All posts by Paul Hutton

The organisers of the major Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress in Birmingham in October 2027 have proposed four thematic areas that the event will concentrate on.

They’re around humanising safe, smart, multi-modal mobility, a sustainable resilient planet, breakthrough technology for the next era of transport and business strategies to fuel growth, prosperity and quality of life.

These four thematic areas will underpin the technical programme, demonstrations and exhibitions.  They were chosen after an in-depth review of the ITS industry by experts from organisers ERTICO – ITS Europe and hosts Transport for West Midlands in consultation with the Congress International Programme Committee (IPC).

The “Humanising safe, smart multi-modal mobility for thriving inclusive communities” stream will look at people-centred and accessible ITS; equity and inclusivity through technology; user preferences, safety, security, privacy, data ethics and emerging trends in user-focussed design; and a more humane and beneficial transport experience.

Included in the “Enabling a sustainable, resilient planet through responsible development and operation” theme are global environmental sustainability and connectivity; decarbonization, clean energy, and sustainable logistics within a circular economy; intelligent traffic management, data-driven strategies, and efficient operations; optimising systems for sustainable and resilient transport; and balancing environmental aims with operational efficiency.

Meanwhile for the “Breakthrough technology pioneering the next era of mobility” subject, areas include transformative potential of advanced ITS technologies;

connected and automated multimodal transport, advanced digital infrastructure and connectivity, intelligent and autonomous systems development; simulation and modelling; emerging and advancing technologies such as Quantum, AI and VR; and next generation of transport solutions for road, rail, air and maritime.

Finally the “Business strategies that fuel growth, drive economic prosperity and enhance our quality of life” topics include economic and business aspects of ITS development and deployment; ITS market dynamics and economic impact, innovative ITS business models and service delivery, funding, investment, and collaboration strategies; data monetization and value creation and sustainable and profitable business models that support the growth and adoption of ITS technologies.

“We’re keen to discuss and showcase the value of ITS in everyone’s day-to-day lives, and not just have a talking shop of nice ideas,” explained Chris Lane of Transport for West Midlands, who is overseeing the region’s preparations for the event.  “I’m confident that these four thematic areas deliver that and will give real value to everyone coming to Birmingham for the Congress so transport authorities will find solutions to save money, improve safety or boost efficiency, while the supply chain will learn new opportunities to boost their bottom lines.”

Rita Bhandari, Senior Manager, Programme & Knowledge Integration at ERTICO added: “The International Programme Committee has shaped themes that reflect the issues highest on the global mobility agenda. Their expertise ensures a Programme built around priority areas where innovation can translate into real deployment and deliver measurable benefits for society.”

Companies looking to take part in the Congress can download a brochure outlining the commercial opportunities, while the IPC, which includes experts representing ITS America and ITS Asia-Pacific, prepares to launch the call for contributions for papers and special interest sessions next October.

This will be the first time in 21 years that the UK has hosted the Congress, after it was held in London in 2006.  The 33rd ITS World Congress takes place at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham from 25 to 29 October 2027 and is expected to welcome more than 15,000 people from around the world.

(Picture – TfWM)

We have content from both sides of this vast country, as we include some interviews we couldn’t squeeze into our programmes from the ITS Australia Summit last week, plus head to Perth to look at cutting edge solutions in the really go-ahead state of Western Australia.

These podcasts are brought to you thanks to the support of TomTom, Nicander, AGD Systems Australia, TraceMark Flow an NGIS Solution, Westcotec and TRL.

Today Paul Hutton reports again from Australia and talks to one of the world’s leading experts in automated vehicle technology, and to AGD about growing the business Down Under, and also how to best work together when you’re 10 thousand miles apart.  He also learns about Deloitte’s new planning tool and about major event in New Zealand that’s come up.  Meanwhile in Perth we hear from the state of Western Australia embracing vast amounts of technology to manage a busy city area, as well as a vast amount of space, and what happens when a big event taking place doesn’t last as long as expected.

Subscribe to Highways Voices free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or Pocket Casts and never miss an episode!

