Seoul City to Host 'UITP Asia-Pacific Government Authorities Committee' Meeting on the 18th

Seoul City Leads Setting Future Vision for Public Transportation as Chair City
Discussing Key Issues: Transportation Recovery, Decarbonization, and Mobility Amid Rapid Changes in Global Traffic Due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] An international government agency meeting to lead the rapid recovery of global public transportation after COVID-19 and discuss sustainable development directions is set to take place.

On the 17th, Seoul City announced that the 8th meeting of the UITP AP OAP, the Asia-Pacific Regional Government Agency Committee of the International Association of Public Transport, for which Seoul currently serves as the chair city, will be held on the 18th.

Seoul was elected as the chair city of UITP AP OAP in recognition of its innovative public transportation reforms and promotion of eco-friendly and sustainable transportation policies, and has been building an international cooperation network.

This 8th meeting is the first to be held since Seoul assumed the chair city role, where Seoul will play a leading role in selecting global key agendas in the public transportation sector and setting the operational direction of AP OAP for the next four years. The meeting will accurately diagnose the current crisis faced by public transportation due to COVID-19 and present a roadmap for transforming this crisis into an opportunity in the post-COVID era, aiming for safe and sustainable public transportation.

The AP OAP meeting will consist of five sessions, including an opening address, a roundtable session introducing member and invited organizations, and thematic sessions featuring presentations and in-depth discussions on key topics. In each session, senior officials will share city-specific policy visions and challenges and discuss the future of transportation.

In particular, at this meeting, based on research conducted by the Seoul Institute’s Transportation Systems Research Division, an analysis of changes in Seoul’s public transportation due to COVID-19 will be presented, along with Seoul’s mid- to long-term future vision for transportation, which includes people-centered public transportation policies rather than car-centric ones, expansion of green mobility targeting carbon neutrality by 2050, and establishment of demand-responsive public transportation integrated with smart technologies.

Hwang Bo-yeon, Chair of UITP AP OAP and Director of Urban Transportation at Seoul City, stated, “As we enter the post-COVID era, it is time to highlight the value of public transportation as a core driver of eco-friendly and inclusive recovery and to seek directions for the recovery and development of public transportation systems.” He added, “I hope this meeting will serve as a platform to share visions for urban transportation worldwide and lay the foundation for mutual cooperation toward a better future.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.