THE International Association of Public Transport (UITP) has announced the cancellation of the 2021 Global Public Transport Summit, which was scheduled to be held in Melbourne on December 14-17.
UITP says that with the coronavirus pandemic continuing and restrictions in place on international travel, together with the Victorian Department of Transport, it has decided to cancel the summit.
“Conversations continue across the globe on what travel will look like this year, leading us to recognise that we could no longer host to the type of industry gathering the sector has come to know and love our summit to be,” UITP said in a statement posted on its website.
The original event was scheduled for June 6-9 2021, but was delayed until December due to the expected impact of the pandemic. UITP says that no online alternative of the event will be offered. A form will be sent out on March 22 to sponsors and exhibitors to receive a full refund.
The next Global Public Transport Summit is scheduled for June 2023 in Barcelona.
“Melbourne would have been a wonderful location to host the UITP Global Public Transport Summit, a truly international event that welcomes participants and visitors from around the world,” says UITP secretary general, Mr Mohamed Mezghani. “The ongoing implications of the coronavirus pandemic have made the 2021 edition in Melbourne beyond reach this year, but I know that our collaboration with our members and colleagues in Australia and New Zealand will go from strength-to-strength in the months and years ahead.”
