Montreal – Ambitious and innovative mobility projects that contribute to advancing public transport around the world were honoured at this year’s UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Montreal.

The UITP Awards are handed out every two years to honour sustainable mobility projects that contribute to the objective of doubling the public transport modal share worldwide by 2025. Successful projects should be innovative and transferrable to other cities and regions. 

More than 230 applications were received for the 2017 awards, which went to projects that were successfully implemented between 2015 and 2017. 

Among this year’s winners were Addax Assesoria Economica e Financeira LTDA and Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos de São Paolo S.A., who won the Smart financing and business models award for their public-private partnership that will include LRT and bus modes in Baixada Santista, Brazil. The project was praised as an example of how to finance the new public transport systems needed to meet the increasing mobility demand in growing economies. 

The Cape Town Transport and Urban Development Authority won the Public transport strategy awards for its project that redefines the city’s approach to integrated land and public transport development and growth management. It could result in a 20 per cent improvement in public transport mode share by 2032, which in turn would significantly lower transport emissions in the city.