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Regional ITS Conference

Regional ITS Conference in Skoplje “Towards Connected Future: Delivering Intelligent Transport Systems.”

The conference took place from 12 to 13 December 2023 in Skopje, North Macedonia, and brought together a diverse group of experts, policymakers, and stakeholders in the field of ITS but also the ministers in charge of transport from the 6 South East Europe Parties, together with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and high representatives from the European Commission (DG MOVE). The conference featured insightful sessions and discussions, culminating in the signing of the Declaration on Intelligent Transport Systems pledging the commitment to the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems.

The first day hosted high-level speakers, including the Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Secretaries in charge of transport, while the second day was reserved for technical sessions. Technical sessions featured panels on Intelligent Solutions for Road Transport, Innovations in Rail Transportation and multimodality solutions, and Intelligent Solutions for Waterborne Transport.

ITS Serbia members participated in the conference, sharing their experience with other fellow participants including ITS Austria and ERTICO representatives. ITS Serbia was presented during the discussion as a good example of the first ITS Nationals Network member in the region. Other regional partners representatives were interested to hear about the newest member, planned activities and future cooperation possibilities. ITS Serbia is grateful to the host of the conference – the Transport Community and all the participants for the warm welcome. We are looking forward to future events and joint activities in promoting the deployment of ITS technologies in the region.

ERTICO CEO hails micromobility development ahead of London event

The CEO of ERTICO – ITS Europe says the organisation is taking an active role in the development of micromobility as part of the diverse mobility mix to ensure their safe and efficient use across the continent.

Speaking ahead of a major “Focus On” Partnership event on the subject in London tomorrow, Thursday 7 December, Joost Vantomme explained that ERTICO is using its experience and expertise in innovation through technology, standards and regulation to help manage and promote the uptake ofnew transport modes. ERTICO is organising this event in close collaboration with the UK’s Transport Technology Forum with whom it signed an engagement plan at the ITS European Congress in Lisbon, May 2023.

“We don’t yet have an official definition of all these kinds of vehicles – ebikes, escooters, speed pedelecs, cargo bikes, tandems, velomobiles and their docking stations – it’s all very much market driven,” he said.  “Maybe that’s good for pioneering new things, not stigmatising too much through regulation, but there’s a call more and more for increased oversight from authorities.

“I will, in my speech, highlight the technology and regulatory elements to cook the meal the basic goal of safety, sustainability, and getting people towards diverse mobility modes.”

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ERTICO warns “time is of the essence” for Dubai submissions

The organisers of next year’s ITS World Congress in Dubai are reminding potential speakers at technical sessions that they only have two more weeks to submit their ideas for consideration.

Director of Communications, Congresses and Events, Lisa Boch-Andersen has written to the industry saying she wants to ensure that your valuable contributions reach us on time. 

You can submit your contribution here before the deadline of 15 December.

To guarantee a seamless submission, would-be participants are encouraged to create a profile here. This preliminary step is described as crucial to ensuring that you are well-equipped to submit your contributions smoothly. 

The event takes place in Dubai from 16-20 September 2024.

(Picture – ERTICO)

ERTICO hosting micromobility meeting in London

European Intelligent Transport Systems organisation ERTICO – ITS Europe is hosting a Focus On event on micromobility on 7 December in London.

In its invitation, the organisation says: Micromobility encompasses a wide range of low-speed (generally under 25 km/h) vehicles using human power (active travel, e.g. pedal cycles and kick-scooters) and/or electrical assistance.

Although the pedal cycle is one of the oldest modes of transport, the more recent advent of e-bikes, e-scooters, monowheels, etc. as well as short-term hire and sharing schemes in cities, brought about the term micromobility from the end of the 1990s.

The great variety of micromobility vehicles in recent years (size, speed, legal classification), has led to a debate on the role these vehicles should play in urban and suburban mobility, their benefits and issues to be addressed. While most cities are increasing road space for active travel (in particular cycle lanes), there is discussion on what new micromobility modes can use them.

Another point is the use of urban space for micromobility parking, particularly by operator of shared vehicles. The degree of regulation of sharing operators, road use by different kinds of light vehicles, safety aspects and integration into urban transport networks are key issues.

