ITS Estonia and ITS Finland are undertaking a joint business delegation visit to the UK, aimed at strengthening collaboration in the field of smart mobility and logistics.

Taking place between 3 and 6 March, this mission will bring together key stakeholders from Estonia, Finland, and the UK to explore opportunities for innovation, partnerships, and business expansion in intelligent transport systems (ITS).

The delegation is participating in high-level industry events, targeted meetings, and networking receptions across London and Manchester, including participation at the Interchange 25 & ITS UK Conferences. The delegation will engage with UK transport authorities, smart mobility innovators, industry associations such as Tech UK and government representatives to explore new collaboration opportunities and will pay a visit to Connected Places Catapult.

Lili Kuusk, Head of ITS Estonia, highlighted the mission’s strategic value: “The UK business mission provides an excellent opportunity for Estonian and Finnish ITS companies to expand our networks, gain strategic insights into the UK market, and explore potential collaborations in intelligent transport solutions. By engaging with industry leaders and policymakers, we strengthen our shared vision for the future of mobility and smart transportation. Some of our ITS Estonia members are already active in the UK market, but we have such innovative solutions and products to offer that we are eager to introduce them on-site and further grow the presence of our companies in the region.”

Various stakeholders, including ITS UK, played a key role in organising the business delegation mission.

Max Sugarman, Chief Executive of ITS UK, commented: “ITS UK is delighted to be supporting the ITS Estonia and ITS Finland business mission, as we welcome them to our Annual Conference at Interchange. When it comes to ITS and intelligent mobility, the three nations have so much we can learn from one another—whether that’s better use of data, integrating our transport networks, or improving the efficiency of logistics and freight industries. We’re really looking forward to receiving these delegations and having the opportunity to share and learn from each other.”

Marko Forsblom, CEO of ITS Finland, emphasised the importance of collaboration: “As we embark on this business mission, we are pleased to see that the UK’s vision for the future of transport and mobility aligns closely with recent developments in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Sustainability and digitalisation are key drivers in shaping innovative and efficient mobility solutions in both markets. This Finnish-Estonian visit to the UK provides a valuable opportunity to explore these solutions in practice and identify potential areas for collaboration. Finnish and Estonian companies have the expertise to complement the needs of the UK’s transport and mobility sector, and we look forward to strengthening partnerships through our close cooperation with ITS UK.”

(Picture – ITS Finland and ITS Estonia)

The ERTICO City Moonshot initiative has reached a milestone, completing interviews with more than 215 cities and regions.

Building on this, the project has released a Focus On report, highlighting two key emerging trends: Electromobility and Urban Air Mobility (UAM). The report aims to inspire, engage, and empower cities and regions to embrace these transformative developments, paving the way for a more sustainable and connected future.

The City Moonshot initiative explores how cities worldwide are addressing current and future challenges in mobility and transport. Its mission is to deliver valuable insights directly from city representatives, aligning with ERTICO’s commitment to advancing urban mobility. As cities grow in importance as hubs for transporting people and goods, we strive to foster cooperative, balanced, seamless, and personalised mobility services. To achieve this, City Moonshot aims to interview 300 cities globally, creating a knowledge ecosystem that captures key trends, challenges, best practices, and success stories that can be scaled and replicated across regions.

Focus on Electromobility and UAM

The report delves into how cities are addressing two critical and emerging topics: Electromobility and Urban Air Mobility (UAM). It provides valuable insights into the challenges, priorities, and strategies that urban leaders are adopting to drive progress in these areas.

The electrification of mobility has emerged as a sustainable solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance air quality in urban environments, which is a priority for most surveyed cities. This transition toward cleaner, more environmentally friendly mobility spans various modes of transport, including private vehicles, public transit, and micromobility. Most cities reveal a clear commitment to electrification, often introducing plans to electrify municipal vehicle fleets. The adoption of Low Emission Zones (LEZ) and Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVAR) by most participating cities is playing a pivotal role in encouraging this shift. However, the availability of sufficient charging infrastructure remains a challenge, underscoring the need for further investment and planning to support the widespread adoption of electromobility solutions.

