Meeting Belgrade
Location and Dates
The Belgrade meeting of COST TU1406 Action entitled “An overview of Key Performance Indicators across Europe and Overseas – The main findings from WG1 and other contributions from WG2 and WG3” will be held from the 30th March 2016 until 1st April 2016 at the Metropol Palace hotel in Belgrade, Serbia.
The venue is located near the Faculty of Civil Engineering and it is only 20 minutes of walk form the city centre. This five-star hotel, which was built in 1973 and renovated in 2010, has already hosted various international and domestic conferences.
The hotel’s infrastructure offers a spacious and unique lobby, pleasant lounge area and other gathering spaces. Three conference rooms (Nikola Tesla A, B, C) are at disposal for the COST meeting.
Metropol Palace Belgrade Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 69 11000 Beograd Phone: +381 11 3333 100 Fax: +381 11 3333 300 GPS Coordinates: 44.806477 (lat) 20.473269 (long) How to get to Metrol Palace The venue is located 20 km from the Belgrade international airport “Nikola Tesla” (BEG). It is most conveniently reachable by a taxi ride from the airport to the venue takes approx. 25 minutes (blue path in Figure 1).The ride with the airport shuttle bus (Mini bus line A1) takes about 30 minutes to the “Slavija” square from where you may take public transport to the venue (approx. 10min). Many car rental companies operate at the airport. Highway is connecting airport with the city. In general, payment by credit cards in public transport vehicles, taxis and shuttles is not possible. Thus, it is IMPORTANT to exchange some money to the local currency before leaving the airport in order to pay for the transport. The local currency is Serbian dinar i.e. RSD (1 EUR approx. = 122 RSD).
Figure 1. Travelling from the airport to the venue
Taxi transport from the airport: On arrival, after you claim your baggage and pass the customs zone, look for a taxi booth. It is located next to the Arrivals exit. State the address and/or name of your hotel and receive a written confirmation rate for the ride. You do not pay at the booth, but directly to the driver upon arrival on your address. On the Arrivals exit, there is a taxi station where you may enter a first free vehicle. The price for the ride to the broader city centre i.e. second zone is 1800 RSD – approx. 15 EUR, and you should ask the driver for the receipt. This price is per car, not per passenger. Public transport from the airport: The airport shuttle (Mini bus line A1) is available on the Arrivals exit. It leaves every 20 minutes from the airport to the “Slavija” square (the last stop). The tickets are bought inside a bus and the price is 300 RSD (approx. 2.5EUR). Upon arriving at the square, look for a news stand where you may purchase the public transport card (BUS PLUS single ticket valid for 1.5 hours – 89 RSD = 0.8EUR). Wait for trams No. 2/10/3 or 14 at the stop: “Trg Slavija” (stations are not in the same spot) and enter in the direction towards the roundabout. Exit on the very next stop (after the tram goes on top of the hill) and you will be within 100m from the Hotel (Figure 2).
Figure 2. From “Slavija” square to the venue
Transport from the Railway/Bus station: Upon arriving at the Railway or Bus station, call a taxi service (see General Information). The ride takes about 10 minutes and fare should be about 400 RSD (approx. 3.5 EUR). Alternatively, look for a news stand where you may purchase the public transport card (BUS PLUS single ticket valid for 1.5 hours – 89 RSD = 0.8EUR). Wait for trams No. 2, 3 or 7 (stations are not in the same spot) and enter in the direction towards the roundabout “Slavija“ square. From the railway station, if you enter trams 2/3 or 7, ride for two or three stations respectively to reach the hotel (Figure 3).
