romo in Poster Session 4.1 “Digital Transport Infrastructure & Energy Transition”
On Tuesday 16 April 2024, Mr Javier Romo presented at Technical Session 4.3.1 “Digital Challenges in the Urban Environment” the findings of the paper entitled “Technology Development Towards Autonomous, Connected and Safe Mobility of People and Goods in Urban Environments”.
On the following day, Wednesday 17 April 2024, Mr Romo took part in Poster Session 4.1 “Digital Transport Infrastructure & Energy Transition” and presented the paper “Development and implementation of (more) sustainable and resilient electric vehicle charging infrastructure in public buildings”.
Etelätär Innovation
Mrs Friederike L. Kühl in the Technical Session 1.1.12 “Predictions of Road Safety Risks”
On Thursday 18 April 2024, Mrs Friederike L. Kühl replaced Dr José F. Papí and took part in the Technical Session 1.1.12 “Predictions of Road Safety Risks”. She presented the paper “Future Crash Configurations: Analysis of the Impact of Future Vehicles in Mixed Traffic”, shedding light on emerging challenges and opportunities in road safety.
Technical University of Madrid (UPM)
On Monday 15 April 2024, Dr Prof José Manuel Vassallo, participated in the Poster Session 1.3 “Impact on Health & the Environment” and presented the paper “Does public transport use increase the probability of COVID-19 infection? Individual-level analysis in Madrid (Spain)”. In the same session, Mr Jorge Bañuelos-Gimeno presented the research paper entitled “Effects of Teleworking in Air Quality in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Spanish Case Study”. Furthermore, Dr Juan Gómez Sánchez participated in the Poster Session “1.4 Transport Policy” and shed light on the research paper entitled “The Potential of Shared Mobility to Reduce Vehicle Ownership: A Case Study of Madrid Region”. On the same day, Dr Ángel Losada Arias presented the findings of the research entitled “Extracting Parameters of Vulnerable Road Users' Behavior from Video Observation for Modeling of Urban Microsimulation” in the Technical Session “1.1.2 Safety of Vulnerable Road Users”. Mrs Mari Luz Brownrigg-Gleeson took part in the Poster Session “1.2 People-centred & Inclusive Mobility” and presented findings of the research paper “Exploring Citizens and Business' Acceptance of New Pedestrianisation in Madrid”. The research was carried out with SCALE-UP, shedding light on the impacts of permanent pedestrianisation in busy city centres.
On Tuesday 16 April 2024, Dr Álvaro Aguilera García, presented the paper entitled “Moped-Scooter-Sharing Usage and its Impact on Vehicle Ownership: An Analysis of the Spanish Case”, in the Technical Session “2.1.5 Shared Mobility”. On the same day, Dr Christina Quaassdorff participated in the Technical Session “ 2.3.2 Airborne Emissions” and highlighted the findings of the paper “Road Transport Emission Parameterization for Microscale Applications based on Macroscale Measurable Traffic Information”. Furthermore, Dr Ing Thais Rangel presented the findings of the research paper “Exploring last-mile delivery practices: A study on e-commerce adoption, frequency and returns” in the Poster Session “3.4 Logistics and Sustainable Transport”. Later on that day, Mr Carlos Armando García Calán, participated in the Poster Session “2.4 Zero Emissions Transport” and shared the findings of the research paper entitled “State of Knowledge and future direction of LCA for shared electric micro-mobility services”. Later on the day, Dr Iria Lopez Carreiro participated in the Technical Session “1.3.4 Inclusive Mobility” presenting the research paper “Are Academics Willing to Change their Conference Travel Habits for the Sake of the Environment?”. Additional participation took place in Poster Session “3.4 Logistics and Sustainable Transport”, with Dr Laura Garrido presenting two research papers: a) “Assessing the Impacts of Last-Mile Delivery in Urban Areas: E-commerce vs. Traditional Delivery” and b)” Sustainability Assessment of B2C delivering through an Urban Consolidation Centre in Madrid's Low Emission Zone”.
On Wednesday 17 April 2024, Dr Prof José Manuel Vassallo took part in the Technical Session “3.1.8 Future Construction Systems” and presented the research entitled “Socioeconomic Assessment of Electric Road Systems”. On the same day, Dr Prof Andrés Monzón shared his insights on the significance of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) in actualising the concept of walkable cities through his paper "15-minute City: A Holistic Approach in the Frame of SUMPs” during the Technical Session “2.1.12 SUMPs and Policy Design”. On the same day, three more presentations from UPM took place a) Dr Juan Gómez Sanchez took part in the Poster Session “4.4 Urban, Regional & Rural Transport” and presented the paper “Exploring spatial heterogeneity in individuals' adoption and frequency of use of E-commerce: evidence from Madrid, b) Mr Àlvaro Aguilera-GarcÍa presented the paper “Exploring differences in individuals' adoption and frequency of use of Shared and Private E-scooters” c) Dr Ing Thais Rangel shed light on the research paper entitled “Exploring the Dynamics of Ride-Hailing Fares in Madrid: A Machine Learning Approach”
On the last day of the conference, Thursday 18 April 2024, Dr Ángel Losada Arias took part as a speaker in Special Session 6.4 “The Support of Road User Behaviour Analysis for Road Safety Improvement “, and shared valuable insights on road users’ behaviour.
Photos: TRANSyT-UPM
University of Antwerp
Dr Joris Beckers in the Poster Session 4.4 “Urban, Regional & Rural Transport”
On Tuesday 16 April 2024, Dr Elnert Coenegrachts took part in the Poster Session “2.3 Urban, Regional & Rural Transport” and presented the findings of the paper “Exploring the Interaction Between Mobility Hubs and Public Transport “. From the University of Antwerp, two additional participations took place at the Technical Session “2.4.5 Waterborne Logistics” a) Mr Wooter Schmidt presented the research paper “Innovating European Container Terminals; Studying the Current European Container Terminal Environment and Identifying Key Stakeholders”, b) Mr Peter Shobayo shared the findings of his research entitled “Impact Assessment of Cargo Reconstruction on IWT Logistics System”. Also, at the Poster Session “2.1 Transport Safety & Sustainable Logistics”, two additional participations took place a) Mr Jeffrey Willems presented the findings of the paper “Scoping Requirements for the Assessment of the Impact of Green Innovations in the Port Environment” and b) Mr Peter Shobayo presented the research paper “Spillover Effects from Inland Waterway Transport Development: Spatial Assessment of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor”
On Wednesday 17 April 2024, Dr Joris Beckers took part in the Poster Session “4.4 Urban, Regional & Rural Transport” and presented the research paper “Exploring Logistics as-a-Service to Integrate the Consumer into Urban Freight”.
On Thursday 18 April 2024, Mrs Marie Cryns participated in the Poster Session “6.3 Resilient Infrastructure” and shared the findings of the paper “Stakeholder identification and mapping for measuring new technology impacts on Europe's inland waterway ecosystems”.
The presence of the STA at the conference highlighted the collaborative efforts to address challenges and drive sustainable progress in the field of transport. Furthermore, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to enhance the visibility of STA’s community and current activities with TRA attendees.
It also offered a unique chance to collaborate with project partners and friends in person and share ideas and solutions for the future of transport and mobility.
Looking forward, we anticipate the TRA 2026 conference in Budapest, Hungary with great enthusiasm!
Author: Eftychia Koliou (Smart Transportation Alliance)