What do Portugal, Hungary and the Netherlands have in common? These countries are all stops on the tour of the International Digital Roadshow of BUS2BUS. In the run-up to BUS2BUS as an on-site event in Berlin from 27 to 28 April 2022, the BUS2BUS team is touring Europe over the next few months. Together with mobility experts, their aim is to examine and discuss the future of mobility.

Kerstin Kube-Erkens, Senior Product Manager for BUS2BUS: “We are inviting the bus industry to the BUS2BUS Roadshow to examine a key question: what are the innovations, developments and challenges the various countries face in order to satisfy their customers’ demands and reach their climate targets?“

Kerstin Kube-Erkens, Senior Product Manager for BUS2BUS

BUS2BUS wants to kick off a discussion about how the design of buses and personalising them can raise public awareness, in an effort to make them more attractive and perhaps ensure that more and more people discover buses as their mode of transport, one that is climate-friendly too. As the trade show for bus industry innovations, BUS2BUS has concentrated this approach in the Fresh Travel segment. Fresh Travel, design, electromobility, today’s customer demands and the search for more sustainable forms of transport are relevant topics in many countries, which makes the BUS2BUS Roadshow attractive and fascinating for international audiences too. The events are held in English.

On 15 October 2021 the roadshow’s first stop was Portugal, where an international panel of experts discussed “How do we want to travel by bus tomorrow?" The following panel members were invited by BUS2BUS: José Rui Marcelino, CEO and Design Manager of Almadesign; Paulo Lourenço Marques, CTO, CaetanoBus; Mark Pfeiffer, Director of Markets, Lantal Textiles AG; Luca Bortolani, CEO, Twiliner; and Sofia Ferreira, Journalist, Green Future AutoMagazine. Moderating the event was Kerstin Kube-Erkens, Senior Product Manager for BUS2BUS.

“We find bus innovations and designs very exciting. Buses provide an opportunity for personalisation unlike any other form of transport. With new comfort features such as our sleeping modules we can make the bus industry even more attractive“, said Luca Bortolani, Managing Director of the startup Twiliner. José Rui Marcelino, Managing Director and Design Manager at Almadesign, added: “Design always appeals to emotions too. If we can make bus design improve passengers’ sense of well-being, we will also increase trust and acceptance of this type of transport, in both public transit and bus tourism.“

The roadshow’s next stop is Hungary on 4 November 2021. The topics there will be how to achieve zero-emissions public transport in Hungarian cities by 2022 (the Green Bus Program), and the opportunities and challenges facing the bus industry. How far have Hungarian cities come in switching to alternative drives? Among those debating this topic will be Attila Steiner, State Secretary for the Development of the Circular Economy, Energy and Climate Policy at the Hungarian Ministry for Innovation and Technology; Zoltán Sipos, CEO of Electrobus Europe, and Gellért Patthy, Author of the trade magazine Magyarbusz. The event will be moderated by Thorsten Wagner, Freelance Journalist from the press office TWAmobility. The speakers will examine the overall political situation. This roadshow stop will also offer an insight into manufacturers’ perspectives and explain how operators are preparing for the transition. To register for the roadshow in Hungary you can click here now.

On 11 November the BUS2BUS Roadshow will stop in the Netherlands. The Dutch edition of the BUS2BUS Digital Roadshow will focus on new ideas for bus tourism and long-distance travel. How can bus companies make up the shortfall in high-quality, up-to-date services in areas outside big cities? How can one improve transport between cities and rural areas in order to make living and working outside the cities borders more attractive? What must the relevant mobility concepts look like? How can manufacturers and startups help to create modern and eco-friendly services tailored to various audiences’ needs? Among those debating these questions will be Carlo Cahn, Secretary General of Royal Dutch Transport (KNV), Dr. Stefan Carsten, Futurist, Mobility Researcher and Urban Geographer, as well as a representative of a large bus manufacturer from the Netherlands. To register for the roadshow in the Netherlands you can click here now.

About BUS2BUS
BUS2BUS, Germany’s only independent business platform for the bus and supply industry, was launched in 2017. More than 1,700 trade visitors from 34 countries and 103 exhibitors from 13 countries took part in BUS2BUS 2019. Combining a trade show, bdo Congress and the Future Forum as well as BUS2Specials, it covers a wide range of future oriented technologies and features the bus industry’s latest trends and innovations. The next BUS2BUS will take place from 27 to 28 April 2022 in Berlin.