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Last week, Kraków brought together all SUM Project Participants for the General Assembly (March 18–19, 2026), marking an important moment as we approach the project’s final phase. Day 1st focused on reflecting on our shared achievements, from key results and business plans to policy recommendations shaping the future of sustainable urban mobility. We also looked ahead, discussing dissemination efforts and how to ensure long-term value beyond the project’s lifetime. On Day 2nd, discussions turned into real-life experience as Participants visited the Kraków Living Lab at the Czerwone Maki multimodal hub. The visit provided a hands-on look at implemented solutions and was followed by updates from all Living Labs, highlighting tangible results and lessons learned across cities.

🚗💼 Our latest article in PLoS One dives into the ride-sourcing world. Platforms like Uber and Lyft hire drivers as independent contractors, offering flexible schedules but often resulting in low pay and poor working conditions. ⚖️ Minimum wage rules can boost drivers’ incomes, but they may also raise fares for passengers and threaten platform survival. Implementing a “lockout” strategy increases platform profits and some drivers’ earnings, yet many lose their jobs and service quality for passengers drops—highlighting the complex trade-offs in regulating ride-sourcing markets. Now available in open access

Who Will Optimize Traffic Jams of Autonomous Vehicles: Drivers, Algorithms, or Big Tech? Rafał will try to answer this question during his presentation at the Student IT Festival, this Thursday at the Auditorium Maximum of the Jagiellonian University. The presentation will also introduce the COeXISTENCE approach, which uses simulations, game theory, and reinforcement learning to test fleet strategies before large tech companies begin optimizing cities for their own KPIs.

🗞 This Saturday, join us for an exciting discussion on the future of urban mobility! On February 14, 2026, Rafal will be presenting at the AAAS Annual Meeting – Science @ Scale in Phoenix, Arizona. As part of a session organized by the European Research Council (ERC) alongside Cristina Grasseni, Monika Salzbrunn, and Silvia Grassi, they will explore “A Path to Building Better Cities”. Rafal’s talk highlights how Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), like Waymo, may affect urban systems as they scale up, sharing public space with “human road users”. Results range from cautious to optimistic, emphasizing the need for thoughtful safeguards in urban mobility. Don’t miss it – save the date and join us in shaping the cities of tomorrow! Presentation

Today, Rafał presents his recent research at the joint seminar of the Association for European Transport (AET) and the Central European Excellence in Transportation Research Association (CEETRA). In his talk, Rafał will introduce the concept of Post-Wardropian Urban Mobility Games with Connected Autonomous Vehicles, which summarizes key findings from our ERC COeXISTENCE project. The session will be co-presented with Roxani Gkavra and moderated by Jacek Pawlak. See slides here

We are thrilled to inform that the publication, first-authored by Michał Bujak, has been published in the European Journal of Operational Research 💣 In this article we propose a personalised pricing strategy for ride-pooling that integrates traveller behaviour with shared-trip economics to maximise expected profitability while reducing vehicle mileage through population heterogeneity. For our team, this is a gratifying culmination of a very hard-working year 🏋️