The Director of Policy, Strategy and Innovation at Transport for West Midlands is promising to make a major announcement when he gives the keynote address at the ITS (UK) Summit in Coventry in two weeks' time. Mike Waters will be addressing the second annual summit, taking place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on 17 October, in which he’ll discuss his region’s success in implementing transport technology and give advice to other authorities and the private sector about policy, implementation and funding of new mobility solutions plus some lessons learned.

One of the panellists debating shared mobility at the forthcoming ITS (UK) Summit says that personal car ownership must be reassessed because the “status quo cannot go unchallenged”. James Taylor, UK Managing Director of DriveNow, reacted to the UK Government’s recent Science and Technology Committee report which recommended bringing forward the proposed ban on sale of new conventional cars and vans to 2035 at the latest adding that, “In the long-term, widespread personal vehicle ownership does not appear to be compatible with significant decarbonisation.”

The line-up for the Oxford-style debate at this year’s ITS (UK) Summit in Coventry has been completed, promising a feisty discussion about private vehicle use versus shared mobility solutions. After a highly successful session at last year’s Summit, this year’s adversarial debate at the Ricoh Arena on 17 October will discuss the following motion: This house believes that we are in the last years of private vehicle ownership and shared mobility is the only sustainable future for transport

The Government has announced plans to change its building regulations to ensure every new residential property with an associated car parking space has a electric vehicle chargepoint. The legislative change, which is out to consultation until the 7 October 2019, would be a world first the government said. Transport secretary Chris Grayling said, ‘With record levels of ultra-low emission vehicles on our roads, it is clear there is an appetite for cleaner, greener transport.’

The first stage of a major consultation by the Law Commissions of England and Scotland into the legal ramifications of driverless cars has provoked heated debate and looks set to raise more questions than it answered. Key issues include whether driverless cars could mount kerbs, exceed speed limits or 'edge' through pedestrians.

WSP’s Head of Profession for ITS, Ian Patey has been elected for an unprecedented third year as Chair of the UK’s Intelligent Transport Society.

The United Kingdom’s Intelligent Transport Society, ITS (UK) , is harnessing its membership’s wide range of expertise and experience to produce a credible version for how transport technology will support the best possible transport services in 2030.

Projects that reduce the chance of being caught at a red light, improve the use of kerbspace in busy cities and make motorways safer are among the winners of the prestigious ITS (UK) Awards 2018. At a ceremony hosted by the Society’s President, Steven Norris, two professionals at different stages of their careers were also recognised – one for an outstanding contribution to the industry and the other as young professional of the year.

The UK’s Intelligent Transport Industry seems to be split over whether taxpayers’ money should be spent on the development of driverless cars. At the ITS (UK) Summit in Bristol, a panel of experts debated the motion “This House believes that driverless vehicles are the biggest opportunity for a step change in mobility and therefore it is right that resources and investment are channelled towards them,” and at the end 48% agreed with this, while 52% disagreed.

The latest Talking Transport is a look ahead to the much anticipated ITS (UK) Summit that takes place on 27th November at the Bristol Harbour Hotel. Book your place at itssummit.co.uk and listen to it here. In this podcast, which is relevant to you whether you’re going to the event or not, the event’s keynote speaker Kirk Steudle talks about what he’ll cover in his speech about how to implement technology and where to find the budget.

A number of high profile decision makers from around the world will tackle the issue of how to fund and apply the huge range of Intelligent Transport solutions at the first annual ITS (UK) Summit this November. The Society, which is the voice of transport technology in the UK, is committed to go beyond what the technology does to examine the barriers to implementation.

A new event aimed at debating and discussing how ITS strategies and technology can help solve challenges on the road network will bring together all the relevant stakeholders involved with planning, managing and delivering change.

A trial of an autonomous shuttle bus service in real traffic conditions is being planned at the National University of Singapore’s Kent Ridge campus – with a view towards a commercial roll-out if successful. The year-long pilot involves ComfortDelGro, Inchcape Singapore, NUS and Toulouse-headquartered EasyMile Pte Ltd and will get underway next March.

The British trade association for the highways term management and maintenance industry, the HTMA, is asking for help understanding how to predict future travel behaviour arising from the implementation of Connected and Automated Vehicles.

Legal experts have asked for the public’s views on creating a digital highway code to support the ‘next generation’ of vehicles. The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission have launched the first of a series of consultations about ‘crucial’ legal reforms that aim to ensure that Britain is prepared for the introduction of automated vehicles.

The Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) has announced the opening of a Scottish office in Glasgow with the intention of harnessing “Scotland’s ongoing efforts to transform the future of the transport industry in line with the Scottish Government’s long-term goals of fostering a smarter, healthier, safer and greener environment”.

The UK Autodrive autonomous vehicle project is concluding with details of how pods for first-last mile solutions have been introduced into the English city of Milton Keynes. The project says the pods have provided a “crucial link” to the autonomous and connected vehicles in its “grand finale”, enabling the world’s first demonstration of multi-CAV vehicles completing an end-to-end journey in the UK.

The UK needs to change its approach to transport investment to capture the economic and social benefits of emerging transport innovations in Connected and Autonomous Transport, New Mobility Services and Open Data, according to the Transport Systems Catapult. New research from the TSC and Deloitte shows the “Intelligent Mobility” industry, which encompasses these technologies, could be worth £1.4 trillion globally by 2030.

A significant improvement in driver behaviour and speed limit compliance, and a resulting drop in accidents, has been measured since Scotland’s first urban Average Speed Camera (ASC) system went live on Old Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh one year ago.

Stephen Russell, transportation director at engineering consultancy Sweco UK, explains that using data-driven technology to optimise traffic flows could help unlock one of the UK’s major transport challenges.

Hampshire County Council hopes to save at least 200 work days a year in its Highways Operations Centre through the use of Robotics Process Automation (RPA) - a digital technology that assists staff by automating every day tasks using computer code.

There is growing UK interest in ‘late bus’ traffic signals technology as an ‘equitable’ form of bus priority, with two cities installing the technology. Liverpool and Swansea are now applying the technology, which alters signal phasing only when an approaching bus is late.

The UK-based Travel Spirit think tank has joined forces with the ITS Europe-hosted MaaS Alliance to speed up MaaS deployment in the UK and more widely.

The Automated and Electric Vehicles Act has passed through Parliament giving the Government new powers to ensure the installation of electric vehicle charging points and bringing automated vehicle insurance in line with longstanding motor insurance practice.

Audi and motorcycle manufacturing subsidiary Ducati have joined forces in a bid to avoid collisions between the two vehicle types.

Ford Motoring CO. has announced plans to create a separate self-driving vehicle operations unit with a $4bn investment, following a similar move in late May by Detroit rival General Motors Co with its Cruise Automation unit.