Figure 3. From Railway/Bus station to the venue
Figure 4.The venue’s surroundings
Transport within the city: The relevant public transport lines which have arrival stations (yellow colour in Figure 4.) in the vicinity of the venue: Buses No. 26, 27 Trams No. 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14 From the venue, the city centre is easily reachable on foot (approx. 20 min of walking) or with the public transport Bus No. 26, 27 (blue colour in Figure 4.): Buses No. 26, 27 / enter at the station near the Faculty of Law, exit on the second station – „Terazije“. It is the station which is just after you pass the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia on the right. General information (Please read carefully): - All cash payments are realized solely in local currency RSD - dinars (1 EUR approx. = 122 RSD) - Payment by credit cards in public transport vehicles, taxis and shuttles is not possible - For using the public transportation you need to purchase a BUS PLUS Card - Taking the taxi near the railway station/bus station should be avoided due to the possibility of fraud. Instead, call a taxi service (e.g. +381 1119801 – Belgrade Taxi, +381 1119803 – Pink Taxi Useful websites: http://www.beograd.rs/cms/view.php?id=220; - general info about Belgrade http://www.tob.rs;http://www.traveltoserbia.net/ - general info about Serbia, sightseeing... https://www.busplus.rs/page-servisi.php - public transport information http://www.beg.aero/en/strana/8871/from-belgrade-airport - additional airport - taxi information http://www.beg.aero/en/strana/8811/autobus - additional airport shuttle informationObjectives
The objectives of the WG meeting are to develop a common understanding of the aims and ideas of COST Action TU1406 within the Action network and their dissemination.Further and according to the Scientific Work Plan, the WG meeting aims at the characterization of WP-s and their interaction, in particular of WP1, bridge performance indicators, WP2, target values, and WP3, quality control plans.This meeting has several objectives, such as:
- to initiate a discussion upon the systematizing of knowledge on quality control plans for bridges in order to achieve an overall state-of-art report;
- to establish a wide set of quality specifications aiming to assure an expected performance level;
- to collect and contribute to up-to-date knowledge on PI-s, including technical, environmental, economic and social indicators;
- to develop detailed examples for practicing engineers on the assessment of PI-s as well as in the establishment of performance goals, to be integrated in the developed guidelines;
- to make a scientific discussion on proposed PI-s and criteria, for clustering and organizing the PIs with respect to the different life phases and assessment levels of road bridges and to provide final comments/suggestions by participants;
- to present the results of WG1, in particular the results of survey on performance indicators;
- to present the comparison of PI-s throughout Europe and suggest a common set of PI-s;
- to present the results of WG2, in particular the definitions of PG-s and their relations to PI-s;
- to present the results of WG3, in particular the general framework for QC plans and the corresponding questionnaire focusing on triggering criteria for maintenance actions throughout Europe;
- to allow participants to present some contributions relevant for a specific WG (e.g. their experiences related to other PI research activities, etc.);
- to allow participants to present themselves their scientific work in form of poster sessions.
Programme
The detailed programme is provided in the meeting booklet.
Registration
Costs and Reimbursement
COST organization provides a certain amount of financial means for organizing such meetings and to reimburse participants. This includes for example accommodation costs, meals, transport expenses, etc.. For more information about travel reimbursement request please visit the following webpage.
Since Management Committee members, WG leaders, and invited speakers are automatically included, a limited number of other participants will be reimbursed due to the limited financial funds available. Remaining seats for reimbursement will be given to highly suitable applicants and early applications will be assigned priority.
Contributions and Templates
Accomodation
The local organizers suggest using the following listed hotels for accommodation, conveniently located nearby the venue.
Metropol Palace ***** (the venue) Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 69, 11000 Beograd Tel.: +381 11 3333 100 Fax: +381 11 3333 300 Holiday Inn Express Belgrade - City*** (15 min of walking to venue) Ruzveltova 23, 11000 Beograd Tel.: +381 11 4144670 Fax: +381 Zira Hotel Belgrade**** (17 min of walking to venue) Ruzveltova 35, 11000 Beograd Tel.: +381 11 3314 800 Fax: +381 11 3314 701Accommodation prices (EUR) per hotel are summarized in the following table.
| HOTEL | Rank | Applicable Rate for Single Occupancy | Applicable Rate for Double Occupancy | City Tax Rate per Person per Night (approx.) | Breakfast Rate per Person per Night | |
| 29.03 to 2.04 | 29.03 to 2.04 | |||||
| Metropol Palace | 5¬ | 85,00 | 95,00 | 1,5 | Incl. | |
| Holiday Inn Express Belgrade - City | 3¬ | 55,00 | 60,00 | 1,5 | Incl. | |
| Zira Hotel Belgrade | 4¬ | 70,00 | 80,00 | 1,5 | Incl. |
Rooms with special price will be available for a limited time for the participants through the following accommodation request forms, which are available on a first come first serve basis. That means that if there is no more standard room available, the hotel will give you a bigger room for an expensive price. The listed price is in EUR, but you will be charged in local currency (1 EUR approx. = 122 RSD). The suggested hotels, which are near the venue, are Holiday Inn Express Belgrade City and Zira Hotel Belgrade.
