Via Appia and Valerann Launch AI-Powered Traffic Management Trial on Rodovia das Colinas
São Paulo, Brazil, London, UK – September 28, 2026. Valerann, a global leader in advanced traffic management systems, today announced a 6-month trial deployment with Via Appia, concessionaire of Rodovia das Colinas, across an approximately 32 km section of the corridor in São Paulo state, Brazil. First of its kind in Brazil, the trial will evaluate how AI-powered data fusion improves network visibility, incident detection accuracy, and operator situational awareness, ahead of a planned 12-month operational deployment across the wider network.
The trial will deploy Lanternn across the selected 32 km section of Via Colinas, integrating 11 CCTV cameras alongside available traffic sensor and operational data sources. The corridor forms part of a broader 307 km concession spanning five interconnected highways within the São Paulo state road network, one of the busiest in the region, carrying average daily traffic of approximately 40,000 vehicles.
Operators along the corridor currently draw information from CCTV, traffic sensors, patrol operations, and third-party data sources. While each system provides valuable information, operators must often monitor separate interfaces and independently correlate alerts under time pressure, particularly across sections where detection coverage varies.
Lanternn integrates these sources into a single real-time operational picture. Its AI-powered data fusion engine, supported by proprietary Computer Vision, continuously correlates information from across the network to support automated event detection, prioritization, and faster operator decision-making, without requiring changes to existing workflows or additional roadside infrastructure.
“This trial marks Lanternn's first deployment in Brazil and an important step in Valerann's expansion across Latin America,” says Gabriel Jacobson, CEO of Valerann. “Via Appia's ambition to lead the market through technology is exactly the kind of partnership we look for - one where innovation is applied with a clear purpose: making roads safer and journeys better for the people who use them. We're proud to support that vision on Via Colinas.”
“Via Appia is a company that constantly seeks to incorporate new elements to make its operations more efficient and safer for our customers and workers.” - says Brendon Ramos, CEO of Via Appia Concessions. “We believe this partnership with Valerann will yield significant and impactful results for the highway concession sector in Brazil.”
The trial will assess detection accuracy, detection speed, and system reliability against defined performance targets, alongside operator feedback on usability and situational awareness. It will also examine how Via Appia can move from fragmented monitoring toward a more integrated, data-driven operating model, with AI supporting rather than replacing the expertise of human operators.
Findings will be jointly reviewed by Valerann and Via Appia and will form the basis for confirming a transition to a 12-month operational deployment, with the objective of expanding the solution across the full Rodovia das Colinas network.
The trial also supports Via Appia's long-term vision to put technology in service of safer roads, better journeys, and stronger operational performance across its network. Via Appia has stated its commitment to work tirelessly to provide safety and comfort for everyone who travels its highways, and this trial gives that commitment a concrete, technology-led expression - reflecting the company's ambition to lead the market in the adoption of advanced traffic management technology and to continually improve the experience of the road users who rely on its network every day.
About Via Appia
Via Appia Concessões S.A. is a highway concession company operating over 1,000 kilometers of roads in São Paulo and Minas Gerais (states of Brazil), committed to providing high-quality, safe infrastructure services to the users of the highways under its management. Founded in 2023 with a focus on customer experience and continuous investment in technology and innovation, Via Appia seeks to improve highway efficiency and service delivery, while also contributing to the socioeconomic and sustainable development of the regions where it operates.
About Valerann
Valerann, a global leader in advanced road traffic management and incident detection solutions, redefines modern mobility through data-driven insights that enhance roadway safety and operational efficiency. Its multi-award-winning platform, Lanternn, is trusted by public and private road authorities across the US, Europe, the Middle East, and LATAM. As the world's first AI-native system, Lanternn places real-time data at the center of decision-making, enabling proactive road management and delivering double-digit improvements in detection time, accuracy, and road safety.
For additional information, visit www.valerann.ai and follow
Keep Europe moving: invest in the roads we already have
Road authorities, the construction industry and millions of road users call for Europe’s roads to be treated as strategic assets—maintained, modernised and prepared for climate change and digital mobility.
Issued jointly by EAPA, ERF, FIA Region I and IRF
Brussels, 25 September 2026 — Issued to coincide with Connecting Europe Days in Brussels, this joint statement calls on decision-makers to treat Europe's existing road network as a strategic asset that is maintained, modernised and funded for the long term. Europe’s ambitions for safer, greener and increasingly digital mobility depend on the quality of the physical road network supporting them. Representatives of national road administrations, the construction industry and millions of road users have identified maintenance, resilience, predictable investment and cooperation as shared priorities for Europe’s roads.
Key messages
- Europe’s existing road network is a strategic and essential asset supporting everyday mobility, economic competitiveness, territorial cohesion, supply chains and resilience.
- Maintenance is an investment, not simply a cost: timely intervention preserves value, extends infrastructure life and avoids greater costs and disruption later.
- Future mobility is both physical and digital: electrification, connected vehicles and smarter systems still depend on safe, resilient and well-maintained roads.
- Long-term financial certainty is essential: road authorities and industry need predictable investment to plan, retain skills, modernise and introduce lower-emission technologies.
Protecting and modernising the network Europe already has
Europe already has an extensive road network, spanning approximately 6.5 million kilometres [1], supporting everyday journeys, public transport, emergency services and freight, while providing the first and last mile of almost every multimodal journey. The immediate challenge is to protect its value, modernise it and keep it performing for longer.
Across Europe, road construction and maintenance expenditure account for around 1% of GDP on average, underscoring the sector's economic significance.[2] Timely maintenance can extend infrastructure life, reduce disruption and avoid more costly reconstruction. It can also improve traffic flow and reduce the fuel or energy consumed by vehicles. Delivering these benefits requires decisions based on long-term network performance rather than short-term budget cycles.
The construction industry needs a credible long-term project pipeline to retain skilled workers, renew equipment and invest in lower-emission materials, technologies and construction methods. Stop-start investment can reduce capacity, delay modernisation and make it harder to prepare infrastructure for future demands.
Jean-Pierre Paseri, Vice President of EAPA and President of FIEC, speaking on behalf of road construction actors, including also ERF, and IRF, linked the future of the network to political commitment and industry’s ability to invest: “Europe has already built one of its most important infrastructure assets. The challenge now is to protect its value, modernise it and prepare it for future demands. Industry needs long-term political commitment and predictable investment to deliver the necessary skills, capacity and solutions.”
Connected vehicles, automation and smarter systems will play an increasingly important role in European transport mobility. However, digital innovation cannot compensate for deteriorating physical infrastructure. Roads must also withstand more extreme weather while continuing to serve passengers, freight, public transport and emergency services.
Carsten Karcher, Secretary General of EAPA, who hosted the discussion for a special episode of EAPA’s video podcast The RoadCast, connected these pressures with the need to rethink how Europe prepares its roads: “Europe’s roads are under growing pressure from extreme weather, ageing infrastructure and changing transport systems. We need to move beyond just repairing yesterday’s roads and start preparing the resilient, physical and digital network that tomorrow’s mobility will require.”
Gonzalo Alcaraz, Director General of the International Road Federation (IRF), pointed to the role roads play when it matters most: “It is often in moments of crisis that we are reminded just how essential our road network is. This summer's wildfires across Europe showed it again: roads became evacuation routes, they allowed emergency services to reach affected communities and they kept essential goods and services moving. We cannot take the resilience of that infrastructure for granted..”
Although the participants represent different parts of the road and mobility community, their perspectives converge on the need for stable, transparent and long-term investment. Without this certainty, authorities risk postponing necessary interventions while industry faces difficulty investing in skills, capacity and innovation.
EAPA President Slovenko Henigman underlined the mismatch between long-term infrastructure needs and short-term budget decisions: “Industry cannot plan for the next decade if infrastructure funding is decided one year at a time. Europe needs predictable, long-term investment that places maintenance, modernisation and life-cycle performance at the heart of road policy.”
For road users, infrastructure quality is experienced through safer journeys, reliable access to work and essential services, stronger connections between communities and affordable mobility. The discussion also addressed how Europe should fund its network as mobility patterns change and revenues from traditional fuel taxation decline. Any future approach will need to balance stable investment with fairness, transparency, and tangible benefits for users.
Diogo Pinto, Director General of FIA Region I, stressed that road users should remain at the centre of the debate about the future of Europe’s road network: “Roads are not simply infrastructure — they are a service that millions of people rely on every day to reach work, education, healthcare, family, and essential services. Their quality directly affects safety, reliability, accessibility, and the cost of mobility. As traditional fuel-tax revenues decline, Europe needs an open and informed discussion about how we fund this essential asset, with any future system being fair, transparent, and clearly connected to the quality of service that road users receive.”
Ahead of Connecting Europe Days, the signatories call on EU and national decision-makers to: recognise the existing road network as a strategic asset; treat maintenance as an investment rather than a cost; provide long-term, predictable funding for maintenance, modernisation and resilience; and ensure that any future funding model is fair and transparent for users. Keeping Europe moving starts with the roads we already have.
These conclusions emerged from Keep Europe Moving, a special episode of EAPA’s The RoadCast bringing together Steve Phillips of CEDR; Jean-Pierre Paseri of FIEC, speaking on behalf of road construction actors, including ERF, EAPA and IRF; and Diogo Pinto of FIA Region I. Hosted by EAPA Secretary General Carsten Karcher, the discussion explores maintenance, funding, resilience, digitalisation and what Europe’s road network needs for the future.
Notes to editors
About Keep Europe Moving
Keep Europe Moving is the final episode of Season 2 of EAPA’s ‘The RoadCast’ , a video podcast. It brings together voices representing Europe’s national road administrations, the broader road construction sector and road users for a conversation to explore the shared priorities shaping the future of Europe’s roads ahead of the Connecting Europe Days in Brussels.
About the issuing organisations
EAPA — The European Asphalt Pavement Association is the voice of the asphalt paving industry in Europe. It represents the sector at European level, develops and shares technical knowledge, and contributes industry expertise on road construction and maintenance, sustainability, safety, innovation and digitalisation.
ERF — The European Union Road Federation is a non-profit association that coordinates the views of Europe’s road infrastructure sector and provides a platform for research and dialogue on mobility issues between stakeholders and institutional actors.
FIA Region I — FIA Region I represents mobility clubs and millions of road users across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, advocating for safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable mobility.
IRF — The International Road Federation (IRF) is an international organisation headquartered in Geneva that mobilises the world's road transport ecosystem through a trusted platform for collaboration. It provides practical knowledge, policy engagement and capacity building to support countries and industry leaders deliver road systems that are inclusive, safe, green and efficient.
Coordinating Media contact
Meghaa Vandana
Marketing & Communications Manager
European Asphalt Pavement Association (EAPA)
Email: communications@eapa.org ; meghaa@hummingclouds.com
Phone: +32465609401
[1] [1] Data based on ©IRF World Road Statistics – 63rd Edition. Available at worldroadstatistics.org.
[2] Data based on ©IRF World Road Statistics – 63rd Edition. Available at worldroadstatistics.org.
Autostrada del Brennero and Valerann Launch AI-Powered Traffic Management Pilot on the A22
Trento (Italy), London, UK, September 22 2006 — Valerann, a global leader in advanced traffic management systems, today announced a 12-month pilot project with Autostrada del Brennero, a major European transit artery, across an 87 km section of the A22 motorway. First of its kind in Italy, the project will evaluate how AI-powered data fusion improves network visibility, incident detection and response, operator situational awareness, and risk management while optimizing the use of existing infrastructure and resources. The initiative will also contribute to Autostrada del Brennero’s objectives within the European VERKKO project, the roll-out of C-ITS systems and the Green Corridor.
The pilot will deploy Lanternn across an 87 km section between the Brenner Pass and Bolzano South. This stretch forms part of the Scandinavian–Mediterranean TEN-T Corridor, one of Europe’s busiest freight and passenger routes, and operates under challenging Alpine conditions that include tunnels, viaducts, steep gradients, and rapidly changing weather.
Motorway operators currently draw information from multiple specialized systems, including CCTV, traffic detectors, weather stations, floating vehicle data, and other roadside and third-party sources. While each system provides valuable information, operators must often monitor separate interfaces and independently correlate alerts under time pressure.
