Leading Transit Voices Unite at CUTRIC's Low Carbon Smart Mobility and Rail Conference

The annual conference makes a post-pandemic return on November 28 - 30, 2022 at the Scarborough Convention Centre  Media accreditation is now open. Apply here 

TORONTO, Nov. 23, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), a non-profit organization that spearheads, designs, and launches technology and commercialization projects that advance next-generation zero-carbon mobility and transportation solutions across Canada, announces the Low Carbon Smart Mobility & Rail Conference. Joined by notable industry voices in Canadian and international transit, the Low Carbon Smart Mobility & Rail Conference is Canada's only conference that focuses specifically on zero-emission mass transit and smart rail technologies.

Shedding light on ways to achieve a net-zero future through transit solutions, the three-day conference aims to educate and mobilize industry champions, policymakers, planners, and integrators. The conference will include 50 speakers, 40 panels, technical tours across the GTHA, and approximately 250 attendees. Throughout the day, attendees will move through Q&As, panels, and experience endless networking opportunities while hearing about the most cutting-edge low-carbon smart mobility technology and solutions to the sector's most pressing industry challenges.

"With no end in sight to the war in Ukraine and a global economy bracing for more instability, it can be easy for sustainability and climate change concerns to take a back burner — but we must keep our eye on the target," says Josipa Petrunić, President & CEO of CUTRIC. "Not enough has been done to combat the growing issues of climate change. If we remain lax on taking action, unlivable climate conditions - from food insecurity to dirtier air quality - will quickly become the new normal worldwide."

"When world leaders convened recently for COP27, it was clear we had already failed as Canadians to deliver on our Paris climate commitments from years ago. Transit solutions, like low-carbon smart mobility and smart rail technology, can help us fix our ways. We know these solutions can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Implementing them on a large scale will help us achieve our climate change goals as a nation. Our conference is a celebration of what's been done to date in the transit space, while turning our attention to the heavy lifting we need to do in the next five years to solve the problem." 

Taking place at the Scarborough Convention Centre with options to attend virtually, the Low Carbon Smart Mobility & Rail Conference is comprised of two unique events targeting distinct topics:

• The Fourth Annual Low Carbon Smart Mobility Conference
  From the future of hydrogen fuel cell technologies and supply chain to renewable natural gas, this portion of the conference will tackle a variety of timely topics in the smart mobility space. This portion of the conference will also feature a special session presented by the Toronto Transport Commission (TTC). The must-see session will examine how Canada's largest transit system has successfully electrified its transit fleet and what transit agencies need to consider when embarking on the electrification journey. Other smart mobility speakers include:

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• Iqwinder Gaheer, Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Malton
• Eddie Robar, Branch Manager Fleet and Facility Services, Edmonton Transit
• Pierre Zivec, Vice President Performance, Safety and Digital, Transdev
• Richard Holder, Manager, Systems and Operations Integration, OC Transpo
• Mylene Tassy, Vice President Sales and Marketing, NovaBus

• The Third Annual Smart Rail Technology Conference
  Presenting the latest on industry and ridership trends coming out of the pandemic, this portion of the conference will showcase the new opportunities in the rail sector, including high-frequency rail vs. high-speed rail, cybersecurity in operations, sustainable hydrogen rail strategies, and battery electrification. Attendees will also hear a keynote from Sebastian Gendron, CEO and Founder of Transpod, who will present how his team is executing Canada's first proposed hyperloop between Calgary and Edmonton. Other speakers in smart rail include:

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• Peter Tuschinski, Head of Strategy for Product and Portfolio, Rolling Stock
• Eric Labarette, Rail Director, Transdev and CEO of Mobilinx Hurontario Services
• Ian Hodkinson, Head of Technical Sales and Marketing, Alstom
• Sebastian Gendron, Founder and CEO, Transpod
• Ivette Perez, President and CEO, CHFCA

The conference will also hear from a number of government officials including Minister Todd Smith, Minister Caroline Mulroney, Mayor John Tory via video message, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Julie Debrusin; Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Andy Fillmore; the Hon. Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport, and Associate Minister of Transportation Stan Cho.

CUTRIC's Low Carbon Smart Mobility & Rail Conference is made possible by TTC, ABB, NFI Group, and Transport Canada.

For more information about this year's conference, including ticket options visit www.CUTRIC-CRITUC.org/smart-mobility-conference/. Media can apply for accreditation here.

About CUTRIC
CUTRIC is a non-profit innovation consortium with a vision to make Canada a global leader in low-carbon smart mobility. Through industry-led collaborative research and large-scale technology integration trials, CUTRIC is working to achieve this goal by focusing on technology development, integration, and standardization of low-carbon propulsion systems and smart vehicle systems, data-driven analytics in mobility, and cybersecurity in transportation.

SOURCE Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC)

Media Contact, Kayla Ciaschi, Talk Shop Media, [email protected]