The Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS), founded in November 1994, aims to promote excellence in transportation research and practice, while fostering the exchange of knowledge and expertise across East Asia. Representing 19 countries/regions, EASTS holds a biennial international conference, with the most recent hosted in 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 16th EASTS conference will be held in Indonesia in 2025, organized by the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) in collaboration with Universitas Negeri Sebelas Maret (UNS), with support from the City of Surakarta and the Ministry of Transport Human Resource Development Agency (BPSDM). This event is scheduled to take place in Surakarta City from September 1-4, 2025. MTI, a non-profit organization established in 1995, unites transportation professionals from academia, government, and industry, with a mission to advance sustainable transportation in Indonesia. MTI has grown to include 22 chapters across Indonesia and has become a leading partner of the government in shaping transportation policy.

The theme of the 16th EASTS conference, Harnessing Local Wisdom and Green Technology to Build a Sustainable Transport Sector in East Asia, emphasizes the integration of traditional knowledge with advanced green technology to enhance the sustainability and resilience of the transportation sector. East Asia, with its rich cultural heritage and diverse traditions, offers a unique foundation to blend time-honored insights with cutting-edge innovations. However, this rich cultural knowledge and the values it embodies are increasingly overshadowed by rapid technological progress.

This conference aims to bridge this gap by exploring how local cultural insights can be harmoniously integrated with green technologies to create sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation solutions. By focusing on such synergies, the conference will provide a platform for creative minds to explore how traditional knowledge can inform and enrich the development of advanced technologies, contributing to a transportation sector that honors cultural heritage while embracing modern, eco-friendly innovations.

Ultimately, this theme seeks to balance the preservation of cultural values with the advancement of technology, creating a transportation sector that is both culturally meaningful and environmentally sustainable.