COMET meetings have been held virtually since April 2020! Due to COVID-19, all in-person meetings were moved online, with four types of virtual events: general meetings, regional meetings, study/KPI webinars, and expert workshops (focused on COVID-19).
Quarterly General Meetings were held in April, July, and October 2020 to partially replace the benchmarking group meetings, keeping metros informed on member latest developments and benchmarking work and business. The first regional virtual meeting was a Chinese-Speaking Metros Meeting in September, the first meeting in COMET history to have segments conducted directly in Mandarin (with consecutive translation for other parts). This meeting focused on regional benchmarking results and issues of local interest.
Two webinars on the topics of Noise and Vibration (September 2020) and KPI benchmarking (December 2020) reached a wider audience in metros. Finally, in response to COVID-19, two workshops on Planning to Restore Metro Operations (June 2020) and Funding and Financing (November 2020) were held for metros to share experiences and to discuss COMET research this year relating to COVID-19.
A full calendar of virtual events is planned for 2021.