David Kupfer

Mobility-as-a-service : from the Helsinki experiment to a European model?

There is a global discussion about how digitalisation, new technologies and the increasing connectedness of people are potentially changing the transport sector in a fundamental way. The city of Helsinki has taken a concrete step in this context and is exploring a new distribution model for mobility services. Mobility platforms shall enable the integration of the transport modes and the possibility for customers to purchase “mobility packages” granting a defined volume of access to public transport, car and bike sharing and also taxi services at the same time.

Which role for railway undertakings in the mobility of the future

‘Which Role for Railway Undertakings in the Mobility of the Future’ that took place in Florence on 22 May 2017

A European single market for road transport? : from patchwork to a well-functioning and socially fair EU road transport market

The European market for road transport suffers from several imperfections: social conditions of workers are in a poor state and open market access for European transport companies within the EU is not fully implemented either. Some hauliers go around existing rules and make use of “letterbox” companies to circumvent labour laws of the country they are actually primarily operating in. Better protection of workers from such practices is essential. However, uncoordinated national initiatives to protect national workers (e.g. minimum wage laws, prohibition for drivers to have their regular weekly rest in the cabin of the vehicle) risk fragmenting the international road transport market in the EU.

What role for digitalization in order to achieve an intermodal level playing field

Among other things, it emerged that a new vision of mobility has to be formulated: self-driving vehicles will soon be a reality as will be the prevalence of the “platform economy” or “servicisation” of transport. The availability of these new means can change transport patterns (and the modal share) in various directions. As yet, it is unclear how. It needs to be ensured that innovations can develop in a beneficial way in all the transport modes and that undesired effects are identified and prevented early on. March 2016 I

Regulating drones : creating European regulation that is smart and proportionate

The proliferation of civil drones is a widespread phenomenon and the trend is likely to continue. This creates a regulatory gap as rules addressing drones specifically are still mostly absent. On the one hand, the risks posed by drones are becoming more visible: possible encounters with civil aviation, threats to security, invasion of privacy, etc. On the other hand, the drone sector has enormous economic growth potential and many of the benefits of drones cannot be enjoyed unless rules are established that allow the use of drones also for commercial operations. The 7th Florence Air Forum addressed this regulatory challenge by discussing with the relevant stakeholders.

Rail freight in Europe : how to improve capacity and usage of the network?

The 10th Florence Rail Forum was an opportunity to take stock of achievements and remaining challenges on the way to that goal. The central focus lay on the most crucial initiative in the area of rail freight infrastructure: the Rail Freight Corridors. Their aim is to eventually establish a network of fully interoperable corridors that allow seamless cross border freight transport throughout Europe.