Thredbo19: Thredbo International Conference Series on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport Old University Building, University of Malta Valletta, Malta, September 13-17, 2026

The 18th conference of the International Conference Series on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport (The Thredbo Series) will be held in Valletta, Malta from 13 to 17 September 2026. The conference is being hosted by the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the University of Malta in conjunction with the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at the University of Sydney Business School.

The Thredbo Conference Series has garnered a formidable reputation for being the premier international forum dedicated to the analysis and debate of competition and ownership issues in land passenger transport. This influential forum attracts high quality participation and delivers a large portfolio of impressive material synthesising developments not only from developed economies but increasingly from developing economies. The Conference Series is aimed at a broad audience of policy makers, planners, decision makers on infrastructure and service operators, consultants, researchers, academics and students. As with past conferences, Thredbo 19 will feature plenary sessions and a series of intensive workshops based around keynote papers and a series of resource papers providing a range of international perspectives on each issue. The Thredbo Conference Series is, first and foremost, about our delegates and their contributions. Through their thoughtful insights and the papers they prepare and present, informed discussions transpire which lead to the final Conference report.

Conference Website

Workshops

• Papers are invited that address one of the following nine workshop themes of the conference.
• Full details of each workshop may be viewed here.

  • Workshop 1a,b: Resetting Bus Contracts After 40 Years of Experience

  • Workshop 2: Efficient Design and Planning of Public Transport, Including Relevant Integration with Shared Modes and New Technologies

  • Workshop 3: Urban Transport Planning in Rapidly Developing Cities

  • Workshop 4: Technological Innovation Implementation, Big Data, AI in Transport Planning for Achieving Sustainable Public Transport Outcomes

  • Workshop 5: Competition and Ownership of Public Transport

  • Workshop 6: Transportation in Rural and Regional Areas

  • Workshop 7: Emerging Practice in Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport – Developing the Informal Sector for Better Outcomes

  • Workshop 8: Does Integrated Modal Mobility Have a Future?

  • Workshop 9: Micromobility and Active Travel in Urban Transport

Submission Guidelines

All papers must be original and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or conference. 

Abstracts of no more than 500 words are to be submitted by 31 January 2026.

Please note the following rules for abstract submission:

• The maximum word length for abstracts is 500 words.
• All abstracts must be prepared in English.
• Multiple abstract submissions are permitted, however, only one oral presentation will be invited per delegate.
• Only papers with an author who is a registered delegate and is able to present the paper will be included in the conference program.
• Please check your data carefully before submitting; changes or additions will not be accepted after submission.

Abstracts will be reviewed by the conference program committee and authors notified of the outcome by the start of March 2026. Authors who submit an abstract with particular merit and fit to broad conference themes may be invited to prepare a paper for a plenary presentation. Full papers will need to be submitted by 1 July 2026. Late papers will not be considered. Each paper must be prepared in Word using the template and guidelines provided and written in good English. Papers that fail to follow these instructions will not be included in the conference program. Ten minutes will be allowed for presentation of each paper, with a maximum of ten PowerPoint slides

Local organising committee

• Professor Maria Attard (Chair) Faculty of Arts, University of Malta

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to rebecca.connell@sydney.edu.au