From Question to Collaborative Approach: OPTI-UP

From Question to Collaborative Approach: What is OPTI-UP?

In the beginning, a question emerged – and that question addressed how we can respond to the current challenges of public transportation: decline of customers, difficult long-term planning, and suburban connectivity gaps.

These challenges aren't isolated to us; they affect small and medium-sized Central European cities as well. In response, we forged a partnership with Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, and Slovenia, leading to the inception of OPTI-UP, a project aimed at ameliorating this situation and promoting more environmentally sustainable urban mobility systems.

By pooling resources and garnering support from the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme, with co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund, the project aims to establish data-driven and strategic foundations over the next two years. These foundations are essential for integrating green public transport with urban planning. As partners, we will pilot-test new solutions for demand-responsive transport, intelligent route planning, and fleet optimization across six pilot sites.

Setting the Stage: Kick-off Meeting

To inaugurate our collaborative endeavor in revolutionizing public transportation, as project partners, we convened for a meeting in Zagreb, Croatia.

This kick-off provided an overview of the project, elucidating its vision for transforming public transportation. It outlined the project's scope and work packages, spanning from analysis and planning to solution creation, dissemination, and replication.

Additionally, a review of the project's organization and communication plan was conducted to enhance visibility.

To commence our efforts, we participated in a workshop focused on the project's initial phase, facilitating an exchange of experiences and insights.

The session concluded with key takeaways, delineating our subsequent steps as we concluded the meeting.

What's Next?

With the project officially underway and off to a strong start, it's time to harness the power of partnership as we delve into analysis and planning. These endeavors will culminate in the development of a toolkit and strategy to transform public transportation, the primary goal of the project. Stay updated by visiting the official project website or following the LinkedIn page.