The Chairman of ERTICO – ITS Europe has told the opening ceremony of the ITS European Congress 2026 in Istanbul that the industry needs co-operation more than ever.
Dr Angelos Amditis (pictured) said the host city’s bridges defined the city, technology and innovation are the new bridges – the new pathways to efficiencies and opportunities.
At the 17th iteration of the Congress, Dr Amnitis said technology delivers a “smarter, more integrated experience for all people, but also for prospect our goods. These are the new bridges for tomorrow, they connect systems that once operated in isolation. They enable real time traffic management, safety and resilience in our systems.
“Free movements allow infrastructure to respond dynamically and make journeys seamless across worlds, networks and workers, data, artificial intelligence and digital platforms,” and that the question is no longer whether, but how, delivering reliably at scale enable innovation deployment across diverse government infrastructure systems.”
The European Commissioner for transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, sent a video message telling the delegates: “The transformation of mobility is a conversation we have been shaping in Europe for some time, but today, with new technologies accelerating the pace of digitalisation, this transformation is no longer ahead. Intelligent Transport Systems are always reshaping our movement by connecting vehicles infrastructure users and has the potential to make transport safe and cleaner, more efficient and more resilient citizens businesses and public authorities responsible for managing traffic infrastructure.”
He emphasised the need for faster implementation, standardisation, and interoperability to make transport safer, cleaner, and more efficient, and pointed to key initiatives including digitising essential data, advising legislation on safety-related traffic information, and preparing updates to safety rules.
The Turkish Deputy Minister of Transport and Finance, Dr Omer Fatih Sayan, told the audience that: “This congress will serve as a productive platform for strong partnerships that will lead to innovative solutions. Transportation has never been just about moving from one place to another. In fact, it represents connection which brings people together.”
The event is the final ITS Congress in Europe before the ITS World Congress in Birmingham in October 2027. The team from Transport for West Midlands and the Transport Technology Forum are on the UK Pavilion with a number of SMEs to promote the event. Navtech Radar, Agilysis, Clearview Intelligence, Q-Free, AECOM, AGD Systems and MAV Systems who have taken space on the Pavilion along with ITS UK.
(Picture – Highways News)
