AENEAS’ partner cities implemented a wide range of activities over the course of 2010. The cooperative community of project-external experts is growing steadily, resulting in an expanding pool of shareable know-how. To this end, AENEAS organised a number of events over the past year to share experience and good practices within the professional community of urban transport practitioners.

Project activities included presentations, roundtables and workshops at major national and international conferences. At last year’s CIVITAS Forum in Malmö, Sweden, AENEAS organised a roundtable dedicated to older people’s mobility. Some 30 participants discussed main issues and objectives concerning social inclusion and energy efficiency in the context of an ageing society.

Spanish project partner city Donostia-San Sebastián promoted innovative mobility solutions for older people at a national Urban Transport Companies’ Association (ATUC) conference. During this two-day event, representatives of Spanish regional capital cities discussed present-day challenges for public transport in Europe. More information about the ATUC even can be found on the ATUC website and on the website of the local public transport provider, dBus.

AENEAS embraces a wide range of mobility options, and walking is an important one, especially regarding older people. Recognising this, AENEAS organised a workshop at the Walk 21 conference in The Hague to draw attention to the implications of ageing societies on mobility.

AENEAS was involved in other conferences of note. Project activities and experiences from partner city Krakow, Poland were presented at the Mediate Final Conference in London. At this event there was also a dedicated stand, which is shown in the picture above. During “Mobility Management for Seniors”, an event held in Düsseldorf, Germany, AENEAS hosted a workshop parallel workshop focusing on communication and best practices concerning public transportation and older people; AENEAS also made key contributions at the annual meeting of European Metropolitan Transport Authorities (EMTA) in Barcelona, Spain.

Author: Gabor Heves