Today’s guests are:

• Professor Michael Milford – Director of the QUT Centre for Robotics
• Stuart Douglas – MD of AGD Systems Australasia
• Andy Humphries – MD of MAV Systems
• Muneeb Shaikh – Technical Sales Representative at AGD Systems Australasia
• Alex Hendrick – Manager Real Time Traffic Operations at Main Roads Western Australia
• Michael Priest – Network Operations Major Events Manager at Main Roads Western Australia
• Jacob Vidulich – Software Engineer at Deloitte
• Antony Dixon – Chair of ITS New Zealand

On the final day of the ITS Australia Summit on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Paul Hutton talks to more speakers, exhibitors and thought leaders here on Highways Voices, as we discuss global issues and why the US state of Michigan, the birthplace of the American automotive industry, is represented here to explain how it’s transitioning into a leader in connected, automated and electrified transport.

These podcasts are brought to you thanks to the support of TomTom, Nicander, AGD Systems Australia, TraceMark Flow an NGIS Solution, Westcotec and TRL.

Westcotec tell us how technology can change behaviour, not punish it, while Nicander show off their brand new product using dash cams to quickly and accurately update asset registers.

We also hear about better network management with NGIS and look ahead to when the UK welcomes Australia and the world to Birmingham in 2027, and why Australians should be part of it.

Subscribe to Highways Voices free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or Pocket Casts and never miss an episode!

Today’s guests are:

• Michele Mueller, Manager Connected and Automated Vehicles and Electrification at Michigan Department of Transportation
• Olly Samways, Sales Director at Westcotec
• Sam Brierley, Business Development Manager at Nicander
• Oliver Looker, General Manager, Location Intelligence at NGIS
• Chris Lane, Head of Transport Innovation at Transport for West Midlands (UK)
• Angelos Amditis, Chair of Supervisory Board at ERTICO and Chair of ITS Greece
• Susan Harris, CEO of ITS Australia

(Picture shows Susan Harris and Paul Hutton – Highways News)

We’re back on the Gold Coast for Day Two of the ITS Australia Summit, discussing how the future of vehicle safety is moving beyond the vehicle itself thanks to the embracing of C-ITS technologies and how connected data is transforming how roads and emergencies are managed.

In today’s podcast, Paul Hutton talks to AGD Systems, TRL, TomTom, QUT and more, as they share innovations ranging from pedestrian-safety detection and crowd-sourced asset management to automated vehicles in remote regions and the future of large-scale mapping, plus how Brisbane could learn from the London Olympics 2012 as it prepares to host the 2032 Games.

These podcasts are brought to you thanks to the support of TomTom, Nicander, AGD Systems Australia, TraceMark Flow an NGIS Solution, Westcotec and TRL.

We hear how connectivity is delivering road safety today, why technology and human-centric design must work together, and that collaboration is defining the future of transport with the message from so many of the guests that partnerships, between manufacturers, governments, researchers, and technology companies, accelerate innovation, harmonise safety standards and deliver smarter, safer mobility worldwide.

Subscribe to Highways Voices free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or Pocket Casts and never miss an episode!

Today’s guests are:

• Carla Hoorweg, CEO of ANCAP
• Stuart Douglas, MD of AGD Australasia
• Jonathan Brook, MD of The Traffic Group
• Subu Kamal, Head of Product Management & Partnerships at TRL Software
• Toby Hiles, Sales and Partnerships Director at Grid Smarter Cities
• Jennifer Loake, Head of Enterprise Sales – Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, & Korea at TomTom
• Professor Sebastien Glaser of Queensland University of Technology
• Susan Harris, CEO of ITS Australia

(Picture – Highways News)

How will Australia’s most innovative transport leaders use intelligent transport systems, real-time data, automation and cooperative corridors to transform mobility ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games?

That’s just one of the topics you’ll hear about on today’s Highways Voices from the ITS Australia Summit on the Gold Coast.

These podcasts are brought to you thanks to the support of TomTom, Nicander, AGD Systems Australia, TraceMark Flow an NGIS Solution, Westcotec and TRL.

Today we’ll hear how the region is preparing its transport networks for unprecedented demand ahead of Brisbane 2032, including insights from industry leaders on sustainability, efficiency, automation and network resilience, we’ll bring you the first-ever tour of the newly launched Gold Coast Cooperative Corridor, revealing how real-time roadside sensing, collective perception and DSRC communications are reshaping road safety and multimodal management, and we’ll discuss global best practice in mapping, data intelligence, asset management, enforcement, and connected systems, with perspectives from leading companies deploying technology across Europe, Australia/New Zealand and the Middle East.

