The annual conference of the International Transport Economics Association (ITEA) was held at the University of Cantabria in Santander, Spain, from June 14-16, 2023. Participants of the conference are scientists and specialists in the field of transport economics. The Institute of Transport Economics of the University was represented by seven scientists. Tim Podleschny, Sebastian Specht and Dr. Jan Wessel presented their research work and received valuable input for future research in the exciting discussions.

A highlight of the conference was the award ceremony for the best papers, where Dr. Jan Wessel from the Institute of Transportation Science at WWU Münster was awarded the "Richard J. Arnott Best Paper by a Junior Researcher Prize". His research paper, titled "Space Wars - Finding an Economically Efficient Allocation of Street Space Across Different Transport Modes," examines the economically efficient allocation of street space. Through a theoretical model of transportation mode choice and extensive simulations for the cities of Berlin and New York City, the study shows that reallocating street space from cars and parking in favor of buses and especially bicycles can increase the economic efficiency of the transportation system. The paper thus makes an important contribution to the current debate on the distribution of road space.