The role of ITS both in terms of facilitating sustainable and seamless mobility and also in terms of multimodal trac and road space management, is a key discussion topic, with cities looking for the best responses to mobility changes and new business models which may be innovative but also disruptive.

This Focus On will feature two panel sessions with micromobility stakeholders sharing their views on these important topics while a third session will focus on the regulatory options that cities and national decision-makers have at their disposal.

The event takes place from 10:00-16:00 at Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road, NW1 2BJ, London, UK.

To register, click here.

(Picture – Dott)

ERTICO CEO Joost Vantomme discusses European Directive on ITS

Following the newly adopted European Directive on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), Joost Vantomme, CEO of ERTICO – ITS Europe, shares his insights on the importance of this legislation and what opportunities it entails for the entire industry. He emphasises ERTICO’s unique thought leadership role and gives examples of some key activities which are in line with the updated Directive. Facilitating the digital transformation of transportation is at the heart of ERTICO and efficiency is a key component which mirrors the updates made from the previous legislation dating to 2010. Joost Vantomme’s final remarks in the interview touch upon the five-year framework and forthcoming publication on implementation central to ERTICO and the wider support to assist the European Commission, the Member States as well as national ITS organisations.

What is the new European framework about?

The Directive aims to promote coordinated deployment of intelligent transport systems across Europe. It provides a framework for developing and implementing technologies to improve the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of transportation systems within the European Union (EU).

On 23 October 2023, the Council of Ministers of the EU adopted the long-awaited revised ITS directive following the agreement of the European Parliament. This process was initiated in 2021 by the European Commission after an extensive consultation period with the public and private actors, including ERTICO-ITS Europe.

The new European legislation should ensure that ITS applications in the field of road transport enable seamless integration with other modes of transport, such as rail or active mobility, thus facilitating a shift to those modes whenever possible, to improve efficiency and accessibility.

Why is this relevant for ERTICO and its Partners?

Innovation and ITS is the DNA of ERTICO. Our public-private European partnership was founded in 1991 at the initiative of 15 industry leaders and the European Commission to fill the gap between research and deployment of transport & mobility services. ‘Connecting the dots’ across eight sectors across the ecosystem is our motto.

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ERTICO on the lookout for new recruits

Our friends at the European Intelligent Transport Systems organisation, ERTICO – ITS Europe are recruiting three new members of staff.

They are a Partnership and Governance Officer, Project Support Manager and Project Manager.

The definitions are below:

Partnership and Governance Officer Are you ready to play an important role in helping our membership grow? As a Partnership & Governance Officer, you’ll be the bridge between our partners and governance bodies, ensuring seamless collaboration. Get ready for a diverse role spanning various sectors across the EMEA region. Click here for more details.

Project Support Manager: Join the Innovation & Deployment team and the driving force of our project developments including dissemination, and technical tasks in project management. Under the guidance of our (Senior) Project Managers, you’ll contribute to groundbreaking developments in the field. Click here for more details.

Project Manager (Specialist in ITS): Become a leader of a project team, responsible for all aspects of project management. Contribute to our strategy of bringing intelligence into mobility and the promotion of ITS in Europe and beyond through participation in ERTICO activities and new developments. Click here for more details.

Submit your application to: recruitment@mail.ertico.com

Watch this video to find out more:

(Logo courtesy of ERTICO)

DACH Mobility Conference

Date: November 15, 2023, 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

Place: Kursaal Bern, Kornhausstrasse 3, 3013 Bern

Networks in Mobility – How does networking work?

Mobility is indispensable. Hardly anything shapes the economy and society, but also our own everyday life as much as mobility. It has become a central element of our daily lives – based on a reliable and safe transport system. But this system is increasingly reaching its limits. Mobility needs are changing and overall mobility is increasing, but increasingly there is a lack of space and financial resources to further expand transport infrastructure and means of transport. At the same time, transportation systems must become more energy efficient and climate neutral. Solutions are needed, and networking is one of the most promising keys to achieving this.

Integrating road, rail, air and water modes of transport enables smooth mobility using the most suitable mode of transport in each case. The networking of systems enables the exchange of data between vehicles, transport infrastructure and road users, thus opening up opportunities for new mobility concepts such as shared mobility and the interplay of public and private means of transport. At the traveler level, it influences user behavior and acceptance of new innovative mobility forms and concepts. New cooperative business models are enabled by innovative platforms that integrate different transport options and promote the development of “ecosystems.”

