About 1,000 policy makers including Mayors and Municipal Councilors from the five southern States, administrators, experts, urban planners, researchers and technology and service providers from over 20 Indian States and 25 foreign countries will converge at the iconic HITEX City in Hyderabad for a three day Conference from tomorrow to discuss issues, challenges and solutions  related to transport and mobility in the cities and towns.

            Vice-President of India Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate the ‘Urban Mobility India Conference and Expo’ tomorrow. Chief Minister of Telanagana Shri K.Chandrasekhara Rao and Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri will also address the inaugural session setting the tone for deliberations over the next three days.

            Hyderabad was decided as the venue for the tenth UMI Conference and Expo by Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu last year when he was the Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. Hyderabad is hosing this Conference for the first time since UMI Conference was introduced in 2008. This Conference is being organized jointly by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of Telangana and CODATU, a French Transport Institute.

            UMI Conference aims at promoting dissemination of information and exchange of ideas on urban transport and mobility issues and the best practices being followed in the cities across the world. At the Hyderabad Conference, initiatives and experiences in respect of various aspects of urban transport of 86 cities including 36 foreign cities will be presented as case studies for detailed discussion.

            Case studies of foreign cities to be discussed include Boudeau and Lyan (France), Lausanne (Switzerland), Lisbon (Portugal), Gaudalajara (Mexico), Curitiba (Barzil), Bangkok (Thailand), Santiago (Chile), Constantine (Algeria), Cape Town (South Africa), Rabat (Morocco), Dhaka (Bangladesh) etc.

            Indian city case studies to be presented and discussed include three relating to Hyderabad viz., Road Safety Aspects, Transit Oriented Development and Introduction of Tram Services besides Parking Policy, Planning and Implementation in Vijayawada, initiatives and experiences of Mysuru, Bengaluru, Chennai, Trivendrum, Varanasi, Lucknow, transport planning for Maha Kumbh Mela to be held in Allahabad in 2019, Indore, Bhopal, Amritsar, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata etc.

            A total of 60 Plenary, Special and Technical Sessions will be held over the next three years for a detailed discussion on Intelligent Transport Solutions, Inclusive Urban  Transport and Sustainable Urban Transport Planning.

            The highlight of the Hyderabad Conference is two Special Sessions for Mayors and Municipal Councilors from the States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on Inclusive and Sustainable Mobility and Intelligent Mobility.

            Intelligent Transport Solutions (ITS) are advanced ICT based applications for enhancing the efficiency of use of different modes of transport in cities through better coordination and by informing the users to make safe, quick and smarter use of transport networks. ITS are used for effective management of traffic and mobility.

            Inclusive Urban Transport Planning seeks to ensure the right of access to public spaces and particularly, to public transport systems for all. In the present scenario, road spaces in Indian cities are being used more by the vehicle owning sections at the cost of the poor and the marginalized.

            Sustainable Urban Transport and Mobility aims at integrating environmental concerns with transport planning so that urban residents are not deprived of quality air.

            UMI Conferences are being organized  to further the objectives of the National Urban Transport Policy which lays stress on ‘moving the people rather than the cars’.

            Hyderabad Conference will deliberate on various components of the chain of urban transport from conceptualization of urban transport projects, design, financing and execution. The broad themes to be discussed include; Mobility for All, Multi-modal Integration, Inclusive Planning, New Paradigms of Mobility, Smart Cities and Mobility, Electric Mobility, Shared Mobility, Linking Urban Transport and Environment, Informal Transport Systems, Using Urban Transport Planning as an Opportunity, Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Service Systems, Financial Planning for Urban Transport Projects, Land Value Capture and Transit Oriented Development, Metro Rail Policy etc.

            Nine leading transport technology and service providers will display the latest technologies for the benefit of city and State Governments.

            The conclusions and recommendations of the Hyderabad Conference will be presented by Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary(Housing & Urban Affairs) during the Valedictory Session on Monday i.e November 6, 2017.

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RJ