Truck & Bus World Forum in Lyon

Between 12 & 14 December, Lyon will become

the world's capital of trucks and buses. And it's a name that the city, birthplace of Berliet which then became Renault Trucks, can legitimately claim as its own. Over three days, Lyon's Cité Internationale will host the first edition of the Truck & Bus World Forum, an event launched by ERAI (Entreprise Rhône-Alpes International).

"The idea is to make this forum like a mini-Davos within the truck and bus sector, bringing together the majority of industry decision makers from across the globe to reflect on the following problem: " Transport for a better life ", explains Emmanuel Piegay, the project's director and head of the car division of ERAI. "We're expecting between 500 and 550 participants from

about 10 countries".

In order to set up this event, which will be held every other year in Volvo's home city of Gothenburg, the Région Rhône-Alpes (of which ERAI is a product), Grand Lyon and state authorities have created a steering committee involving notably Lyon Urban Truck & Bus which is successful nationally, as well as Rhône-Alpes Automotive Cluster, Renault Trucks, Irisbus, Inoplast, MGI Couttier, l'INRETS, l'Institut Français du Pétrole and Keolis. 500,000 euros have been put into organising the forum, and the cost of entry is 820 euros per participant.

"What we're looking for is the space and opportunity for international decision makers to debate various issues, in particular the problems created by transport whether congestion in towns and cities or its effect on climate change," adds Emmanuel Piegay. "These problems will only be resolved by attacking the root of the problem, by creating alliances and working together across the board. Increasing urbanisation and the way fleet vehicles are employed will also have to be looked at, with the aim of finding more relevant and efficient strategies that can be put in place".

It's worth noting that today, road transport carries 70% of the total volume of goods transported throughout Europe and 90% of the total market value. At the same time, the different modes of transport and their use are heavily impacted by issues linked to dwindling energy resources, emission of pollutants and increasingly serious urban congestion. The aim is to develop vehicles and transport systems that are more efficient, with better performance, and that are capable of responding both to growing economic demands on them as well as to the need for sustainable development.

Under the presidency of Jean-Jack Queyranne, chairman of the Région Rhône-Alpes, Gérard Collomb, chairman of Grand Lyon, and Daniel Gouffé, chairman of ERAI, Truck & Bus World Forum will bring together all the vehicle manufacturers, parts manufacturers, fleet operators within the public transport and goods sectors, politicians, city planners, international institutions, university professors, researchers and experts plus other media representatives. This audience will be able to listen to the debate by about 60 international speakers and will also be able to discuss directly with them. Eight of the world's main vehicle manufacturers will participate in the day-long events, including Volvo Bus, Renault Trucks, Man, Iveco, Scania, Irisbus, the Chinese company Dong Feng and American company Navistar.

The forum conferences will be on the following themes: public and goods transport in urban areas using intelligent vehicles; invoicing for mobility, sustainable development and economic imperatives; the American and Asian markets.