Subscribe to Highways Voices free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or Pocket Casts and never miss an episode!

Today’s guests:

·     Dean Zabrieszach  – CEO, Ohmio and HMI Technolgies

·     Ralf-Peter Schäfer – Vice President, Traffic & Travel Information, TomTom

·     Luke Capelli – C-ITS Specialist, Toyota Motor Corporation Australia / Lexus Australia

·     Kim Thomas – Managing Director, Integrate

·     Oliver Looker – General Manager, Location Intelligence, Transport and Mobility,  Sustainability and ITS, NGIS (TraceMark Flow)

·     John Piper – Sales Director, Jenoptik

·     Ritchie Jones – Interim Managing Director, Jenoptik Traffic Solutions Australia

·     Susan Harris – CEO, ITS Australia

(Picture – Paul Hutton)

The Danish intelligent transport professional Søren Sørensen has been named ITS Nationals network person of the year the organisation’s annual awards ceremony in the Polish capital, Warsaw.

The event was sponsored by SWARCO, The Traffic Group, Daktronics, IDASO, Intertraffic and the 2027 ITS World Congress in Birmingham.

Mr Sørensen is the chairman of the ITS Denmark organisation, and he is also the leader in NEMU – the Nordics ecosystem mobility unlimited, making its systems work cross border in the Nordic countries and beyond, and also playing a major role in the Mobility as a Service Alliance for technology and standardisation

Announcing the award, Richard Neumann from sponsor SWARCO told the group: “I would like to make a parallel to the Danish football team. They have a great slogan: The supporters of the Danish football team, they shout, you are red, you are white, you are Danish dynamite. So that’s what you are, Søren, Danish dynamite, thank you for your contributions to the ITS industry in general.”

the reason that I can stand here is not because of me, it’s because of the IGs Nordic plus the idea that we came together and worked together and created both the previous project Nomad, which was the strategy part of it, and now we’re going into implementation mode. And we’re doing that with the help of all the IGs organization in the Nordics, and in fact, the project is now owned by Nordic plus, so I think we can bring that as a showcase here to ICS nationals, that each country may be a small contributor, but working together, we can really move things and create better mobility for all in Europe.

The other winners were ITS Germany, ITS Ireland, ITS Serbia, ITS Italy and a collaboration between ITS UK, Finland, Estonia and Latvia.

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The gala dinner and awards ceremony for the network of national Intelligent Transport Systems associations – ITS Nationals – will take place tonight (Tuesday 7 October) in Warsaw.

They are sponsored by The Traffic Group, Daktronics, IDASO, SWARCO, Intertraffic and the 2027 Birmingham ITS World Congress, and follow last year’s inaugural event in Switzerland.

It recognises how the individual associations support public and private sector ITS bodies across their countries and picks out leading examples of best practice to share among all members.

There are six awards,  

1. National Policy Champion Award – Sponsored by The Traffic Group

The association most successful at influencing ITS Policy on a national level during the past year.

2. Membership Champion Award – Sponsored by Daktronics

The association with the best testimonials from Members of how they have helped them from the last twelve months.

3. Next Generation Champion Award – Sponsored by IDASO

The association evidencing the most effective activities to support early careers professionals during the past year.

4. Excellence in Transportation Award – Sponsored by the 2027 Birmingham ITS World Congress

The association which stands out as being the most active and effective during the past year.

5. Network Collaboration Award – Sponsored by SWARCO

The association that can demonstrate the results of working with other organisations either in their country or internationally.

6. Network Person of the Year Award – Sponsored by Intertraffic

The individual most valued by the Network for their contribution.

(Picture shows last year’s winners – ITS Nationals)

The Network for National ITS Associations (ITS Nationals), which is made up of 29 national Intelligent Transport Systems organisations across Europe, will recognise the leading national associations when it hosts its second annual awards ceremony in October.

Six awards will be presented during a gala dinner ahead of the Network’s plenary meeting in the Polish capital Warsaw on Tuesday 7 October.

“Last year, our inaugural awards got our member organisations thinking about what they do really well, and that led to some great sharing of ideas that have been picked up and shared with their international colleagues,” commented Network Chair Dónal Hodgins.  “The national associations are committed to supporting their members delivering transport technology, and these awards help us identify the best ways of implementing positives changes for the public.”

