With the Chancellor of the Exchequer set to publish the Autumn Budget in a month’s time, ITS UK, the voice of the transport technology sector, has published a new report calling for a renewed focus on motorway technology as a means of improving safety, reducing congestion, lowering carbon emissions and making the road network future-ready.
The Report, ‘A Future State for the UK Motorway Network’, calls for a National Motorway Transition Strategy, consisting of three parts: first, the maintenance of current roadside technology; preparing for the increasing roll out of connected vehicle services in the medium term; and getting ready for automated mobility in the future.
ITS UK state in the report, that in order to deliver this strategy effectively, local authorities, national and sub-national transport bodies must work together, through a programme of renewal, maintenance and enhancement to technology on the strategic road network.
Intelligent Transport Systems UK Chief Executive, Max Sugarman, said: “Our motorways are critical to our national transport network, supporting millions of people, as well as freight, to get across the country each day. Yet, it is vital, as we approach the upcoming Autumn Budget, that we continue to invest both in current existing technology on the network, as well as in the technology required for the network to be future ready, including for both connected and automated vehicles.
“That is why ITS UK’s new report, ‘A Future State for the UK Motorway Network’ advocates for a National Motorway Technology Transition Programme that sets out a key path for the maintenance and future investment in motorway technology, bringing together local authorities, private sector suppliers and national and sub-national transport bodies to ensure best-practice and joined up approaches. We believe that, through technology, we can support a safer, more efficient, greener and more cost-effective strategic road network, both now and into the future.”
Chair of the ITS UK Future of Motorway Technology Expert Group Colin Wilson, said: “It’s been my privilege to Chair the Expert Working Group which has worked so diligently to document its collective insight on the future of motorway technology. I hope readers find this Report interesting and informative, and that it provokes a much-needed discussion on the opportunities and challenges facing the use of transport technology on the UK’s road network”
