From 16th to 19th April 2018 the Transport Research Arena 2018 (TRA 2018) brought researchers, companies and public authorities to Vienna, to generate new space for discussions and collaborations on “A digital era for transport – solutions for society, economy and environment”. BCSSS Managing Director Stefan Blachfellner gratefully accepted the invitation of the European Commissioner for Mobility and Transport, Violeta Bulc. Stefan Blachfellner functioned as Special Adviser to the Commissioner from 2016 to 2018. The BCSSS representative experienced TRA 2018 as an extraordinary point for departure for future discussions and further potentials for an integrated systems view on mobility and transport systems design. Next to the ability to further contacts with representatives of the European Commission, public authorties in Austria and research colleagues from all over Europe, he was also able to evaluate the essential recommendations in his final report to the European Commission. The exhibited research and practice projects strenghtend the foundation for the general systems view of a European Transport Eco-System and its potential implications as reported by Blachfellner.

Stefan Blachfeller (Managing Director, BCSSS), in the front, Violeta Bulc (European Commissioner for Mobility and Transport) and Martin Russ (Managing Director, AustriaTech) at TRA 2018 (from left to right) Transport Research Arena (TRA) 2018: Exhibition Opening © AustriaTech/Zinner