Chris Lane, Ian Patey, Andrea Reacroft and Oscar Law have won the four personal honours at the ITS UK Awards, recognising outstanding contributions to transport technology, international achievement, female leadership and emerging talent.
Former Transport for West Midlands innovation chief Mr Lane (pictured, centre) received the Rees Hills Award for Outstanding Personal Contribution, while WSP’s Mr Patey won the Richard Harris Award for International Achievement.
Tees Valley Combined Authority’s Ms Reacroft received the Jennie Martin Award for ITS Woman of the Year, and Transport for Greater Manchester’s Mr Law won the Eric Sampson Award for Early Careers Professional of the Year.
The awards were presented at ITS UK’s 20th President’s Dinner at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, bringing together 350 representatives from the transport technology sector and Government.
Judges recognised Mr Lane’s career spanning nearly 40 years at Centro and Transport for West Midlands, highlighting his leadership of the Swift smartcard programme, used by hundreds of thousands of passengers.
As Strategic Head of Transport Innovation, he also led the West Midlands Future Transport Zone, supporting work on connected vehicles, Mobility as a Service and micromobility. Judges praised his “pivotal role” in managing the competitive process that secured the 2027 ITS World Congress for the West Midlands.
Five years after winning the Rees Hills trophy himself, Mr Patey’s international award recognised more than 40 years connecting UK transport technology expertise with projects and professionals around the world.
Judges highlighted his work bringing international experience to pioneering UK schemes, including the M42 Active Traffic Management pilot, alongside building an ITS team in Australia and helping shape guidance used by road authorities worldwide through PIARC.
A familiar face at ITS World Congresses since 2003, Mr Patey leads WSP’s Global ITS Network of nearly 800 professionals.
Ms Reacroft was recognised for leading Tees Valley’s Digital Transport Programme since 2022, following roles at Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and Cubic Transportation.
Judges highlighted the delivery of the UK’s first regionwide automated traffic digital twin, which they said had more than doubled bus speeds during disruption. They also recognised her work helping bring autonomous vehicles into commercial service airside at Teesside International Airport.
“Technically expert, quietly determined and generous with her time, Andrea is a role model for women in ITS,” they said.
Transport for Greater Manchester’s Oscar Law received the Eric Sampson Award for Early Careers Professional of the Year.
Having joined as a graduate ITS engineer in 2023, he was recognised for work including upgrading connectivity and restoring the reliability of legacy variable message signs. Judges also praised his mentoring of degree apprentices and delivery of training on urban traffic management and control systems.
Tees Valley Combined Authority and Aimsun took both Project of the Year and the Public Transport Award for their digital twin programme.
The system monitors more than 1,700 miles of urban and rural roads across five local authority areas and automatically evaluates and implements traffic management interventions within a live UTMC environment.
Judges said the project combined technology, innovation and practical deployment to deliver benefits for users, describing it as an exemplar for ITS projects in the UK and internationally.
Other project winners included Immense Simulations, which received the Digitalisation & Digital Services Award for dynamic diversion routes supporting the A382 scheme at Newton Abbot in Devon. Judges highlighted the use of modelling from planning through to delivery, reporting up to 12 months removed from the programme and around 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide saved each week.
WSP won the Connected and Automated Mobility Award for the Connected Vehicle Services Strategic Implementation Programme. Led by the Department for Transport with specialist partners, the programme was recognised for turning connected mobility policy into a practical national framework, supported by live deployments and demonstrations at TTF Live.
Telent received the Greater Sustainability through Technology Award for its Design Carbon Appraisal Tool, which helps teams assess embodied carbon before purchasing goods and services.
FORS won the Better Safety through Technology Award for incorporating immersive virtual reality scenarios into professional driver training, allowing drivers to experience hazards from the perspective of cyclists and pedestrians.
Amey’s work with National Highways, Transport for Greater Manchester and SYSTRA on travel to major events won the Changing Behaviour with Technology Award.
The Better Accessibility through Technology Award was shared by Inclutech’s TapSOS, which enables non-verbal contact with emergency services, and QRoutes for SEND transport planning with Hertfordshire County Council. Judges said the latter reduced routes from 249 to 186 and identified £1.5 million in annual savings.
Yunex Traffic was named Exporter of the Year, in an award sponsored by ITS World Congress Birmingham 2027, recognising the international reach of products and software developed at its Dorset manufacturing base and supplied to more than 40 countries.
