Fifth meeting of the Inter-Connect project in Ljubljana
The fifth project meeting within the Inter-Connect project, organised by the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region (RRA LUR), took place in Ljubljana on 15 and 16 January 2020. The meeting was dedicated to reviewing project activities, in particular case studies, with an emphasis on improving and promoting the intermodality of passenger transport in the ADRION region and the organisation of round-table discussions and local events planned in Inter-Connect project partner countries.
RRA LUR director Lilijana Madjar emphasised in her welcoming address that the project has an important role to play in the promotion of better sustainable transport solutions both in the Ljubljana Urban region and in the wider Adriatic–Ionian (ADRION) region. She then presented the activities envisaged during the course of the two-day project meeting and an event that was carried out with key stakeholders in the field of sustainable mobility. Future activities of RRA LUR in the Inter-Connect project are focused on the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the promotion of public passenger transport and intermodality on the “Koper–Postojna–Ljubljana–Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport” corridor.
The Institute for Transport and Logistics Foundation (ITL) is leading activities for the evaluation of all case studies under the Inter-Connect project in conjunction with Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region. Using a predefined evaluation methodology, project partners presented their progress in the implementation of activities. Analysis of eight case studies under the Inter-Connect project showed that the key measures for the promotion of intermodality among cross-border passengers are the provision of reliable travel information in real time, the provision of new services, integrated tickets, more attractive and more accessible transport hubs in cities (railway stations, bus stations, ferry terminals, etc.) and attractive, effective and flexible public transport services. These measures show the importance of “soft measures” which could promote urban, extra-urban and cross-border intermodality in the ADRION region. ITL also presented ongoing activities relating to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and recommendations for further measures deriving from experiences obtained in the cases considered, all within the context of the Inter-Connect project.
In the next phase of the meeting, the Executive Secretariat of the Central European Initiative (CEI) presented the current situation as regards promotional activities and round-table discussions in partner countries for the purpose of signing a Memorandum of Understanding in connection with the promotion of passenger intermodality solutions among key local, regional and national interested parties. The concluding project event will take place in the form of a final project conference, due to be held in Trieste in June 2020. During this conference, an international Memorandum of Understanding for the promotion of intermodality in the ADRION region will be signed. The CEI Executive Secretariat also carried out a review of already completed communication activities and other promotional activities, and underlined the importance of promoting the main results of the project to stakeholders outside the project partnership.
The technical coordinator of the project, the Hellas Centre for Research and Technology / Hellenic Institute of Transport (CERTH / HIT), presented the final results of analysis of data collecting activities (local transport data regarding supply and demand) in all partner countries of the Inter-Connect project. The presented data showed that there is still much to do in the field of defining and promoting reliable and effective solutions in the ADRION region as regards cross-border transport. CERTH / HIT presented activities linked to the inclusion of the Inter-Connect project in sustainably oriented projects of the ADRION region, the aim of which is to increase the transnational and local intermodality of passengers in the ADRION region through the use of sustainable means of transport.
At the end of the meeting, the lead project partner, the Greek municipality of Igoumenitsa, gave a presentation of the administrative and financial situation and detailed progress in the implementation of the technical work packages of the project. The lead partner also highlighted the progress made in the implementation of its pilot campaign in Igoumenitsa. Finally, it emphasised the importance of the meeting due to take place in Trieste in June 2020 in the context of the Inter-Connect project. The final project meeting will be devoted to a presentation of all the results of the Inter-Connect project.
The two-day meeting ended with a visit to the P+R Barje car park.
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