The six awards are:

1. National Policy Champion Award

The association most successful at influencing ITS Policy on a national level during the past year

2. Membership Champion Award

The association with the best testimonials from Members of how they have helped them from the last twelve months

3. Next Generation Champion Award

The association evidencing the most effective activities to support early careers professionals during the past year

4. Excellence in Transportation Award

The association which stands out as being the most active and effective during the past year

5. Network Collaboration Award

The association that can demonstrate the results of working with other organisations either in their country or internationally.

6. Network Person of the Year Award

The individual most valued by the Network for their contribution.

To enter one of the first five awards, any of the ITS national associations apply with details of the way they qualify for the award and they must get at least two testimonials from relevant organisations such as members, government ministries or fellow associations. An independent panel will judge the submissions and also choose the winner of the person of the year.

The gala dinner and awards ceremony will take place on Tuesday evening October 7 2025 at the Hotel Mercure Warszawa Centrum, which will also host the ITS Polska 17^th Polish ITS Conference (October 6-7, 2025).

The individual awards may be sponsored by any company or public body who are a member of a National ITS Association making up the ITS Network.  Prices are just €1,200 including two places and a chance to introduce the relevant award at the dinner, continent-wide publicity across ITS National Member organisations, their name associated with the prize in all publicity and to brand themselves as sponsors of the ITS National Network Awards 2025.  More details are available from ITS Nationals Honorary Communications Lead, Paul Hutton.

In order to enable as many association members to attend as possible, places at the award dinner are priced at just €125 per person (plus relevant taxes).

(Picture shows last year’s award winners, sponsors and judges at the inaugural event in Bern, courtesy of ITS Nationals)

The former ITS (UK) Secretary General, Jennie Martin MBE, who was inducted into the ITS Hall of Fame during the 2024 World Congress in Dubai, has finally received her certificate. TTS Italia secretary general Olga Landolfi, handed over the award in London last week as Jennie was unable to attend the ITS World Congress, and it was Olga who collected the trophy on Jennie’s behalf in September. Also pictured (left) is TTS Italia president Rossella Panero.

Jennie joins Prof Eric Sampson CBE, Prof Phil Blythe and the late Richard Harris as UK recipients of the honour.

She was honoured for her work on women in ITS, early careers and her work with the ITS Nationals.

Mrs Martin told Highways News in September: “I am delighted and surprised to receive this recognition, joining other UK recipients such as Professor Eric Sampson CBE, Richard Harris, and Professor Phil Blythe.  I consider the award to belong to the whole of the UK ITS community, where I have been a part for nearly 30 years, and to everybody who helped set up the Network of National ITS Associations 20 years ago.  This is why I am honoured to have Olga Landolfi of TTS Italia receive the award on my behalf.  Olga and I are ITS women of the same vintage and were both actively involved in the creation of the Network, which remains a force for unity and collaboration in European ITS.  

“I have seen many exciting implementations and groundbreaking research during my three decades in ITS.  I am most proud of always bringing the end user perspective and the considerations of under-represented groups to any ITS discussion where I have taken part.  The technology is pointless, no matter how smart, if it does not benefit the whole of the travelling public. ” 

(Pic: Rukshan Soysa/ITS UK)

Planning for the 33rd ITS World Congress in Birmingham is accelerating, following a productive meeting between the organisers, ERTICO – ITS Europe, and representatives from the host region, the West Midlands. Held in London, this strategic session marked a key milestone in shaping a high-impact global event that will take place from 25–29 October 2027 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC).

Expected to welcome more than 15,000 participants from across the globe, the 2027 edition will feature an extensive exhibition, a high-level summit for transport leaders, five days of technical and special interest sessions, hands-on demonstrations, technical visits, and robust networking opportunities. Under the theme “Connect Ideas. Transform Transport.”, the Congress will serve as a unique platform to showcase how intelligent transport systems are transforming mobility worldwide.

The London meeting focused on deepening collaboration across key areas, including stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, and outreach to new audiences who may not have previously attended a World Congress. As planning enters a new phase, ERTICO and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) are working closely to ensure the Congress reaches a broad, diverse, and global audience, including the forthcoming promotion of the joint stand exhibition at the 2025 ITS World Congress in Atlanta.

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