Three days dedicated to the digitalisation of public transport

In a week's time, Karlsruhe will once again be hosting the global event for digitalisation and intelligent solutions in public transport. From 14 to 16 May 2024, the leading industry exhibition and conference will cover the entire technological spectrum with topic ranging from Artificial Intelligence, ticketing and payment systems to MaaS and cybersecurity. In addition to the IT-TRANS conference, highlights in both halls and the conference centre at Messe Karlsruhe include two Market Update Forums, which will provide in-depth insights into practical applications, a test track for autonomous driving at the exhibition ground and updates on the latest offerings from around 250 exhibitors from 30 countries.

Present at the IT-TRANS opening will be Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport, Dr Volker Wissing, and the globally recognised tech pioneer and AI scientist Inma Martinez with a keynote speech on Artificial Intelligence (AI). This opening is reflective of the technological quantum leaps that have advanced the transport sector in recent years - and the fact that we can only take public transport to the next level if research, politics, industry and transport companies work in harmony.

Two Market Update Forums will focus on the topics that transport companies face in their day-to-day operations: Efficiency and cost control, accessibility in public transport, staff shortages, intermodal travel and improved customer satisfaction. Here, relevant technological solutions will be presented by companies such as Atron, Lufthansa Industry Solutions, Siemens Mobility and Luminator.


Where the next generation of public transport solutions are being created

The Karlsruhe Mobility Lab will be presenting innovations made in Karlsruhe for the region, with the joint stand (dm-arena, Y3) focusing on the current projects of local players. The Research Centre for Information Technology FZI will invite visitors to try out the autonomous FZI shuttle, with its complex driving and turning manoeuvres. Then there’s the regioKArgo project which combines public transport and logistics, and is about to go into regular operation. Finally, KAMO: Karlsruhe Mobility High Performance Centre will be addressing the interface between city and country with its flagship project "Country-2-City" bridge.

But visitors will also get to experience firsthand the offerings of other exhibitors, such as an avatar for customer service (Siemens Mobility, Hall 1, E37), traffic modelling tools that help put infrastructure investments through their paces (PTV Group, Hall 1, B3) and systems for controlling traffic flows in real time (Gaia, dm-arena, S38). Trade fair attendees can even take a ride on a bus simulation system (TML Studios, dm-arena, Z11) that simulates realistic journeys, including a dashboard and driving and ticket sales scenarios. At the joint Young Innovators stand and Start-up Zone, 15 start-ups from around the world, including France, Spain and the USA, will also be presenting their innovations.