The nine cities of Bielefeld, Darlington, Dublin, Frankfurt (through RMV), Eindhoven, Liège, Lille, Nantes and Southend intend to give a fresh “Boost for Advanced Public Transport Systems in NWE” – BAPTS. Public Transport (PT) is the most rational means to access work, learning and leisure for millions of citizens in NWE every day.

In order to better utilise this enormous potential, the BAPTS mission is to implement an integrated package of high-quality public transport systems and services as models for efficient, accessible and sustainable mobility in NWE. Nine regional centres from six countries will address the NWE programme objectives to optimise capacity, to increase effectiveness through multi-modal systems, and to develop innovative approaches to the use of ICT (priority 3).

BAPTS will focus on integrated solutions for the key challenges on the "NWE mobility agenda":

1. Strengthening efficiency and complementarity of existing PT systems - by promoting multimodality and interoperability.
2. Fostering cohesion - through cross-sectoral cooperation and integrated planning approaches.
3. Promoting innovative PT solutions and improving efficiency - by targeted marketing and implementing “smart choices” (soft-measures).
4. Enhancing regional innovation capacity and competitiveness - through widespread use of intelligent transport systems (ITS).
5. Facilitating regional innovation and knowledge exchange - through emphasising transregional learning and dissemination.

Cooperation of all relevant stakeholders will ensure that the BAPTS final products meet the travellers’ needs and the policy requirements of the NWE cities. BAPTS results will be model solutions for NWE and will be widely disseminated. Clean, accessible and effective PT is the precondition for competitive and growing regions. BAPTS will help to make them attractive places to live and work, as well as addressing EU strategic and global challenges.