Paula Claytonsmith, Chief Executive of LCRIG, joined the Highways Voices podcast this week, recorded live from the UK Pavilion at the ITS World Congress in Dubai. She was joined by Joost Vantomme, CEO at ERTICO – ITS Europe, John Paddington, Head of ERTICO’s Project Management Office, and Darren Capes, ITS Policy Lead at the Department for Transport and Transport Technology Forum Manager. Together, the panel discussed technical collaboration in transport between the UK and Europe.
The discussion covered a range of topics, including cross-border coordination, AI, regulatory frameworks, and local government engagement. In addition, the panel highlighted some of the practical challenges councils face in implementing new technologies and looked ahead to the 2027 ITS World Congress in Birmingham.
During the podcast, Paula emphasised LCRIG’s commitment to supporting councils in sharing best practice and the importance of getting local communities involved, stating:
“If we want to inspire local communities to understand the technology that is coming and the innovation that is coming, then the only way to do that is working with our local authority partners and not just our local authority partners, but also local politicians.”
Furthermore, Paula added: “We are here to help councils take the practical experiences in Europe, nationally and local authority to local authority. That is what keeps them [councils] really engaged.”
This highlights the crucial role LCRIG plays in facilitating knowledge sharing and fostering collaboration across the sector.
The UK Pavilion, organised LCRIG on behalf of the Transport Technology Forum, supported by Department for Transport and Innovate UK, showcased stand participants AECOM, AGD Systems, ANGOKA, Aurrigo, Clearview Intelligence, Immense, ITS UK, Neology, Nicander, Now Wireless, Starling Technologies, Westcotec and Zenzic.
Listen to the full podcast here: