This week has been the Transport Technology Forum Autumn Update. This smaller conference in the TTF calendar is always well attended. It gives the TTF working groups a chance to meet up, but also share progress with conference delegates about the different activities undertaken throughout the year. For example, the connected vehicles group and the EV working group have held in-person events, developed guidance, and met to share knowledge. The other TTF working groups have been no less busy, and you can see what they’ve been up to on the TTF website next week in a round-up video.
In addition to the conference, this week included one of the quarterly STREETWISE group meetings. This meeting, linked with TTF, includes all the major road operators and government bodies across the UK, the Republic of Ireland joining by invitation. Not many people know that the STREETWISE group has its roots in ensuring seamless travel across nations and has a very serious historical and political link to the Good Friday Agreement.
I always enjoy the STREETWISE meetings because the wide breadth of conversations, with all nations and operators committed to supporting seamless travel across countries. I have written before about this group and its work – this time, we heard about the efforts nations are making to continuously upgrade their equipment, particularly to address obsolescence. We also received updates from European projects including NAPCORE, PSA, DATEX, C-ITS, and Vehicle Data (Data for Road Safety), and rounded off our meeting with a site visit to both National Highways National Traffic Operations Centre and the East Midlands Regional Traffic Operations Centre.
Returning to the conference and its themes, we heard from policy areas within DfT covering topics like AI Policy and Strategy, Data, future telecoms, digital connectivity, and wireless infrastructure strategy. These policy updates are very popular with delegates, as they offer councils and suppliers an opportunity to hear about DFT’s work programmes.
I took part in one of the sessions to talk about our recent experience of attending the ITS World Congress and the benefits of taking part for SMEs. It was also a good opportunity to encourage paper submissions for next year’s conference in Seville. The deadline is 10th January 2025 and I explained to delegates that we have much to share from our sector.
The day before the conference, the DfT had written to Chief Executives to inform them that the £20m Intelligent Traffic Management Fund (ITMF) would no longer be available. Darren Capes from DfT explained that, following a public spending review, the Government decided to cancel the ITMF. This is a shame as I know many local authorities had been working closely with technology partners to develop next-generation, innovative -educing ideas. That said, I know many councils have already told me that they would continue to explore innovative approaches with their suppliers. This does not surprise me, given how many councils are committed to improving congestion in their local areas –though, to be clear, ITMF wasn’t just for congestion, but for innovative solutions in transport technology overall.
Next week I will be on leave, so Dan our Head of Sector Insights, will be stepping in for me to write next week’s “View from the Top”.
Paula Claytonsmith, CEO