• Three days dedicated to discovering new vehicles, services and solutions offering a real alternative to the private car

• In 2023, the demand for mobility is growing. The bus market is positive both at European level (+20.9%) and in Italy (+72%) compared to the previous year

• Training at the centre: a packed programme, designed with a dedicated Steering Committee to discuss mobility trends, market scenarios and growth opportunities for the sustainable mobility sector.

Milan, 5 March 2024 - Alternative engines, new refuelling and charging infrastructures, digital and AI applications built around the needs of the traveller, door-to-door solutions, integration of services: the world of passenger transport is experiencing a profound green evolution, which will be the focus of the second edition of NME - Next Mobility Exhibition, the event dedicated to vehicles, solutions, policies and technologies for a sustainable mobility system, to be held at Fiera Milano from 8 to 10 May 2024.

Milan, the world’s sixth greenest city and home to the National Centre for Sustainable Mobility, is therefore preparing to host three days of updates to discover new vehicles, services and solutions that offer a real alternative to the private car. An invaluable opportunity to discuss and get up to date on the market drivers, trends and innovations that can offer our cities and individual citizens a better quality of life and travel with less environmental impact.

Organised by Fiera Milano, NME is supported by Agens (Italian Federal Agency for Transport and Services), Anav (Italian Association of Road Transporters) and Asstra (Italian Transport Association), the three associations that together represent 95% of the Italian public transport market. A collaboration that gives authority to the exhibition project and strengthens NME as a reference point in the public transport sector in Italy.

BACKGROUND: DEMAND FOR MOBILITY INCREASES AND BUS REGISTRATIONS GROW

The latest quarterly report of the Observatory of Mobility Trends, prepared by the Technical Mission Structure (STM) of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT), shows an increase in mobility demand for all modes of transport compared to pre-pandemic (2019) levels, with +11% for buses and +1% for trains.

The bus world also saw significant growth of 20.9% in Europe in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to data provided by Chatrou CME Solutions: a tangible sign of the ecosystem’s recovery after the abrupt halt caused by the pandemic.

The Italian bus market is in line with other European contexts: vehicles over 8 tonnes showed significant growth in 2023 compared to the previous year (+72%, with 4043 new registrations) and, according to ANFIA data, January 2024 was particularly promising, with 56% growth compared to January 2023.

INNOVATION, DIGITALISATION AND INTEGRATION: SOLUTIONS AT THE EXHIBITION

Next Mobility Exhibition is preparing to provide an overview of vehicles and solutions that can make a real contribution to the development of sustainable mobility.

Three days to focus on the technological innovation of means of transport and transport systems to meet the challenges of the European Community: energy transition, digital transition and the consequent reorganisation of its organisational structure, with the ultimate aim of shifting a modal share of private mobility to public transport.

Market-leading manufacturers such as Iveco Bus, MAN Truck&Bus Italia and Otokar will be on hand to illustrate innovation in vehicles, as well as bodybuilders, component manufacturers and a host of companies that will tell the story of the evolution of on-board electronics.

Much attention will be paid to the development of services in a digital context. Local public transport is currently going through a profound change. Thanks to an integrated approach that puts the user and their needs at the centre, the integration and extensive spread of public transport has become a technological challenge that can be summed up by the acronym MaaS (Mobility as a Service).  These are digital platforms that allow travellers to purchase integrated door-to-door travel solutions, i.e. from the point of departure to the point of arrival, using both public and private transport services in an integrated way, through a single digital channel or SmartApp.

This is a digital and innovative approach that is already a reality in Italy, thanks to the Maas4Italy trial launched by the Ministry of Economic Development, which involves 6 major cities (Milan, Naples, Rome, Bari, Florence, Turin) and 7 regions (the Autonomous Province of Bolzano and the Regions of Abruzzo, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Apulia and Veneto).

Several MaaS operators will be presenting their solutions at the exhibition. Digitalisation is also a key factor in route and traffic management, thanks to predictive systems.

Electric passenger transport is becoming increasingly popular, so the event will include space for infrastructure and charging systems as well as vehicles.

Finally, thanks to operators such as ATM and Flixbus, the event will highlight the evolution of services, which are now increasingly geared to the needs of passengers.

MEETING FOR GROWTH: TRAINING AT NME

NME is not just an exhibition: training, which is crucial in a high-tech sector, is one of the main pillars of the project.

The packed conference programme, which will fill the three days of the exhibition, is shared with the Technical and Scientific Committee, which brings together stakeholders, associations, universities and institutional representatives who have decided to share their know-how and visions in order to develop a proposal capable of responding to the practical needs of the market.

Chaired by Pierluigi Coppola, Professor of Transport Planning at the Politecnico di Milano, the committee is made up of the three main Italian bus associations (Agens, Anav and Asstra); leading academics (Oliviero Baccelli, Professor at Bocconi University, Fabrizio Zerbini, Scientific Director of the MobiUS Lab at Sda Bocconi, and Marcello Martinez, Professor at the University of Campania); a representative of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (Angelo Mautone, General Director for Local and Regional Public Transport) and associations and entities representing the different transport sectors (Fabrizia Vigo, Anfia; Francesco Naso, Motus-e; Cristina Maggi, H2IT;  Claudio Claroni, Club Italia; Claudia Bugno, Futuritaly).

Kicking off the packed calendar of events will be the inaugural joint Next Mobility Exhibition-Transpotec Logitec, which, thanks to the contribution of the main players in these two sectors, will offer a major opportunity to reflect on the present and future of goods and passenger transport, two parallel worlds that share many common challenges.

This will be followed by the presentation of the results of the Study on Local Public Transport, which analyses the economic and social benefits of an integrated and sustainable public transport system.

Anav-Associazione Nazionale Autotrasportatori Viaggiatori (National Association of Road Transporters) is promoting a new study by Professor Paolo Beria of the Politecnico di Milano, which aims to define a new national strategy for bus transport, focusing on the commercial and tourist bus sectors.

The Agens - Agenzia Confederale dei Trasporti e Servizi (Confederal Agency for Transport and Services) conference will instead be dedicated to Big Data management, while Asstra - Associazione Trasporti (Transport Association) will focus on the use of hydrogen in the energy transition.

MaaS will be the focus of the conference organised by Club Italia, the association representing the entire world of e-ticketing.

There will be no shortage of insights into the energy transition, city electrification projects and emerging technologies and drivers in the mobility sector.

Next Mobility Exhibition runs from 8 to 10 May at Fiera Milano.