Smart Transportation in Transition is a webinar series by the Israel Smart Transportation Research Center (ISTRC) that presents emerging research, methods, and applications in smart mobility. The webinar series aims to create a forum for discussing how transportation systems are changing in response to emerging technologies, behavioral shifts, sustainability goals, policy needs, and evolving mobility patterns. The series seeks to connect academic research with real-world transportation challenges and to encourage dialogue across disciplines and sectors.

WEBINAR NO. 1: Behavioral, Structural and Policy Opportunities and Challenges in Getting Long-Distance Passenger Travel On-Track

DATE
July 14, 2026

TARGET AUDIENCE
Smart Transportation Researchers and Practitioners

SPEAKER
Prof. Oded Cats - Head of the Department of Transport and Planning, Co-leader of the Smart Public Transport Lab - Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

FACILITATOR
Dr. Rui Yao - Tenure-track Assistant Professor - Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

DESCRIPTION
Long-distance travel (>100km) in the European context accounts for about 2.5% of the trips but amounts to 55% of all travelled kilometers. Even though rail is considered to be a significant alternative to car and air in this travel category, its market share ranges between 6 and 12% for domestic and cross-border travel, respectively. In this talk we will discuss several related developments in relation to travel behavior, network and service design, and policy interventions - ranging from mobility credits to flight bans. Spoiler alert: we will see that current behavioral trends, network investments and policy measures fall short of achieving the intended goals.