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ERTICO launches second Market Radar Report

The European organisation ERTICO-ITS Europe has released the second edition of the ‘ITS Market Radar Report 2025’, created in cooperation with EY.

It provides an in-depth analysis of advancements in Intelligent Transport Systems and their impact on organisations that are ERTICO Partners in the following three ERTICO sectors: Public Authorities, Research and Users. Exploring trends, challenges, and opportunities, the report highlights how ITS can cultivate sustainable, innovative mobility solutions across Europe. This release is the continuation of the ITS Radar Reports series which ERTICO started last year on its two sectors: Traffic and Transport Industry and Service Providers.

The Radar Report provides an overview of the ITS sector, including its historical context and evolutions. It also describes key trends and innovations that are reshaping transport through a qualitative and quantitative analysis.

To begin with, the report highlights significant opportunities for both public authorities and the research sector in leveraging Intelligent Transport Systems. For public authorities, adopting ITS presents the chance to enhance sustainability, safety, and efficiency within transport networks, aligning with broader goals such as climate neutrality and the European Green Deal. They can use ITS to improve infrastructure, reduce congestion, and implement innovative mobility solutions like Mobility-as-a-Service and automated transport. For the research sector, ITS offers fertile ground for exploring technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and 5G/6G connectivity. Both sectors stand to benefit from cross-sector collaborations and EU funding opportunities. This can accelerate the development and deployment of ITS technologies and encourage smarter, more inclusive mobility systems across Europe.

However, it says that while progress is evident in these two sectors, certain challenges still need to be addressed. Public authorities face financial constraints, regulatory hurdles, and a lack of public awareness, impeding the deployment of ITS solutions. Similarly, the research sector struggles with funding limitations, data accessibility, and standardisation issues. Overcoming these barriers will require strong cross-sector collaboration to support widespread adoption and innovation.

According to the results of the market study, ITS also promises clear benefits to a broad range of users, including drivers, passengers, public transport operators, and logistics providers. Yet, adoption remains hindered by a lack of awareness and resistance, particularly among older populations. The report suggests strategies such as targeted awareness campaigns, co-creation with users, and pilot projects to enhance user engagement and acceptance.

Employment prospects within the ITS domain are expected to grow moderately, with both public authorities and research organisations forecasting increased involvement in ITS-related activities. This growth highlights the need for skills development in areas like AI, connectivity, and ITS deployment. Training programs and educational initiatives are critical for preparing a workforce capable of addressing emerging ITS challenges.

On the financial front, EU funding programs like Horizon Europe and the Connecting Europe Facility play an important role in advancing ITS projects. Despite this, many stakeholders face difficulties in securing adequate budget allocations. This highlights the need for more strategic investment to realise the full potential of ITS.

To address these challenges, the report recommends cultivating public-private partnerships and aligning legislative frameworks to support ITS adoption. Additionally, it calls for enhanced public awareness campaigns to promote inclusivity and ensure widespread acceptance of ITS technologies. Consistent investment in infrastructure and digital solutions is also essential for long-term success.

As ERTICO continues the ITS Radar Reports series, it says it remains steadfast in its ambition to drive progress in sustainable and intelligent mobility solutions. Through the work across eight diverse sectors (Traffic and Transport, Service Providers, Suppliers, Connectivity, Vehicle Manufacturers, Users, Public authorities and Research), it adds it is committed to advancing the future of transport and mobility, aligned with the European and global goals.

Read the full report here.

(Picture – ERTICO)

ITS World Congress 2027 focuses on Connecting Ideas and Transforming Transport

The organisers of the 33rd ITS World Congress at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre in October 2027 have announced the theme for the event:

Connect Ideas. Transform Transport.

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 during five days from 25 to 29 October.

“Intelligent Transport has come a long way since the UK last hosted a World Congress, under the banner of ‘Delivering Transport Excellence’,” commented TfWM’s Head of Transport Innovation Chris Lane, who is leading the planning for the host region.  “The Congress will enable experts from around the world to work together to solve global challenges, sharing their experience and details of successful implementations, as well as their cutting-edge innovations.  Therefore, we will connect all the ideas that are making mobility safer, greener and more efficient across the globe – so we can work together to transform transport.”

The host region has brought together suppliers, consultants and government, along with media, business and exhibition professionals to plan the event, both from a technical and user experience perspective.  They are working with ERTICO to deliver the event, which is expected to attract more than 15,000 people to the West Midlands.

