Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Host 'International Public Transportation Policy Forum' on Mobility Theme on the 29th

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Kim] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 28th that the '10th International Public Transportation Policy Forum,' involving experts from industry, academia, and research institutes in the transportation sector both domestically and internationally, will be held on the 29th in Seoul.

The forum will take place at the LG Science Park Convergence Hall in Seoul and will be simultaneously conducted online and offline, with a live broadcast on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's YouTube channel.

The International Public Transportation Policy Forum has been hosted annually by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport since 2010. This year, under the auspices of the Korean Transport Society, it will address mobility activation policies being promoted by governments and companies from various countries.

The forum's theme is "Public Transportation Development Strategies Considering Future Mobility Changes," featuring presentations and discussions on △ Demand Responsive Transit (DRT), △ Personal Mobility (PM), △ Urban Air Mobility (UAM), and △ public transportation policies in the COVID-19 era.

Lee Sunha, President of the Korean Transport Society, will deliver the opening remarks; Lee Seonghae, Chairman of the Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Committee of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, will give the welcome address; and Professors Henry Liu from the University of Michigan and Satish Ukusuri from Purdue University will deliver keynote speeches on the topics "The Curse of Rarity in Autonomous Vehicles" and "Transportation Design and Operation Using Data," respectively.

In Session 1, to share achievements and discuss future directions of Demand Responsive Transit, presentations and discussions will cover the operational performance of demand-responsive transportation services by private companies and operational plans for demand-responsive transportation using autonomous vehicles.

In Session 2, regarding Shared Mobility, Professors Mozen Raejani from the University of Sydney, Australia, Gobi Gopal from PTV University, Singapore, Kim Euiyoung from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, and Jianliang Ma from the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, will present case studies and discuss commercialization outcomes.

Session 3, themed Urban Air Mobility, will include presentations on design considerations for vertical takeoff and landing pads (Professor Kim Sanghyun, Korea Aerospace University), current safety and privacy regulations for unmanned aerial vehicles (Professor Lee Dasom, KAIST), and private sector urban air transportation business plans (Kim Minseon, Deputy General Manager at Kakao Mobility), followed by discussions on future development directions.

Session 4, focusing on Public Transportation during the COVID-19 era, will share and discuss the impact of Hong Kong's COVID-19 response measures on public transportation mode choice (Professor Nicole Chen, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), changes in public transportation usage in Seoul during COVID-19 (Professor Choo Sangho, Hongik University), Japan's COVID-19 response cases, and other countries' public transportation situations altered by COVID-19.

Lee Seonghae, Chairman of the Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Committee of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "This forum is significant as a platform for domestic and international experts to discuss the key tasks presented in the Mobility Innovation Roadmap announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 19th. We will actively utilize the forum's outcomes to concretize and realize the Mobility Innovation Roadmap."