Lanternn integrates these sources into a single real-time operational picture. Its AI-powered data fusion engine continuously correlates information from across the network to support automatic incident detection, dynamic risk assessment, and faster operator decision-making. By reducing information overload, the platform helps operators identify potentially hazardous situations earlier.
“Our work with road operators consistently shows that the challenge is not a lack of information, but the difficulty of turning fragmented data into a clear and actionable view of the network,” - says Gabriel Jacobson, CEO of Valerann. “Lanternn helps operators focus on what matters most by automatically correlating and validating information from across their existing systems. This pilot will demonstrate how data fusion strengthens situational awareness and supports faster, more confident decisions without requiring a wholesale replacement of roadside infrastructure.”
“For Autostrada del Brennero,” observes Carlo Costa, General Technical Director of Autobrennero, “digital innovation is a key tool for further enhancing the safety and efficiency of infrastructure management. Our network runs through challenging landscapes crossing an Alpine area characterized by tunnels, viaducts, steep gradients and rapidly changing weather conditions, where timely and reliable information is essential to support operational decision-making.
With this pilot project, we are taking a further step forward: integrating and fully leveraging the data generated by the systems already deployed across our infrastructure, turning them into actionable information that can help us understand more quickly what is happening on the network and respond even more effectively. Artificial intelligence does not replace the experience of our operators; rather, it strengthens it by providing them with a more comprehensive and timely view of events.
The project also represents an important opportunity to assess, in practical terms, how artificial intelligence and data fusion can contribute to our strategy of moving towards increasingly connected, predictive and safety-oriented infrastructure management.”
The pilot will assess detection performance, technical integration pathways, and operational benefits. It will also examine the changes required to move from fragmented monitoring toward a more integrated, data-driven operating model, with AI supporting rather than replacing the expertise of human operators.
Findings will be jointly reviewed by Valerann and Autostrada del Brennero and will inform the potential wider deployment of the platform across the A22 network
About Autostrada del Brennero
Autostrada del Brennero S.p.A. operates the A22 motorway under a concession. Stretching for 314 kilometres, the motorway connects Modena with the Brenner Pass along one of the main transport corridors between Central Europe and the Mediterranean. The Company continuously invests in infrastructure safety, digitalisation and sustainability, with the aim of developing increasingly efficient, connected and low-emission mobility.
For additional information, visit www.autobrennero.it.
About Valerann
Valerann, a global leader in advanced road traffic management and incident detection solutions, redefines modern mobility through data-driven insights that enhance roadway safety and operational efficiency. Its multi-award-winning platform, Lanternn, is trusted by public and private road authorities across the US, Europe, the Middle East, and LATAM. As the world's first AI-native system, Lanternn places real-time data at the center of decision-making, enabling proactive road management and delivering double-digit improvements in detection time, accuracy, and road safety.
For additional information, visit www.valerann.ai and follow us on our official LinkedIn channel. For press enquiries, please contact us at press@valerann.com.
Building the Path to Scale for BIO-INTEL-MOB Solutions: IRF Drives Action for Mobility Innovation
17 - 18 September 2026 | Thessaloniki, Greece - International Road Federation (IRF) Project Manager Iona Kirkpatrick represented IRF at the BIO-INTEL-MOB General Assembly, outlining how the project will move from developing innovative mobility solutions to creating the conditions for their wider adoption.
The General Assembly brought together partners working to advance climate-neutral, data-driven and citizen-centric mobility and logistics across urban and peri-urban areas. BIO-INTEL-MOB combines mobility data spaces, artificial intelligence, digital twins, mobility hubs, green-safe routing and circular logistics approaches to develop solutions that can respond to different territorial needs.
IRF leads project responsibility for maturity, scalability and transferability. During the General Assembly, Kirkpatrick presented the work planned, including the development of standardisation manuals, roadmaps and guidelines to support the design, implementation and scaling of BIO-INTEL-MOB solutions.
Building the evidence for replication
Kirkpatrick highlighted that successful pilots are only one part of the pathway to long-term impact. To determine whether solutions can be replicated elsewhere, the work package will need evidence from the project's research, digital development, pilot implementation and impact assessment activities.
