Public transportation is an essential element of the urban socio-economic infrastructure, which is ensuring people's safety and comfort in their quality of life. As part of the national and federal projects’ realization, special attention is paid to improving the accessibility and comfort of public transportation, as well as accelerating the pace of public transport fleet renewal in Russia's regions. The modernization of public transportation requires a radical digital transformation, the use of artificial intelligence and neural networks, and the associated conceptual improvement of the regulatory framework for implementing these objectives.

Public transport fleet.
Topics for discussion:

• Autonomous vehicles.
• Eco-friendliness of vehicles.
• Vehicle financing and acquisition schemes.

Digital transformation and the use of AI in public transport.
Topics for discussion:

• Electronic document management.
• Payment systems. Biometrics.
• Multimodality and seamlessness.
• Transportation services.

Digitalization of the transport industry today encompasses the implementation of smart traffic management systems, telematics, electronic document management, and mobility services (MaaS), which is already improving the safety and efficiency of transportation. In the long term, key areas will include development of autonomous transport, integration of AI for predictive analytics, creation of infrastructure "digital twins", and transition to carbon-neutral logistics through end-to-end digitalization of supply chains. This will not only reduce expenses and emissions, but also create a sustainable multimodal transport system adapted to growing urban agglomerations.

Discussion topics:

• Digital passenger services: Biometric identification (facial recognition in the metro); new payment methods (geolocation, virtual tickets); integration of services into
• a unified ecosystem (MaaS — Mobility as a Service);
• Social and economic effect of advanced technologies implementation in transport;
• Existing trends in digitalization of transport complex management in the regions, challenges and opportunities;
• Issues of regulatory framework for digitalization;
• Ensuring security at critical information infrastructure facilities;
• Improving road safety: the role of intelligent driver assistance systems in preventing road accidents;
• Infrastructure digitalization: intelligent transport systems (ITS) in urban agglomerations and other solutions.

Nowadays staff shortage in the transport industry is a systemic problem, which affects many Russian regions and shows itself in a lack of drivers, conductors and technical specialists. This results in disruption of scheduled bus running, increase of time gap between bus arrivals and bus overcrowding. Moreover, this also can cause the transporting system development slowdown and economic losses in the future. The situation requires complex approach on federal and regional levels, as without timely measures the problem can escalate, and this in turn will lead to further deterioration in the transport services’ quality.

Discussion topics:

• Changing the need for specialists and forming a new demand for the labor market. Changing the structure of staff demand in the conditions of digitalization and transition to "smart" transport;
• Professional and educational standards. What and how to teach young specialists for public transport field;
• Interaction between employers and universities, effective methods and strategies for eliminating the gap between theory and practice (collaborative internship and practice programs; participation of companies in the development of educational standards; establishment of basic departments and corporate training centers, etc.);
• Early career guidance: experience in realisation of "School – Secondary specialized educational institution – University – Employer" model;
• Improving the image of transport professions. New approaches and effective mechanisms. Experience of regions and major industry players;
• Interaction between employers and universities: monitoring of road transport industry labor market. Key competencies for launching training programs in regions;
• Actualization of educational programs to fit industry’s demands (digital skills, new bus fleet exploitation, UAV, intellectual transporting systems);
• Public perception of transport professions: sociological research data.

Modern technologies in manufacturing and maintenance of public transport fleet allow simultaneous reduction of operating costs, decrease in environmental impact and enhancement of transport reliability. Implementation of energy-efficient powertrains, including ones powered by alternative energy sources, digital monitoring systems and lightweight materials provide optimal balance between economic efficiency, environmental security, and service quality. Automation of processes and usage of ‘smart’ control systems increase vehicles’ service life and reduce the impact of human factors.

Discussion topics:

• Megalopolises’ experience in increasing of high environmental class vehicles usage.
• Development of infrastructure for public transport running on gas engine fuel.
• Development prospects: hydrogen transport, solar-powered cars, etc.
• Electrification and hydrogen technologies: a comparative assessment of economic efficiency and environmental impact of urban and trunk road transport.
• Lightweight composite materials in construction of public transport fleet – balance between weight reduction, production costs and safety requirements.
• Additive technologies in production of spare parts: the impact of 3D printing on repair time and warehouse logistics.