TRANSPORTOKONOMISK INSTITUTT

Their core work

TOI (Institute of Transport Economics) is Norway's leading transport research centre, specializing in the economic, safety, and environmental dimensions of transport systems. They conduct applied research on urban logistics, road safety, automated vehicles, and multimodal mobility — producing evidence that directly informs Nordic and European transport policy. Their work spans from crash causation analysis and vulnerable road user protection to zero-emission urban freight and mobility-as-a-service concepts, bridging the gap between transport engineering research and real-world planning decisions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), TOI focused heavily on transport safety — crash causation, injury prevention, vulnerable road users, and virtual crash testing protocols. From 2019 onward, their portfolio shifted decisively toward urban mobility futures: automated vehicles, zero-emission logistics, mobility hubs, and multimodal transport integration. This evolution reflects a move from understanding transport harm to designing the next generation of urban transport systems.

TOI is moving toward integrated urban mobility — expect them to pursue projects combining automated vehicles, zero-emission freight, and multimodal hub design in future calls.

How they like to work

TOI operates almost exclusively as a consortium partner (12 of 13 projects), contributing specialized transport economics and behavioural research rather than leading large initiatives. Their single coordination — CITYLAB, their largest project at EUR 860K — was in urban logistics, their strongest domain. With 215 unique partners across 32 countries, they are a well-networked but non-dominant player, easy to integrate into diverse consortia without competing for leadership.

TOI has collaborated with 215 distinct partners across 32 countries, indicating a broad European network built through steady participation in large RIA consortia. Their reach extends well beyond the Nordic region, positioning them as a reliable partner across the full EU transport research landscape.

What sets them apart

TOI brings a distinctive transport economics perspective that most technical transport labs lack — they evaluate not just whether a solution works, but whether it makes economic and behavioural sense. Their combination of safety research, automated vehicle user studies, and urban logistics gives them a rare ability to assess new mobility concepts from multiple angles simultaneously. As a Norwegian institute outside the EU but deeply embedded in H2020, they also bring a Nordic policy perspective valued in Scandinavian-led consortia.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CITYLAB
  TOI's only coordinated project and their largest (EUR 860K), focused on city logistics living labs — demonstrates their leadership capability in urban freight research.
• MOVE21
  Their most recent and forward-looking project, combining multimodal mobility hubs, zero-emission transport, and micro-mobility — signals their current strategic direction.
• BuildERS
  Their largest funding as participant (EUR 694K) and an unusual departure into security/resilience, showing cross-sector versatility beyond pure transport.