As part of their commitment to improving rural
mobility and supporting innovative transport solutions, Transport East is excited to host a
two-part webinar series showcasing pilot projects from the Catapult’s Rural
Transport Accelerator programme and Innovate UK’s Transport Decarbonisation
Demonstrators (TDD) programme.
Rural communities face unique transport
challenges, from limited connectivity to accessibility gaps. These sessions
will highlight how pioneering projects are tackling these issues and shaping
the future of rural mobility.
You are invited to attend the following webinars:
· Session 1: Thursday 13th November, 12:30pm – 2:00pm
· Session 2: Tuesday 18th November, 12:30pm – 2:00pm
The below links to join each webinar will go live
on the respective dates:
Session 1: 13 November,
12:30pm
Session 2: 18 November,
12:30pm
AGENDA
12:30 – Welcome and Introduction
Liz Metheringham, Head of Engagement – Integrated
Transport from Catapult and Sharon Payne, Regional Rural Transport Lead at
Transport East, will introduce Catapult’s Rural Transport Accelerator programme
and set the context for the session.
12:40 – Project Presentations
Speakers will share key insights at each session
focusing on innovative approaches to rural transport challenges.
Session 1 will
spotlight pilot projects from the Catapult’s Rural Transport Accelerator
programme, exploring solutions that make rural mobility smarter, greener, and
more inclusive:
· Jon Little (Beta Streets) – Engage 360: A collaborative street design tool built on a
game engine, making community engagement in street planning more accessible and
interactive.
· Emma Gibbons (YouSmartThing) – AI Travel Marketplace: A smart travel
planning platform offering curated, multimodal journey options that combine
demand-responsive transport (DRT), public transport, taxis, and active travel.
· Emily Macdonald (Intelligen) – powerPOD: A solar-powered, off-grid storage
and charging station designed specifically for Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs),
supporting sustainable rural mobility.
· Carl Hopkins (Civil Water Management) – Hydrotrench: A modular, permeable drainage
system made from recycled tyre rubber, addressing infrastructure resilience and
sustainability.
Session 2 will
highlight Catapult’s Rural Transport Accelerator programme pilot projects and
broadens the conversation with insights into social value evaluation of these
pilot projects, and initiatives from the TDD)programme:
· Tom McKenna (Alchera) –
Rural Travel Behaviour Model: Combining origin-destination data with
service reliability metrics to provide a detailed understanding of rural travel
patterns.
· Stevie Revill (Urban Tide) – uMove Rural: Integrating health and
transport data to map healthcare access and virtually test demand-responsive
transport (DRT) alternatives.
· Nick Devitt (Rural Design Centre) – Social Value assessment of Catapult’s Rural
Transport Accelerator programme pilot projects and their contribution to
community wellbeing.
· Jeremy Wolley (Paua Tech) – Part of the TDD project, exploring depot sharing and eHGV
project work to support sustainable freight in rural areas.
· Pooya Kamvari (Homerun) –
HomerunSTEP: Part of the TDD project, focusing on innovative approaches
to reducing emissions in rural transport.
13:30 – Q&A
We’ll open the floor for your questions. This is
your chance to engage directly with the project leads and learn more about
their work.
13:55 – Closing Remarks
We look forward to seeing you there. If you’re
unable to make the date and time, we will be recording and will share a link to
the webinar shortly after the event has taken place.
If you have any questions, please contact: Comms@transporteast.gov.uk
For anyone unable to attend, a recording of the webinar will be shared shortly afterwards.
