Hosted by the International Economic Forum of the Americas, the Toronto Global Forum brings together over 130 speakers focusing on the theme of “Redefining Globalization”. RATP Dev is participating in this forum, the eleventh to date, from 30 October to 1 November, in the Ontario capital.
Each year, the International Economic Forum of the Americas brings together personalities from political and business worlds to think about major economic issues and develop strategic partnerships between Canadian and international actors.
At the eleventh version of the forum in Toronto, RATP Dev presented its vision of transport infrastructures in an increasingly interconnected world.
RATP Dev Executive Board President Laurence Batlle presented the way RATP Dev can play a vital role in greenfield projects by taking part in the urban planning phase and providing detailed understanding of needs in mobility services as factors of economic competitiveness. This was the case in South Africa thanks to the Gautrain, a fast rail public transport system in the Gauteng region operated by RATP Dev through its subsidiary BOC. In addition to pure greenfield issues, the aim is to design projects that combine both greenfield and brownfield approaches in a complementary manner as two phases in a network’s lifecycle. Urban planning, when equipped with mass transport solutions, can now serve as the backbone for global megacities.
The RATP Dev executive board president also demonstrated how the Group is committed to an increasingly sustainable city through the transition of two bus lines to full electrical power in London in 2018 thanks to the expertise developed by RATP in Paris from the 2025 Bus plan.
RATP Dev is investigating various innovations to optimize efficiency in both economic and energy terms and thus enhance the appeal of its networks. Big Data, driverless vehicles and composite transport solutions entailing, for example, transport on demand and shared vehicles, are just some of the special fields of focus for the Group in innovative solutions.
Because the Group’s commitment goes beyond physical infrastructures, RATP Dev supports initiatives for local communities alongside the RATP Group Foundation. For example, 25,000 people benefited from actions conducted around the world by the RATP Group Foundation in 2016 across eight countries on four continents.
“We believe in the value of a collaborative ecosystem with the public transport authority, the partners, the start-ups and the local community’s leading entities to address together the challenges of urban mobility”, concluded Laurence Batlle at the end of the round table session “The infrastructure imperative”.
>> For more information on the Toronto Global Forum, go to www.forum-americas.org/toronto