This includes documenting the technical architecture, technologies used, current maturity or Technology Readiness Level (TRL), development status and available evidence for each relevant solution or Key Exploitable Result.
The approach will also draw on pilot results and lessons learned. IRF will use the findings from the project's pilot activities to assess why particular solutions work, under which conditions they can be transferred and what adaptations may be required in other locations.
This evidence-based approach is central to BIO-INTEL-MOB's wider objective of developing solutions that can extend beyond individual pilot sites. The project currently combines mega pilots, satellite pilots and scalability sites across different European contexts.
Linking innovation with standards and policy
Another focus of Kirkpatrick's intervention was the role of standards and regulatory requirements in preparing innovations for wider uptake.
IRF will research relevant EU, ISO, CEN and ETSI standards, existing standardisation activities, regulatory requirements and potential gaps. This work will contribute to standardisation roadmaps and policy recommendations that can help connect BIO-INTEL-MOB solutions with the wider regulatory and technical environment.
The work will cover areas including physical infrastructure and data interoperability frameworks, creating a link between the project's pilot solutions and the standards that may influence their future deployment.
She also emphasised the need for partners to begin collecting the information required for these future deliverables now, rather than waiting until the formal delivery stages. A solution and knowledge matrix will track each relevant solution or Key Exploitable Result, its responsible partner, pilot site, technology or approach, maturity level and available evidence.
From project results to lasting mobility solutions
The intervention positioned IRF's contribution around a central question for research and innovation projects: how can successful project results become solutions that other cities and regions can realistically adopt?
Through its work package, IRF will help establish the evidence, standards, policy guidance and roadmaps needed to answer that question. The work will connect the experience generated across BIO-INTEL-MOB's pilots with the requirements for replication and transferability, supporting the project's longer-term objective of enabling adoption beyond the original demonstration environments.
As BIO-INTEL-MOB progresses, IRF will continue working with consortium partners to monitor developments across the project's work packages, identify relevant standards and regulatory frameworks, and prepare the foundations for the project's maturity, scalability and transferability assessments.
IRF Lead Trainer Miguel-Angel Serrano Santos joins SoRSA Scottish Conference 2026
17 September 2026 | Scotland, United Kingdom - Newly appointed Chair of the Society of Road Safety Auditors (SoRSA) and International Road Federation (IRF) Lead Trainer Eur Ing Miguel-Angel Serrano Santos is in Scotland for the SoRSA Scottish Conference 2026, bringing his expertise in road safety auditing and Safe System implementation to the annual gathering of road safety professionals.
Held at the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre, the conference focused on the key principles and practical application of the Safe System approach to road safety. The programme brought together professionals from across the road safety sector through expert presentations, interactive discussions and live demonstrations.
Miguel’s participation builds on his work with IRF to strengthen professional capacity in road safety auditing. As an IRF Lead Trainer, he delivers training that equips road safety professionals with the knowledge and practical skills needed to assess road infrastructure systematically and identify opportunities to address risk.
Building professional capacity for safer roads
IRF’s road safety work extends beyond promoting Safe System principles. Through its professional training programmes and auditor development initiatives, IRF supports practitioners who are responsible for applying these principles in the planning, design, construction and operation of road infrastructure.
Miguel has played a key role in this work, including leading IRF road safety auditor training programmes. These programmes help professionals develop the technical competencies required to undertake road safety audits at different stages of a road project, from feasibility and design through construction, pre-opening and existing-road assessments.
IRF’s Road Safety Auditors Registry, launched in 2024 with support from the TotalEnergies Foundation, is part of this wider effort to strengthen the professional community. The registry provides a platform for qualified road safety professionals and supports greater visibility of expertise in road safety auditing.
Connecting Safe System principles with practice
The Safe System approach recognises that road users can make mistakes and that the transport system should be designed and managed so that those mistakes do not result in death or serious injury.
For road safety auditors, this means examining infrastructure through a broader lens: how road design, speed, vehicles, road-user behaviour and post-crash response interact to influence risk.