“Bringing the ITS World Congress to Birmingham is a unique opportunity to connect public and private stakeholders across the global transport and mobility eco-system,” added Joost Vantomme, CEO of ERTICO – ITS Europe. “This does not only reflect our mission at ERTICO but also the collective ambition of fostering collaboration that drives transformative advancements in mobility.  As organiser for the EMEA ITS World Congress, ERTICO is pleased to collaborate with the UK in hosting the next edition in Birmingham. Together, we will bring transformative technologies to life.”

“We are looking forward to engaging with the international community to really explain how great our event is going to be,” Mr Lane concluded.  “With the Transport Technology Forum, we’ll be taking a lead role at the ITS European Congress in Seville in May and August’s ITS World Congress in Atlanta.  Here, we’re looking forward to engaging with potential sponsors and exhibitors, while our Technical Working Group is busy ensure the country’s strengths in ITS, and its cutting-edge technologies, are highlighted.”

TfWM is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) which, through initiatives like the Future Transport Zone, is a global leader in the field and at the cutting-edge in key areas of research and development such as autonomous vehicle development, battery technology, the emerging very light rail system and smart ticketing. 

The congress will be a prestigious opportunity for public-sector bodies, businesses, and academics to showcase how cutting-edge innovations are driving progress towards tackling the climate emergency, making transport safer and improving traveller experience. TfWM is currently building the network of interested sponsors, supporters, and exhibitors.  Organisations and individuals can register their interest here.

The ITS World Congress is an annual event held in rotation between three global regions – the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

(Picture – WMCA)

Norwegian industry stalwart plus Austria, Netherlands, UK and Türkiye win inaugural ITS Nationals Awards

The network of national Intelligent Transport Systems associations has hosted its first annual awards ceremony in the Swiss capital Bern, and honoured ITS veteran Trond Hovland with the title “Network Person of the Year”.

The five winners were:

  • National Policy Champion Award (sponsored by The Traffic Group) – ITS Austria
  • Membership Champion Award (sponsored by Ohmio) – Connekt, ITS Netherlands
  • Next Generation Champion Award (sponsored by IDASO) – Intelligent Transport Systems UK
  • Excellence in Transportation Award (sponsored by Neology) – ITS Türkiye
  • Network Person of the Year Award (sponsored by SWARCO) – Trond Hovland, ITS Norway

Mr Hovland won the award, sponsored by SWARCO, in honour not only of his work in the last year, but for a career championing transport technology.  He has been Managing Director of ITS Norway since 2009 and before that worked for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration for almost 18 years, holding several management positions and heading up large ICT procurement projects in the road and traffic data sector.

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ITS Nationals Network Award judge appointed

The esteemed ITS professional Jennie Martin MBE is leading the judging panel for the inaugural ITS Nationals Awards taking place next month in Switzerland, sponsored by  The Traffic GroupOhmioIDASONeology and SWARCO.

The awards are designed to showcase how national Intelligent Transport Systems associations across Europe are supporting their fee-paying members in their countries and beyond.

They are being held in the Swiss capital Bern on 13 November ahead of the ITS Nationals Plenary meeting the next day, and recognise associations who have supported national policy, membership, the next generation and excellence in transport.

Mrs Martin (pictured), who was inducted into the ITS Hall of Fame at the ITS World Congress in Dubai last month, leads the judging panel.   “Having been involved in setting up the ITS Nationals 20 years ago, I am honoured to be asked to judge excellence across the Network this year,” Mrs Martin said.  “The ITS Nationals Network complements the work of ERTICO to share best practice among individual nations’ ITS associations.  The Network helps support their members, and by recognising those who do the best job these awards will, I’m sure, raise the bar across the continent.”

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ITS Nationals Network Awards deadline looms as sponsors confirmed

The 30 members of the Network of National Intelligent Transport Systems Associations are preparing their entries for one of five new awards celebrating the best of the ITS Nationals Network with the deadline for entries being Wednesday 23 October 2024.

The new ITS Nationals Awards will be celebrated as part of the 20th Anniversary of ITS Nationals, ahead of the Plenary Meeting taking place in the Swiss capital, Bern, next month.

The Awards are being made possible thanks to the support of five leading companies delivering cutting edge ITS solutions – The Traffic Group, Ohmio, IDASO, Neology and SWARCO.

“We want to get national associations thinking about what they do really well, so we can all use best practice as an opportunity to learn, and the ITS Nationals Awards are a way to make that happen” commented network Chair Dónal Hodgins.  “All national ITS associations are committed to supporting the organisations delivering transport technology and these awards will help us do celebrate these achievements, so I look forward to receiving entries from across the network.”

The ITS Nationals network complements the work of ERTICO, which set it up 20 years ago, to share best practice among individual nations’ ITS associations, and helps them support their members.

