Dubai, 10 April 2011. The 59th World Congress and Exhibition of the International
Association of Public Transport (UITP), hosted by the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority
(RTA), was officially inaugurated today in the presence of HH Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum. Under the slogan ‘Boosting public transport: Action!’, the event is a key
milestone of the UITP ‘PTx2’ strategy, which aims at doubling the public transport
market share worldwide by 2025.

Only two years after the launch of ‘PTx2’ at the 58th UITP World Congress and Exhibition in Vienna,
many cities and organisations around the world have already taken up the challenge and are
working towards doubling the public transport market share worldwide by 2025. The 2,000
delegates from 80 countries and the 300 exhibitors coming from 37 countries are gathering in
Dubai to assess the achievements made so far towards PTx2.

“With growing urbanisation, cities will be stuck if we do nothing. Public transport is a vital part of
the solution as it alleviates congestion, helps the planet breathe, connects everyone everywhere
and empowers the economy,” said Alain Flausch, UITP President. “The 59th UITP Congress and
Exhibition is a key milestone in the UITP ‘PTx2’ programme and marks a global move towards more
sustainable cities.”

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director, Roads & Transport
Authority stated: “Since the RTA was established in 2005, our goals have been simple but
ambitious. We want to increase our public transport market share from 8% in 2010 to as much as
30% in 2020 and develop mass transit modes with the aim of making them the favourite means of
resident mobility across the city. The future holds more projects including an integrated rail
network of around 300km of additional rail lines, a comprehensive bus line and service
improvement plan and a comprehensive marine passenger transport plan. These plans in addition
to our efforts directed to the implementation of different relevant transportation policies will help us
achieve our challenging public transport mode share target. Dubai increased its ridership by 90%
over five years increasing the number of passengers who used public transportation from 163
million in 1995 to 309 million in 2010.”

“Dubai was selected to host the UITP 59th World Congress and Exhibition because it is at the heart
of one of the most promising regions in terms of public transport development, namely the Middle-
East and North Africa region. It is one of our PTx2 champions,” said Hans Rat, UITP Secretary
General.
“For the industry, ‘PTx2’ is an excellent prospect which we support wholeheartedly because it will
generate more business and more jobs in our branch,” said Hartmut Schick, Head of Evobus,
Daimler Buses and Chairman of the UITP Industry Assembly.
The 59th UITP World Congress and Exhibition is taking place at the Dubai World Trade Center from
10 to 14 April 2011.

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Notes to Editors
UITP (International Association of Public Transport) is the international network for public transport authorities and
operators, policy decision-makers, scientific institutes and the public transport supply and service industry. It is a platform
for worldwide cooperation, business development and the sharing of know-how between its 3,400 members from 92
countries. UITP is the global advocate for public transport and sustainable mobility, and the promoter of innovations in the
sector. For more information, please visit www.uitp.org. For more information about the 59th UITP World Congress and
Mobility & City Transport Exhibition, please visit http://www.uitpdubai2011.org.

For more information about the Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai (RTA), please visit www.rta.ae.
UITP Press contact: Sarah D'Angelo | Press Junior Manager
Direct phone: +32 (0)2 6636639 | Fax: +32 (0)2 6601072 | sarah.dangelo@uitp.org