Littlepay won Start-Up or Scale-Up of the Year, while South East Coast Ambulance Service with HAAS Alert received Client or Public Sector Body of the Year for its fleet-wide deployment of digital emergency vehicle alerts.
Roads Minister Justin Madders delivered the keynote address, outlining the Government’s transport priorities and the role of technology.
ITS UK Chief Executive Max Sugarman said: “This year’s winners range from individuals who have shaped our industry over decades to start-ups, public sector clients and projects putting new technology to work for transport users every day.
“Together they show how the transport technology sector is delivering a smarter, safer, more sustainable network for everyone.”
ITS UK Awards 2026: the winners in full
Rees Hills Award for Outstanding Personal Contribution
Winner: Chris Lane, formerly WMCA
Judges’ comments: “Closing a career of nearly 40 years at Centro and Transport for West Midlands, Chris has too many major achievements to list; he led the Swift smartcard programme, one of the UK’s most successful integrated ticketing schemes, used by hundreds of thousands of passengers; as Strategic Head of Transport Innovation, he led the West Midlands Future Transport Zone, making it a national testbed for connected vehicles, Mobility as a Service and micromobility. And he played a pivotal role in managing the competitive process that is bringing the 2027 ITS World Congress to the West Midlands.”
Richard Harris Award for International Achievement
Winner: Ian Patey, WSP
Judges’ comments: “For more than 40 years, Ian has connected the UK with the global ITS community. He has brought international expertise to pioneering UK schemes such as the M42 Active Traffic Management pilot, and he built an ITS team in Australia. Through PIARC he has helped shape the guidance used worldwide by road authorities and has been a familiar face at ITS World Congresses since 2003. He leads WSP’s Global ITS Network of nearly 800 professionals.”
Jennie Martin Award for ITS Woman of the Year
Winner: Andrea Reacroft, Tees Valley Combined Authority
Judges’ comments: “Andrea has steered Tees Valley’s Digital Transport Programme since 2022, after roles at Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and Cubic Transportation. Under her leadership Tees Valley has delivered the UK’s first region-wide automated traffic digital twin, more than doubling bus speeds during disruption. She also helped bring autonomous vehicles into commercial service airside at Teesside International Airport. Technically expert, quietly determined and generous with her time, Andrea is a role model for women in ITS.”
Eric Sampson Award for Early Careers Professional of the Year
Winner: Oscar Law, Transport for Greater Manchester
Judges’ comments: “Oscar joined TfGM as a graduate ITS engineer in 2023. He takes on the difficult, unglamorous work that keeps Greater Manchester’s network running, from upgrading connectivity to bringing TfGM’s legacy variable message signs back into reliable service. He already mentors TfGM’s degree apprentices, runs training on UTMC systems, and is a qualified drone pilot. An outstanding early-career professional.”
Project of the Year Award
Winner: Tees Valley Combined Authority & Aimsun – Digital Twin-Bus Reliability: The UK’s First Regionwide Automated Traffic Digital Twin
Judges’ comments: “The judges selected a project that showed three things: technology, innovation and real-life deployment to deliver benefits for users. It hugely impressed them and was seen as an exemplar for ITS projects both in the UK and across the world.”
Public Transport Award, sponsored by Interchange
Winner: Tees Valley Combined Authority & Aimsun – Digital Twin-Bus Reliability: The UK’s First Regionwide Automated Traffic Digital Twin
Judges’ comments: “The Tees Valley Digital Transport Programme is the UK’s largest deployment of operational traffic digital twin technology, monitoring more than 1,700 miles of urban and rural road network across five constituent authorities. The judges thought this was a truly leading project – the UK’s first operational traffic digital twin to automatically evaluate and implement traffic management interventions within a live UTMC environment.”
Digitalisation & Digital Services Award, sponsored by Project ROUTE
Winner: Immense Simulations Ltd – A382 Dynamic Diversion Routes – Newton Abbot, Devon
Judges’ comments: “The judges found this an impressive end-to-end project. Clever digital modelling shaped the A382 scheme from early planning through to live delivery. A strong sustainability focus was obvious, with up to 12 months cut from the programme and around 15 tonnes of CO₂ saved per week. The judges praised how this fundamentally changed how traffic management decisions can be made.”