It all sounds plausible: but what role does networking really play? How important is people’s willingness to change? Which approaches are promising, which technologies are best suited, what role do ecosystems play?

These and other questions will determine the program of the DACH Mobility Conference on November 15, 2023 at the Kursaal in Bern, which will be jointly hosted by asut, its-ch, ASTRA and TCS with the partner associations ITS Austria, ITS Germany and ITS mobility.

As usual, the event offers participants the ideal setting for discussions and contacts with representatives from politics, business, science and administration, as well as to cultivate valuable contacts beyond industry boundaries and to find out about the latest trends in the accompanying exhibition.

The congress-language is German.

For more information see Prospekt or https://events.asut.ch/

(Illustration – Yay Images)

ITS UK member Clearview holds webinar to explain sustainability benefits of solar road studs

The UK-based Highways and Transport Solutions provider Clearview Intelligence, an ITS UK Executive Member, is boosting its international profile by hosting a special webinar explaining the environmental benefits of its Solarlite road stud solution.

The company says high quality road markings are a vital part of road safety, and that for more than two decades, Clearview Intelligence has been delivering solar road studs that illuminate the road at night.

These studs mean drivers can see the road layout 900 metres ahead, which is ten times further than traditional reflective studs.  Independent studies have shown that where solar studs have been installed, the number of night-time accidents have fallen by 70%.

But Clearview points out, these solar studs not only deliver road safety – they’re key in the battle against climate change too.  Because they are solar powered, they are a zero emission alternative to streetlighting, they deliver carbon savings of nearly nine tonnes of CO2 per mile per year compared to the most energy-efficient LED lamps.

The webinar takes place from 1600-1700 CET on Thursday 15 June where Clearview Intelligence’s Head of Technical Sales, Peter Cattell, will guide viewers through the solutions and answer questions.

Sign up here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1689126268976993882

(Picture – Clearview Intelligence)

ITS Nationals Network leads debate on smart intermodal freight

The Network of National ITS Associations presented a special interest session on Smart Intermodal Freight at the European ITS Congress in Lisbon.  The session attracted a full house which joined in a lively and informed discussion.

The ITS associations of Finland, Norway, Germany and Estonia contributed speakers and ITS Ireland helped out with the organisation of the session.  Thanks to the ability of the Network to harness expertise from so many different European countries, the panel included experienced professionals from rail, marine and road freight, and was able to talk meaningfully about how to achieve seamless intermodality and remove cross border friction.

The discussion centred on two themes:  how to turn research and demonstrations into permanent implementations, and what the role of AI (Artificial Intelligence) might be in the future freight sector.

As in other areas of ITS, projects and testbeds seem to be more ubiquitous than permanent applications.  The panel agreed that in some ways this perception is unfair;  it is just that the time lapse from first research topic to fully embedded system can be ten or even twenty years, which can give the impression that few things actually translate into everyday usage.  In other aspects it is true;  issues of piecemeal and somewhat arbitrary funding, lack of effective collaboration between bodies which really should be active partners, and poorly executed stakeholder engagement, can all slow down or even sabotage eventual implementation.

Talking about AI, the panel agreed that this will definitely be important in the future freight sector.  Making an analogy with automated vehicles, they suggested that AI will be gradually adopted by the freight industry and rejected the idea of a current or imminent “revolution”.  Some promising use cases proposed included security both of loads and of staff, the speeding up of cross modal and cross border transfers, and better conditions for drivers achieved by more intelligent and adaptable routing and rostering. 

A very good case was made for the importance of universally accepted standards and protocols, if full digitisation of the end to end logistics chain is to be achieved.  That it needs to be achieved in order to unlock cost savings, less environmentally damaging freight moments, and improved conditions for all the humans involved in them, was not in doubt.

The panelists were:  Lone-Eirin Lervåg from Norway, Tim Knutzen (Germany), Heiti Mering (Estonia), and Jukka Lepistö (Finland).  The session was moderated by Jennie Martin on behalf of the Network and co-organised by Donal Hodgins of ITS Ireland.

(Picture by Paul Hutton)