Connecting rural and urban areas, improving journey times and preparing public transport for climate challenges were central topics at a Mobility-as-a-Goal workshop in Riga on 2 September. ITS Latvia hosted ITS Estonia, ITS Finland and stakeholders from their communities to share challenges, map regional technological expertise and identify opportunities for cooperation.
The discussions focused on three areas:
- Climate resilience and emissions: how public transport can respond to climate challenges while advancing electrification and reducing CO₂ emissions.
- Rural and urban connections: better route and timetable planning, a clearer understanding of commuters’ needs, and stronger trust in public transport.
- Journey times: how to make public transport a faster and more attractive choice compared with the car, including journeys that require connections.
The workshop brought together perspectives from transport technology companies, regional and municipal authorities, and research and innovation organisations. Participants included Inese Murniece (ITS Latvia), Edgars Starkis (Fits Traffic), Antra Indriksone (Vidzeme Planning Region), Eleen Lindmaa (ITS Estonia), Madis Sassiad (GoSwift / Tallinn municipality), Sven Rosenberg (Ridango), Aleksanteri Gyllenbögel (ITS Finland), Juho Kostiainen (VTT) and Sami Sahala (Forum Virium Helsinki).
The next step is to identify potential solutions, assess their impact on society and learn from relevant use cases. The working group will consider how these approaches can become affordable, efficient and scalable, and where cooperation across the region can help put them into practice.
This publication has been produced with the financial support of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the coordinators of this project and does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
