Hello Margareta Friman...

Director of Samot, The Service and Market Oriented Transport Research Group at Karlstad University. After almost ten years of operation it is now time to sum up and look at the future. What happens to Samot now?

Right now we are mobilizing for the future. It is important to capitalize on the knowledge and networks that have been formed during the 10-year period. It has been an amazing journey and efforts from many parties. We have built strong foundation for research on transport with focus on service research, we have implemented parts of our research and created new networks, and constellations in Swedish public transport. We have come a long way, but this is only the beginning. In order to secure the future, we are working on different fronts. What takes the most time at the moment is to organize for and writing an application to Vinnova for an extension of Samot in the form of a new competence center. We are very hopeful for the future and I think Samot, as well as many other centers who are in the same situation will exist in the future in one form or the other.
About Samot
Samot was established in 2006 and is a VINN-Excellence Center, a form of collaboration between industry, government and universities, established by Vinnova. The initiative is supported by Vinnova until autumn 2016. The center conducts research on how public transport is perceived and used, and how to get more people to choose public transport and its task to deliver scientifically based knowledge that can be the basis for changes in the industry. For more information, please visit the website samot.kau.se.