In a world of smart, connected and autonomous mobility what is the role that infrastructure plays and will play and how can it keep pace with the technological developments happening in the motor vehicles industry and the way people move overall? In such a rapid changing environment, what is the right governance model public authorities should adopt?

To debate these issues, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and International Road Federation (IRF Geneva) joined hands for the IRF & UNECE ITS event, a flagship event which was hosted at the UN headquarters in Geneva on 4th December 2018. This high-level ITS event focussed on “Governance and Infrastructure for Smart and Connected Mobility” and was organised to kick-start a collaborative dialogue among key ITS stakeholders following recent technological developments in our sector.

The event provided a unique opportunity to discuss and learn about the latest developments in this fast-moving sector and for an exchange of experience and views between government officials and private sector representatives from all over the world. Participants came among others from Australia, China, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Greece, UK, Germany. With riveting and inspirational speakers from – among others -ASECAP, Roads Australia, Arup, MOT China, BMW, SWARCO, Evonik, BestMile along with an active involvement from the audience present, the discussions centred around the continuous need for collaboration and partnerships across sectors to maximise the benefits that can be derived from ITS. Attention was also brought to the augmented need to focus on cybersecurity to avoid averse outcomes. Further, the private sector was called upon to play an increasingly important role in shaping government execution and implementation of ITS with their recommendations. One clear point emerged from the discussion: the public and private sector must do more to consult and involve the communities that will be impacted by new developments to make sure that solutions really answer their needs. Solutions adopted should in the end substantially improve the quality of life everyone.

The concept of “Mobility as a business” as opposed to “Mobility as a Service” was also debated with some interesting points being brought to the table by the industry. Representatives from India and China gave an overview of current developments in their country and of priorities for the short, medium and long term.

IRF, in close collaboration with UNECE,will be working on developing enabling frameworks that will allow to properly address the new challenges our sector is facing.

For more information or to get involved, please contact the IRF Secretariat: info@irfnet.ch