TRA 2024

In April 2024, Dublin will be hosting the 10th biennial Transport Research Arena (TRA) Conference. For all mobility professionals eager to exchange their knowledge, be inspired by peers, and discover what is changing in the world of transport, the TRA Conference is the place to be!

The TRA Conference is Europe's premier research and technology conference on transport and mobility. It unites academics, policymakers, industry leaders, transport users, and other mobility stakeholders from across the region for four days of action-packed discussions, presentations, and peer exchanges.

What to expect from #TRA2024

This four-day event will feature many enlightening discussions about key mobility challenges and the innovative solutions being developed. Each session will be packed full of expert speakers, who will delve into the four central themes of the conference. These are:

Safe & Inclusive Transport
Sustainable Mobility of People and Goods
Efficient & Resilient Systems
Collaborative Digitalization

Every TRA Conference is joined by attendees from all over Europe. Based on past turnout rates, you can expect to meet as many as 3,000 other attendees from 60 countries and listen in on more than 100 sessions!

You can access the full TRA 2024 Programme here.

Conference details

Dates: Monday, 15-18 April 2024
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Venue: Royal Dublin Society (RDS)

Find POLIS at TRA 2024

During TRA 2024, you can learn more about POLIS' work, our members, and our European projects by joining the following sessions:

Special Session 1.3. User Acceptance: Key to Successfully Transitioning to the Future European Mobility System (15 April 2024, 14:00 - 15:15, Hall 8A-3 - Simmonscourt)

POLIS Secretary General Karen Vancluysen will be speaking at this session about user acceptance in the transition to smart and sustainable mobility. With a focus on road and rail, this session will aim at identifying best practices in understanding user preferences and their evolution, in designing future mobility solutions accordingly, and embedding individual measures into longer-term transition paths towards smart and sustainable mobility.

Special Session 1.4. How Can Research and Collaboration Support Cost-effective Solutions for Zero-emission Heavy-Duty Vehicles (15 April 2024, 14:00 - 15:15, Hall 8A-3 - Simmonscourt)

This session, organised by EC-JRC, ALICE, ERTRAC and 2ZERO, will focus on what is needed to make Zero Emission Heavy-Duty Vehicles (ZE HDVs) a reality for Europe's cities and regions. Research and innovations projects grouped under the AEVETO cluster – including POLIS projects NextETruck and ESCALATE – will be introduced as crucial components for ZE-HDV value chain deployment. A panel discussion with relevant representatives of the ZE-HDV ecosystem will be held to identify the current barriers and future research needs essential for ZE-HDV adoption.

Technical Session 2.2.3. Urban Mobility (15 April 2024, 17:15 - 18:30, Hall 2A - Shelbourne Hall)

POLIS Director of Policy & Projects Ivo Cré will moderate this technical session on urban mobility, featuring presentations on topics ranging from cycling behaviour and cycle propensity modelling to net-zero mobility in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

Strategic Session 1.2.1. Future Workforce & Skills (15 April 2024, 17:15 - 18:30, Hall 5A - Dodder Suite)

Karen Vancluysen will be speaking at this session addressing the employment challenges and opportunities in the transport sector. Complementing the session's emphasis on upskilling within an evolving industry, she will tackle the gender inequalities that persist within Europe's transport workforce and highlight key tools to ensure equal representation of women in transport.

Special Session 2.3. Innovation in Urban Logistics: Public and Private Sectors Thriving Together (16 April 2024, 9:45 - 11:00, Hall 8A-3 - Simmonscourt)

POLIS Urban Freight Cluster Lead Raffaele Vergnani will be speaking at this session, which aims to share lessons learned in urban logistics from EU-funded R&I projects and create a common vision for the use of innovative solutions in zero-emission urban freight transport. The session will feature projects in which city authorities, logistics service providers, and innovation developers are engaged to implement living labs that enable businesses and cities to thrive together. Moreover, it will highlight some of the leading innovative solutions for efficient and sustainable urban freight transport, such as digital twins, Physical Internet, and zero-emission vehicles.

