The sixth workshop of the European Union’s SMART-MR project promoting the cooperation among the local and regional municipalities and the development of their transport policy was organized in Budapest, with the participation of eight European metropolitan cities, among which Budapest was represented by BKK Centre for Budapest Transport. The transport management was the central theme of the workshop held between 11 and 13 June 2018.
In the framework of the program, supported by the Municipality of Budapest, participants tested Budapest’s public transport system. Majority of the participants considered the extension and diversity of the network as well as the network and connection of lines outstanding. They commended the short walking distances, the lines’ frequent services, the novelty of metroline M4, the attractive structure of the new CAF trams, the public transport boat lines running on the river Danube and the silent operation of trolleybuses and even development-related proposals were made. Besides enriching the project results, their experience can be well utilized for the evaluation and development of BKK’s services.
Besides the regional transport institutional system, the transport policy and the new technologies, key topics were discussed on the meeting with a special focus on the demand-driven public transport. In the conference, presentations were held about the regional institutions of the Hungarian capital and its surroundings, about BKK’s institutional structures and roles, the mobility strategy of the Hungarian capital, about the Balázs Mór Plan and also about the UN’s sustainable goals. Foreign partners presented their best practices in transport organising and covered different topics about mobility management in roundtable talks.