The SoRSA Scottish Conference provided an opportunity to examine these principles from multiple professional perspectives, with speakers including representatives from Transport Scotland, RoSPA, IAM RoadSmart, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Northumbria Police, alongside Miguel as Incoming SoRSA Chair.
IRF calls for next phase of Safe System implementation at Bulgarian road safety conference
17 September 2026 | Plovdiv, Bulgaria — The International Road Federation (IRF) has called for a stronger focus on the practical implementation of Safe System principles at Bulgaria’s 12th Annual Conference on Safe Road Infrastructure.
Organised by the Bulgarian Branch Association Road Safety (BBARS), the two-day conference in Plovdiv brought together road authorities, researchers, engineers, road safety specialists and industry representatives around the common challenge of delivering safer road infrastructure. The programme combined institutional perspectives with technical discussions on vehicle restraint systems, traffic organisation, infrastructure maintenance and the wider social and economic consequences of road crashes.
IRF participated in the event at an important moment for both the Bulgarian and European road communities. The conference also provided an opportunity to mark a new chapter in IRF’s engagement in Europe following the unification of the European Road Federation (ERF) and IRF, bringing longstanding ERF relationships in Bulgaria into a broader international network of road authorities, technical experts and industry.
Addressing the conference, IRF Senior Advisor Brendan Halleman argued that the road sector is increasingly moving beyond the question of what the Safe System requires towards the more difficult challenge of how to implement it consistently, at scale and throughout the lifetime of the road. Bulgaria, he noted, already has Safe System principles embedded in its national road safety framework, including the objective of more forgiving infrastructure. The practical challenge is therefore to translate those objectives into everyday decisions on road function, speed, roadside design, vehicle restraint systems, signs and markings, vulnerable road users, maintenance and renewal.
“Safe System performance is not something that we purchase once, on the day the road opens. It has to be preserved.”
The presentation used roadside safety systems to illustrate this wider implementation challenge. Europe has developed a sophisticated performance-based framework around EN 1317, providing a common technical language for vehicle restraint systems. At the same time, technical standards must continue to evolve in response to new knowledge, changing vehicle characteristics, electrification, simulation methods and growing attention to lifecycle performance and maintainability. IRF is actively contributing to that European discussion.
Yet certification alone does not guarantee performance in service. Correct system selection, installation quality, compatible transitions, repairs following impact and the condition of the asset over time all influence the safety ultimately delivered on the road. IRF therefore highlighted the growing importance of inventories, condition assessment, intervention thresholds and risk-based maintenance prioritisation as part of a broader whole-life approach to safety infrastructure.
This discussion is particularly timely as the European Commission prepares new guidance under the Road Infrastructure Safety Management framework covering forgiving roadsides, self-explaining and self-enforcing roads, and infrastructure quality for vulnerable road users.
IRF underlined the strategic significance of this work. European transport policy has long pursued ambitious connectivity and mobility objectives through the TEN-T network and EU infrastructure investment, while simultaneously committing to Vision Zero and Safe System principles. The new guidance provides an opportunity to connect those objectives much more directly in the planning, design, assessment and operation of road infrastructure.
Rather than replacing national standards, the emerging framework is intended to provide a practitioner-oriented European reference alongside them. It is expected to address issues ranging from human factors, road categorisation and speed environment to clear zones, roadside hazard treatment, vehicle restraint systems, signs and markings and infrastructure for vulnerable road users. It will also be relevant to existing networks through road safety audits, inspections, retrofitting, prioritisation of interventions, maintenance and continuous improvement.
“Ultimately, Safe System is a capability: the ability to make thousands of good infrastructure decisions, consistently, over the lifetime of a network. Standards, guidance and technology are all part of that - but the decisive element is people and institutions having the capacity to put those pieces together”, Brendan Halleman concluded.
Building More Connected and Resilient Cities: IRF at CIVITAS Forum 2026
5–17 September 2026 | Thessaloniki, Greece - International Road Federation (IRF) Project Manager Iona Kirkpatrick attended the CIVITAS Forum 2026, bringing IRF’s work on sustainable, inclusive and innovative mobility to discussions with cities, policymakers, researchers and mobility practitioners from across Europe and beyond.
