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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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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)

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)

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)

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)

The organisers of the successful ITS European Congress 2023 in Lisbon have posted a highlights video showcasing the buzz around the event.

It features quotes from organisers along with images of the exhibition, sessions and social events.

Watch it here:

(Picture – Highways News)

The Senior Adviser to the ERTICO-ITS Europe, Professor Eric Sampson has affirmed that the ITS European Congress 2023 in Lisbon has shown that European ITS can deliver mobility that is accessible, equitable, affordable, resilient, has zero fatalities and has zero emissions.

As Chief Rapporteur, Prof Sampson was giving his final closing summary at a Congress as he retires from his role, which allowed him to reflect on the successes of the transport technology industry.

However he gave a warning to the delegates saying, “Hitting two or more of these targets at the same time is still very hard. Most of the technologies are ready but the policy makers are lagging behind. If we had a clear political drive; if we accepted the price of deciding to reach key goals quickly – then Zero fatalities Zero emissions are within our reach.”

Prof Sampson added that “the problems that remain are mostly about waiting for the perfect solution or unwillingness to adapt our behaviour. The message to all of us is that we need to change – NOW. I live in a farming area in North Yorkshire where there’s a saying – Don’t wait for the storm to pass – learn to work in the rain.”

His closing summary pointed to how the earliest Congresses were “showcases for declassified military technology or research projects seeking new knowledge”, rather than exploration of new services. 

“There’s now much more joint working so instead of suppliers telling users “Our system does this you should buy it”  the focus is now “tell me what you want to achieve and we’ll work together to design and deploy solutions that deliver it”,” he said.

And Prof Sampson gave an emotional farewell concluding by saying, “It’s time for me to share the pleasure and the privilege of leading the rapporteur teams so I’m handing over to Wolfgang Hoefs who will do all I do but with more energy and more stamina. Goodbye.”

He was given a standing ovation by the audience and the ERTICO CEO Joost Vantomme then gave a short speech praising Prof Sampson’s unique contribution to the ITS Industry and its World and European Congresses.

(Picture – Highways News)

“It’s nice to have all these companies and institutions showcasing their nice things,” says Joost Vantomme on this week’s Highways Voices podcast, “but what does the user think of that? What does the citizen think of that? There’s a lot of questions on the new technologies. How do they work? What do they promise?”

The ERTICO – ITS Europe CEO is looking ahead to this year’s ITS European Congress in Lisbon which runs from 22-24 May, and explains how new technology in transport will be put into the context of improving mobility with real-world examples.

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

His colleague Lisa Boch-Andersen, who is Director of Communications, Congress and Events at ERTICO adds that Lisbon is a living example of transport technology, “It really is one of the major economic centres with a very busy transport network,” she explains. “It has a lot of different mobility initiatives. It has major container ports, big bridges, and they just informed that there would be no major traffic in the centre of Lisbon.”

You’ll hear all about the different themes of the congress and also from LCRIG Director Kerry Winstanley about the UK Pavilion and how a range of British SMEs are exhibiting at the European Congress thanks to support from the Department Business and Trade, the Transport Technology Forum and LCRIG. These are; Zenzic, Navtech Radar, Clearview Intelligence, Nicander, Now Wireless, Angoka, Ito World, Arup, Neology, Grid Smarter Cities, See.Sense and VESOS. Members of the Department for Transport, Innovate UK and Intelligent Transport Systems UK will also be participating on the stand and there will be a visit to it from British Ambassador to Portugal, Chris Sainty.

The 5th German Tunnel Congress is taking place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany, from 26th April to 27th April 2023.

What can you expect?
Two days of exciting presentations and discussions about:

• Digitalization,
• Tunnel Planning,
• Tunnel Security,
• Tunnel Cyber Security,
• Tunnel Operation Technology,
• Tunnel Control Centers.

Topped off with:

• Cozy evening event in Ettal Abbey,
• Exciting field trip to Tunnel Oberau.

The congress language is German.

Get your ticket now!
You can find further information about the congress and program on the event website: https://www.tunnelkongress2023.de/

The ITS World Congress 2024 will be held in Dubai – the first time the European leg of the three-year cycle takes place outside of continental Europe itself.

To promote the event, the organisers ERTICO – ITS Europe has announced a webinar to take place on Monday 27 March from 9.45am CET.

Dubai Roads and Transport Authority and ERTICO will explain about the partnership and exhibition opportunities at the Congress, which will be held in Dubai from 16-20 September, 2024.

The webinar will feature background presentations, details of the host venue, an open discussion from high level organisations aiming at sponsorship and exhibition plus Q and A.

The Congress is billed as the chance to highlight Dubai’s latest accomplishments in the field of Intelligent Mobility Services, alongside those of the rest of the world. It is also a great opportunity to network with key mobility stakeholders and learn about the different ways of proactively engaging in the Congress.

To sign up, click here before Friday 24 March.