Another trend on the rise is Urban Air Mobility (UAM). While still in its very early stages, some testing initiatives are proving the capacity of UAM to complement existing mobility systems and introduce innovative delivery solutions, such as the transportation of medical supplies and equipment. One significant barrier to widespread adoption, particularly for passenger services, is cost. While we may not yet witness the transport of people via electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles, this innovative mode of transportation promises to deliver substantial societal benefits, including improved connectivity and faster delivery services. Further progress in regulatory frameworks and targeted awareness campaigns will be essential to enhance user acceptance and lay the groundwork for a future where UAM becomes a viable and integrated part of urban mobility systems.

Read the full report to explore all the insights

Scaling knowledge for smarter cities

The City Moonshot journey is steadily advancing. With ERTICO’s team collaboration, interviews are continuing to reach the goal of engaging 300 cities and regions. The insights gathered from these surveys will culminate in a Phase II report, which will integrate findings from both Phase I topics—Data Sharing, Sustainability, and Mobility as a Service (MaaS)—and the two new focus areas highlighted in this report: Electromobility and Urban Air Mobility.

“Through the City Moonshot initiative, we aim to provide cities with valuable perspectives on emerging trends like Electromobility and Urban Air Mobility. These insights reflect ERTICO’s commitment to supporting urban leaders as they explore innovative approaches to shaping sustainable and connected mobility ecosystems”, says Lidia Buenavida Peña, ERTICO Innovation and Deployment Manager leading City Moonshot.

The initiative’s results build on challenges identified within ERTICO’s projects, platforms, and roadmaps, providing actionable insights to address them. Our Partnership and peer associations have played a significant role in shaping the topics, offering valuable perspectives and amplifying the impact of the initiative.

The committees working to deliver the best possible technical content and visitor experience at the 2027 ITS World Congress in Birmingham have begun their work, beginning to draw up their plans for the prestigious global event.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), the Department for Transport, Department of Business and Trade, ITS UK and Visit Britain are collaborating with the organiser, ERTICO – ITS Europe to bring transport technology to life at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC).

The Technical Working Group, chaired by Andy Graham of White Willow Consulting, is looking at showcasing practical, business-as-usual ITS applications that demonstrate real-world benefits, such as carbon reduction and increased mobility.

The group is working on securing a range of demonstrations including examples of interventions and collaborative traffic management between local authorities and national highways, as well as the latest in autonomous vehicles, urban air mobility and accessibility by design.

“We’re looking at demonstrating examples of ITS that will have a lasting impact for all the people who use transport,” Mr Graham explained.  “We are working on running a competition for new ideas to be demonstrated at the World Congress, which gives innovative companies, both established and start-ups, the opportunity to showcase their innovations to a global audience, as well as attracting industries to the event that don’t normally consider ITS.”

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The 6^th German Tunnel Congress organized by ITS Germany e.V. will take place in Düsseldorf May 14^th and 15th, 2025. .

The Tunnel Congress is the leading industry meeting and congress in the field of road tunnels for planners, operators, equipment manufacturers and technicians as well as representatives from science and education.

We are delighted that the Transport Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Oliver Krischer, will speak about North Rhine-Westphalia’s road, bridge and tunnel renovation offensive.  

Prof Markus Oeser, President of the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), will give a presentation on the escape behaviour of tunnel users in the event of fire. 

In addition to these and many other carefully selected presentations, there will again be the opportunity  to find out about new products, services  and applications at the accompanying trade exhibition.

An  excursion to three road tunnels in Düsseldorf and to the Traffic and Tunnel Control Center (VTLZ) is also on the agenda.

The congress language is German.

Get your ticket now!

You can find further information about the congress and program on the event website:  www.tunnelkongress2025.de  . 

We look forward to welcoming you to Düsseldorf.