The CIVITAS Forum is the flagship event of the CIVITAS Initiative. Since 2003, the Forum has provided a platform for cities and mobility stakeholders to exchange knowledge, showcase innovative solutions and develop partnerships around the future of urban mobility.
This year’s theme, “Roots & Routes: Moving Forward to Competitive, Connected and Resilient Urban Mobility!”, explores how cities can build on their existing urban foundations while adopting new approaches to address changing mobility needs.
Connecting CIVITAS discussions with IRF projects
During the Forum, Iona took part in CIVITAS side meetings and thematic corners focused on public transport and new mobility services. These provide opportunities to share experience from projects across the IRF portfolio and connect ongoing project work with wider European discussions on urban mobility.
Among the projects highlighted were MOBILITIES FOR EU, FEDORA, and Roads4All – Horizon Europe, each contributing to different aspects of the transition towards more sustainable and user-centred mobility systems.
The engagement also creates opportunities to connect with partners and stakeholders involved in other CIVITAS projects, including metaCCAZE and UPPER, strengthening links between projects working on complementary challenges in urban transport.
From projects to practical change
For IRF, participation in the CIVITAS Forum provides a space to bring road infrastructure and mobility perspectives into broader conversations about how cities are changing.
As public transport, shared mobility, active travel, digital technologies and emerging mobility services become increasingly interconnected, road infrastructure remains an important part of how these systems function together. Exchange between cities, researchers, industry and international organisations can help translate project experience into approaches that are practical, scalable and responsive to local contexts.
Making Sustainable Transport Work: IRF Shares Practical Tools for the Road Sector During UN Decade Webinar
16 September 2026 | Online - IRF Head of Advocacy and Outreach Alice Yiu participated as a speaker in the launch of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport Webinar Series, highlighting practical tools, programmes and initiatives that can help advance safer, more inclusive and sustainable road systems.
The six-part webinar series explores the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035) and the actions policymakers and practitioners can take to advance sustainable transport. The opening webinar focused on Focus Area 1: Ensure Access to Sustainable Transport for All, bringing together perspectives from international organisations, development institutions, governments and civil society.
During the session, Alice highlighted the IRF Roadmaps for Change series, a voluntary commitment to support the UN Decade and accelerate the transformation towards inclusive, safe, green and efficient road systems for all.
The Roadmaps for Change provide a framework for translating the objectives of sustainable transport into action across the road sector. Covering inclusive, safe, green, efficient and smart roads, the series brings together practical approaches, knowledge and tools to support stakeholders in addressing the different dimensions of sustainable road infrastructure.
Alice also highlighted how implementation depends on more than frameworks and commitments. Professional capacity, reliable data and practical methodologies are critical to enabling road and transport authorities to put sustainable transport principles into practice.
Citing additional tools and resources like the IRF Professional Trainings, IRF supports practitioners in developing the technical and management capabilities needed to address challenges across road safety, infrastructure and asset management. The training portfolio provides opportunities for professionals to strengthen their knowledge and apply international approaches to real-world road-sector challenges.
Alice also referenced IRF's practical projects and knowledge resources, including the Ten Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure, which provides a structured approach for integrating road safety into infrastructure planning and delivery. By providing a practical sequence of actions, the initiative helps stakeholders move from road safety principles towards implementation.
Another key resource highlighted was World Road Statistics (WRS), IRF's long-running international road and transport data resource. WRS brings together data from countries and territories across multiple road and transport indicators, providing an evidence base that can support benchmarking, analysis and informed decision-making.
The webinar underscored the importance of designing transport systems around the diversity of people and communities they serve. Roads influence access to employment, education, healthcare, markets and social opportunities, making accessibility, safety and inclusion essential considerations in transport planning and infrastructure delivery.
Alice joined speakers from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Asian Development Bank, UN ESCAP, Seongnam City, the National Road Fund of Liberia, International Disability Alliance, UITP, Walk21 Foundation and Fika for the discussion.
MAMS2026: The Future of Autonomous Mobility Starts in Madrid
Madrid, 27–28 October 2026 — Autonomous mobility is moving beyond experimentation. Across Europe and beyond, cities, operators, technology companies and regulators are working to determine how automated vehicles can operate safely, efficiently and at scale in real-world environments.