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ITS Nationals network looks to expand beyond Europe

The network of national Intelligent Transport Systems associations is looking to add to its knowledge sharing network by inviting country associations beyond Europe to join.

The comment was made at a breakfast event hosted on the UK Pavilion at the ITS World Congress in Dubai where the work of the 25-year old network was celebrated.

Nationals chair Donal Hodgins discussed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between ITS Ireland and ITS Australia and looked to bring the Australians, ITS Canada and other interested parties into the network.

“Our network complements the excellent work of ERTICO, who set us up a quarter of a century ago, as we share best practice among individual nations’ ITS societies,” Mr Hodgins explained. “We are here to make sure all of these associations support their members as best as possible, and so the more members we have, the more we can copy our best bits and help each other solve their challenges.”

The breakfast event, hosted by ITS UK was joined by the Chair of ERTICO Dr Angelos Amditis and its CEO Joost Vantomme and attended by more than a dozen of the Network’s 30 members who are at the World Congress this week.

(Picture shows ITS UK Chief Executive Max Sugarman, ITS Australia President Silje Troseth and ITS Nationals Chair Donal Hodgins)

European ITS Network announces new awards

The network for national ITS Associations, which is made up of 30 Intelligent Transport Systems organisations from across Europe, is launching a series of awards to recognise excellence in supporting transport technology businesses.

Five awards will be given out on 13 November during a dinner ahead of the Network’s plenary meeting in the Swiss capital of Bern (pictured).

“The awards are designed to get national associations thinking about what they do really well, so we can all use best practice as an opportunity to learn,” commented Network Chair Dónal Hodgins.  “All national associations are committed to supporting the organisations delivering transport technology  and these awards will help us do that even better.”

There are five awards:

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 Person of the Year Award

The individual most valued by the Network for their contribution.

To enter one of the first four awards, associations should submit a short statement outlining why they wish to be considered for any of the awards, including evidence from members or relevant stakeholders, such as Ministries. An independent panel will judge the submissions and arrive at a decision.  That panel will also choose the winner of the person of the year.

The individual awards may be sponsored by any member company or public body.  Prices are from just €950 and, as well as continent-wide publicity across ITS National Member organisations, sponsors will get an invitation to the dinner, their name associated with the prize in all publicity, get to offer a few words about the winner and brand themselves as sponsors of the ITS National Network Awards 2024.  More details are available from ITS Nationals Honorary Communications Lead, Paul Hutton.

(Picture – Yay Images)

ITS World Congress webinar series concludes with a focus on CCAM

Cooperative, Connected, and Automated Mobility (CCAM) encompasses a range of technologies that connect and automate transportation systems, promising to enhance safety, efficiency, and sustainability in urban and rural environments.  But, as the latest ERTICO World Congress webinar explained, to deliver it, there are remaining challenges around technological integration, infrastructure modernisation, legal frameworks, cybersecurity and public trust.

The webinar hosted by ERTICO on 27 June was the final one in a series of three focusing on the main themes of the 30th ITS World Congress in Dubai this September. In this webinar, “CCAM – more than the sum of its parts”, experts from Belgium, the UAE, United Kingdom, USA and Japan delved into some of the intricacies of Cooperative, Connected, and Automated Mobility, and the journey from innovation to real-world deployment.

Stephane Dreher, Lead of CCAM at ERTICO-ITS Europe lead the debate, setting the scene by explaining that as well as being in the spotlight in Dubai, CCAM is one of the main areas that ERTICO is working on.  The vision is that, by 2025, there are operational CCAM services integrated in the current transport system that are, he said, “accepted, inclusive and supported by infrastructure in order to achieve the policy goals of the European Commission in terms of decarbonisation and safety.”

Picking up on the European strategy, Max Lemke, Head of the IoT unit at the European Commission’s DG CONNECT directorate, explained that the vehicle of the future will be electric, connected, autonomous – or at least featuring a degree of automation – and it will be shared, which means a big disruption for the industry.  He warned that this comes with technological challenges, explaining: “We see the lines of software code increasing, I would say exponentially, and that means productivity in software engineering is a key issue.  There’s a lack of talent, lack of resources and low productivity because we have to customise everything.”  He talked about different ways components are supplied and used, how value chains are changing and how vehicles become “smartphones on wheels” and must be affordable, before detailing how Europe is delivering its innovation strategy, and how the European culture is delivering with safety.