Connected and Automated Mobility Award
Winner: WSP – The Connected Vehicle Services (CVS) Strategic Implementation Programme
Judges’ comments: “This is an excellent example of ‘teamwork makes the dream work’. The project, led by DfT with a team of specialist partners, has turned connected mobility from a policy ambition into a practical national framework. And it wasn’t all theory: live deployments and demonstrations at TTF Live showed services improving safety, cutting congestion and strengthening resilience.”
Greater Sustainability through Technology Award
Winner: Telent – Design Carbon Appraisal Tool – Unlocking Better Infrastructure Outcomes Through Carbon Intelligence
Judges’ comments: “The Carbon Appraisal Tool enables project teams to assess the embodied carbon in goods and services before they’re bought, thereby turning carbon reporting into carbon reduction. The judges praised how, although initially developed to support ITS infrastructure projects, it can be applied across highways, rail, communications and wider public transport programmes.”
Better Safety through Technology Award, sponsored by Kier Transportation
Winner: FORS – Professional Safe Driving with Virtual Reality
Judges’ comments: “The FORS Safe Urban Driving course was developed to address the disproportionate involvement of HGVs in cyclist fatalities, and since the launch in 2011 more than 150,000 drivers have completed training. What impressed the judges was the shift to include virtual reality technology with immersive 360-degree scenarios, so that drivers see hazards through the eyes of cyclists and pedestrians but without the dangers of cycle training on busy roads.”
Changing Behaviour with Technology Award
Winner: Amey – SPaTS3 Seamless Travel Across Networks – Changing Travel Behaviour Through Integrated Mobility in Greater Manchester
Judges’ comments: “Amey, National Highways, Transport for Greater Manchester and SYSTRA worked together to understand and influence how people travel to major events in Greater Manchester, such as football and cricket matches. The judges praised how the project put customer behaviour at the centre, combining data, travel information and coordinated planning to encourage alternatives to the car. This project is a practical, transferable blueprint for moving from managing traffic to managing journeys.”
Better Accessibility through Technology Award, sponsored by Yunex Traffic
Joint winner: Inclutech – TapSOS
Judges’ comments: “A worthy winner, TapSOS helps people who find it hard to make a voice call in an emergency, particularly those with hearing needs. TapSOS enables users to communicate essential information and request help through a non-verbal digital interface, thereby making all four UK emergency services more accessible to a wider range of people.”
Joint winner: QRoutes – Breaking Down Transport Barriers for SEND Pupils Through Intelligent Accessibility Planning
Judges’ comments: “Using QRoutes’ Vantage platform, Hertfordshire County Council took a network-wide approach that considered mainstream and SEND transport requirements together across a whole district rather than school-by-school. The judges felt this scheme has real impact – routes fell from 249 to 186, and the council identified £1.5 million in annual savings – a massive achievement.”
Exporter of the Year Award, sponsored by ITS World Congress Birmingham 2027
Winner: Yunex Traffic
Judges’ comments: “From its manufacturing base in Dorset, Yunex Traffic designs, manufactures, tests and exports a comprehensive portfolio of intelligent traffic management products and software solutions. The judges thought that Yunex’s footprint, selling to over 40 countries across Europe, Scandinavia, North and South America, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia, was a great example of British innovation and expertise being exported globally.”
Start-Up or Scale-Up of the Year Award
Winner: Littlepay
Judges’ comments: “Littlepay’s cloud platform lets more than 600 merchants worldwide accept contactless payments on public transport without building their own ticketing systems. The judges felt this start-up clearly showed innovation at its core – their platform handles 370 million journeys a year and launched the world’s first prepaid travel pass linked to a bank card, with Google and Go-Ahead, and the first iPhone ticket-inspection app, with Apple. An amazing achievement for a start-up and a great example of what can be achieved in the sector.”
Client or Public Sector Body of the Year Award
Winner: South East Coast Ambulance Service with HAAS Alert
Judges’ comments: “Emergency vehicles spend their working life in hazardous environments: driving at speed, against the grain of ordinary traffic behaviour, towards an emergency. Working with HAAS Alert, SECAmb became the first UK ambulance service to roll out digital alerts across its whole fleet, with drivers warned through apps, dashboards and OEM infotainment systems of an approaching emergency vehicle. The judges were hugely impressed that more than 600,000 drivers were alerted in June 2026 alone, and collisions involving the fleet have fallen by 10% over the same period.”
(Picture – Highways News)