Technical 2.3.3. Noise (16 April 2024, 14:30 - 15:45, Hall 6 - Clyde Room)

LENS project coordinator EMISIA will present the results of the project's recent study on the relationship between the tampering of European light vehicles and noise and air pollution. The study highlights the most significant negative tampering effects and will serve as a guide in future remote sensing experimental campaigns. You find out more about the session here.

Strategic Session 2.1. Future Urban and Suburban Mobility Services (16 April 2024, 16:15 - 17:30, Hall 8B - Simmonscourt)

Co-organised by Karen Vancluysen and Patrick Mercier-Handisyde (EC DG RTD), this session addresses the challenges and opportunities faced when integrating new and shared mobility services into urban and peri-urban areas to support the ambitious objectives of the Green Deal and Europe's Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy. Attendees can expect insights into the current and potential roles of new mobility services in sustainable urban and peri-urban mobility, with a focus on the importance of governance models, integration with public transport, and collaborative approaches for financial viability and public policy outcomes. Insights from two POLIS members – Noord-Brabant and Paris – will be shared by panellists Edwin Mermans and Natalia Ciciarello.

Poster 4.4. Urban, Regional & Rural Transport (17 April 2024, 9:45 - 11:00, Hall 8C - Poster Area - Simmonscourt - Stage 4)

Karen Vancluysen will moderate this session, featuring insights on topics ranging from data-driven and autonomous mobility, logistics-as-a-service, shared electromobility hubs, and congestion charging. POLIS member Turku will join the session to present the lessons it has learned about 'soft measures' for a mobility transition.

Industry Educational Session - Innovate UK Introduce Horizon Europe Success Stories - Sponsored by Innovate UK (17 April 2024, 14:00 - 14:30, Hall 6 - Clyde Room)

During this session, POLIS projects ESCALATE and PHOEBE will featured alongside other successful Horizon Europe projects from the aviation, waterborne, rail, and urban mobility sectors. The session will include tips on consortium building and how project partners came together to present a winning Horizon Europe proposal. Curious to know more about ESCALATE and PHOEBE? You can find ESCALATE at Technical Session 3.4.2 – Environmental Sustainability. PHOEBE will be represented at Poster Session 1.2. – People-centred & Inclusive Mobility as well as at Technical Session 1.3.3 – Inclusive Mobility (1) and Poster Session 2.4 – Zero Emissions Transport.

Special Session 6.1. Feeding Education with Future Challenge-based Research on Cities (18 April 2024, 9:45 - 11:00, Hall 8A-1 - Simmonscourt)

At this session organised and moderated by POLIS member Université Gustave Eiffel, Ivo Cré will join representatives of the European university alliances to explore research challenges for sustainable, safe, and resilient cities and discuss how contributing to urban mobility knowledge development will benefit students. POLIS' involvement in the session will help to provide insights on the integration of research outcomes in the mobility plans of cities and regions across Europe.

Lunch and Learn Session - Multimodal and Resilient Traffic Management of the Future (18 April 2024, 13:30 - 15:30, Hall 7 - Concert Hall)

This session represents the final event of two EU-funded projects, FRONTIER and ORCHESTRA. At the the session, project results will be unveiled and solutions will be demonstrated from three years’ worth of cutting-edge work on multimodal and resilient traffic management. High-level experts from various ongoing innovative projects will share their insights and vision related to the future of traffic management, including POLIS member CERTH, representing the SYNCHROMODE project. Throughout the conference, you can find out more about SYNCHROMODE at the Multimodal Traffic Management Cluster Stand (Hall 1/4, Stand 9).

Plus, make sure to check out our projects DISCO, URBANE, UNCHAIN, GREEN-LOG, NextETRUCK, and ESCALATE at ALICE's Innovation Village! The stand will be located close to the stands of the European Commission, ERTRAC, CCAM, and other partners – see more on the venue's Floor Plan.

Save your seat today!

Think you might attend #TRA2024 in Dublin? Then make sure to register soon!

You have until 14 April 2024 to claim your Advance Rate ticket. Onsite Rates will apply from 15-18 April. All information about ticket prices can be found here.