CCAM vehicles now have around a hundred million lines of code, and may need a billion lines by 2030.  “It’s staggering,” commented Dr Steve Dellenback, Vice President R&D at the Southwest Research Institute asking, “Does that code work, how do you test it? How do you make sure it works in all different scenarios?”  He warned about the management of expectations from the public around operational performance and safety adding: “If we’re truly going to be getting to 500 million or a billion lines of code, we are kidding ourselves if we think that these vehicles are going to be perfect. And so part of the discussion we need to be having moving forward is at what cost are we willing to deploy this technology, we can’t sell it as simply being crashless, that’s not going to be true to our travelling public.”

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ITS Nationals Network’s new chair takes up his role

Europe’s Network of National ITS Associations (ITS Nationals) has elected Dónal Hodgins for a two-year period as its Chair.

The former chair of ITS Ireland is a Senior Engineer (Head of Sustainable Transport & Traffic Management) at Kildare County Council.  He was elected following a vote by the 30 members of the organisation, which has an objective to ensure that ITS knowledge and information is transmitted to all ITS organisations across the region.

Alongside Mr Hodgins, Marc Verhage of Connekt in the Netherlands has been elected to the position of vice-chair of the network.  Both are current members of the coordination committee and took up their roles on 1 July.

Outgoing chair Günther Weber welcomed the news saying: “My warmest congratulations to Dónal and Marc for being unanimously elected as Chair and Vice Chair of ITS Nationals.  I am really happy that both got a strong vote – a confirmation of their work to date, Dónal as vice-chair and Marc as member of the coordination committee.  Together Dónal and Marc are part of a strong and committed team that will lead ITS Nationals into the next steps of its exciting evolution.  Many thanks to both, in particular to Dónal, for the valuable and successful work to date, and all the best for a successful next period. For me, it was always a pleasure and very inspiring to work with Dónal and Marc.”

The new chair Dónal Hodgins paid tribute to Günther for his role in leading the ITS Nationals over the past four years especially throughout the period of the global pandemic. “I would like to acknowledge and thank Günther for his steadfast support for both myself and all the national ITS organisations belonging to the ITS Nationals. He leaves the group in an improved situation ready to face the challenges of the years ahead.”.

Reflecting on the 20th Anniversary of the ITS Nationals, he added that he is “deeply honoured to be elected to this esteemed position and am excited for Marc and myself to add to the honourable tradition of the previous title holders.  This is particularly important as we continue to re-energise the Network and place it at the forefront of promoting ITS.”

When asked what his vision for ITS Nationals is, Mr Hodgins committed to: “setting out a pathway for a sustainable ITS Nationals entity that is independent, inclusive, equitable and one that provides a variety of benefits for all national organisations and our thousands of members.  I wish to continue to build up our capacity to provide improved cooperation, collaboration, and communication between the national ITS organisations and provide the members of each national organisations with tangible benefits.”

The Network of National ITS Associations will continue to work with ERTICO to support cooperation between the two entities and improve cohesiveness between ITS stakeholders across the continent and globally.

(Picture – ITS Nationals Network)

“Thought Leadership Journeys” webinar series

ERTICO – ITS Europe is launching a new initiative within its Partnership – the “Thought Leadership Journeys” webinar series.

Members and partners of its network, including those from the ITS Nationals Network, are invited to join us the first edition titled “EU Mobility Shift: Navigating the Transition Pathway”.

Scheduled for 29 April 2024 from 12:30-13:30 (CET), this webinar marks a significant stride in fostering collaboration and innovation across the European mobility landscape. Through engaging discussions, esteemed speakers from various sectors will delve into strategies, challenges, and opportunities in navigating the transition pathway within the European mobility sector. 

Kindly register here by 25 April to reserve your spot and actively participate in this transformative dialogue.

Keynote Address:
Lorena Ionita, Deputy Head of Unit, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROW), European Commission, will share valuable insights into the collaborative development of the “Transition Pathway” report recently launched by the European Commission.

Speakers:
Joost Vantomme, CEO of ERTICO, will highlight the significance of the EU mobility industrial ecosystem and ERTICO’s role in facilitating dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders.Dr Stefan Dreher, ERTICO Senior I&D Manager, will showcase relevant ERTICO projects and initiatives fostering innovation and competitiveness in the automotive industry.Stefan Deix, Director of EUCAR, the European Council for Automotive R&D, will provide insights into mobility transition pathways from the automotive OEM perspective.

Moderator:
Agne Vaitekenaite, Partnership Development Manager at ERTICO, will facilitate the interactive Q&A session, allowing participants to engage directly with the speakers and delve deeper into the topics discussed.

This webinar presents a unique opportunity for industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to collectively shape the future of mobility in Europe.