Singapore -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/13/2012 -- The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) moved a step forward to foster closer knowledge sharing today, with the launch of the UITP Centre for Transport Excellence (CTE) and the website for the inaugural LTA-UITP Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition (SITCE) in October 2013.

1. The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) moved a step forward to foster closer knowledge sharing today, with the launch of the UITP Centre for Transport Excellence (CTE) and the website for the inaugural LTA-UITP Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition
(SITCE) in October 2013.

UITP Asia Pacific Centre for Transport Excellence
2. UITP Secretary General, Mr Alain Flausch and LTA Chief Executive, Mr Chew Hock Yong, officially launched the UITP Centre for Transport Excellence (CTE) for the Asia-Pacific Region on 2 July 2012. The centre is located within the LTA Academy.

3. The CTE is an all-encompassing centre for land transport researchers, particularly in the public transport and sustainable mobility domains. The centre will provide training and support to land transport administrations and practitioners in the Asia- Pacific region.

LTA-UITP Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition
4. At the sidelines of the World Cities Summit 2012, Mr Flausch and Mr Chew unveiled the website for the inaugural LTA-UITP Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition (SITCE). To be held in October 2013, the SITCE is one of the key initiatives by the UITP CTE. This biennial international congress, jointly organised by LTA, UITP and MSI Global Pte Ltd, will combine the existing World Urban Transport Leaders Summit (WUTLS), World Roads Conference (WRC) and World Urban Transit Conference (WUTC), which had been organised by LTA, with the series of the Asia-Pacific Congresses organised by UITP.

5. Through the synergy between LTA and UITP, SITCE 2013 will cover the entire urban transport spectrum, from transport policy and planning, to design and construction of rail and road infrastructures, as well as intelligent transport systems and other innovations. The SITCE 2013 will take place from 7-10 October 2013 at the Singapore Suntec City Convention Centre. Interested parties from all over the world are invited to submit their paper abstracts through the SITCE website – www.sitce.org.

6. Mr Alain Flausch, UITP Secretary General commented “Singapore is a natural choice for locating UITP’s Centre for Transport Excellence for the Asia-Pacific Region given that Singapore has the World’s Best-Practices of Public Transport in the last two years. LTA has also demonstrated convincingly to the international community of public transport experts and decision-makers that the application of UITP’s PTx21 strategic objectives is feasible and viable.”

7. Mr Chew Hock Yong, LTA’s Chief Executive said, “We are honoured that UITP has chosen to site their Centre for Transport Excellence in Singapore, at the LTA Academy.

This is the first such centre that UITP is setting up anywhere in the world. The Centre for Transport Excellence and the co-hosting of Singapore International Transport Congress & Exhibition is a testament to the strong friendship and co-operation between LTA and UITP in the pursuit of knowledge sharing and innovations in land transport. LTA looks forward to working closely with UITP to facilitate knowledge sharing among land transport administrators and practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region.”

The inaugural SITCE 2013 is a platform for urban land transport professionals worldwide, focussing on public transport. Meet and discuss ways to shift the transport focus to people. The SITCE Public Transport Conference, held on 7-10 October, 2012 in Singapore.