Madrid is emerging as an important testing ground for this transition.
Since September 2025, EMT Madrid has been operating an SAE Level 4 autonomous bus, providing a live example of automated public transport in an urban environment. The service has received an 8.4/10 user rating, offering practical insight into how passengers experience autonomous mobility.
Madrid is also home to the Villaverde Mobility Sandbox, which provides operators with approximately 20 km² of real urban environment in which to test mobility solutions. The sandbox is described as the largest regulatory sandbox of its kind in Europe, creating opportunities to move technologies from controlled demonstrations towards real-world deployment.
At the same time, the regulatory environment is evolving. Developments at international, European and national levels are establishing the framework within which automated driving systems will be deployed. These include the UNECE global framework for automated driving systems, the European Union's Automotive Industrial Action Plan, and regulatory developments from Spain's Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT).
These developments raise practical questions for the road and mobility sector: How quickly can autonomous vehicles move from pilots to wider deployment? What can Europe learn from existing live projects? How should regulation evolve alongside technology? And what infrastructure, data and public-sector capabilities will be required to support autonomous mobility at scale?
These questions will take centre stage at the Madrid Autonomous Mobility Summit (MAMS2026), taking place on 27–28 October 2026.
Promoted by the Ayuntamiento de Madrid and organised by IRF Member FACTUAL, with the support of Impulso Mobility, Kairos Innovation Consulting and Connected Mobility HUB, the summit brings together stakeholders working across the autonomous mobility ecosystem.
Waymo is Gold Partner, with PAVE Europe and Freenow as Silver Partners.
Over two days, MAMS2026 will examine the international race for autonomous vehicle adoption, lessons emerging from Europe's live pilots, and the regulatory pathway from the EU framework to Spanish law.
Discussions will also explore Madrid's autonomous mobility roadmap and the future applications of automated systems in both passenger transport and logistics.
For road authorities, transport operators, policymakers, technology providers and other mobility professionals, the summit provides an opportunity to examine autonomous mobility through both the technology and the systems needed to deploy it: regulation, infrastructure, operations, public acceptance and commercialisation.
Join the conversation in Madrid on 27–28 October at MAMS2026.
IRF Director General Highlights Capacity, Data and Safety at FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference
IRF Director General Highlights Capacity, Data and Safety at FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference
15 September 2026 | New Delhi, India – IRF Director General Gonzalo Alcaraz is participating in the FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference 2026 in New Delhi, India, where he is speaking during the FIDIC Parallel Session, “Sustainable Transport for People and Prosperity”.
Held from 13–15 September, FIDIC’s flagship annual conference brings together governments, policymakers, clients, consulting engineers, contractors, financiers and other infrastructure professionals from across the world to exchange knowledge, share experience and strengthen collaboration.
Against this backdrop, Alcaraz is highlighting a fundamental question for the road sector: how should we measure the success of transport infrastructure?
Rather than focusing solely on kilometres constructed, road condition or vehicle throughput, Alcaraz argues that transport infrastructure must also be assessed by the people it connects, the opportunities it enables, the lives it protects and the long-term value it delivers.
Putting people at the centre of connectivity
With the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport 2026–2035 now underway, roads have a central role to play in making mobility safer, cleaner and more inclusive.
From IRF’s perspective, a road ultimately serves a purpose beyond its physical infrastructure. It should connect people to jobs, markets, schools and healthcare, reliably at reasonable cost.
This requires road agencies to identify where connectivity gaps exist and direct investment towards the communities that need it most. Accessibility mapping, targeted improvements to maintain year-round passability and social-equity considerations in project prioritisation can help ensure that investment responds to people’s needs rather than traffic volumes alone.
Safety must be considered alongside connectivity. Roads that expand access without providing safe conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users can simply transfer risk to the communities they are intended to serve.
Building the capacity to deliver safer roads
In addressing what is needed to close connectivity and safety gaps, DG Alcaraz points to professional and institutional capacity as a critical link between standards, funding and political commitment.
Governments may have the necessary policies and financing, but without qualified professionals and institutions capable of applying them, those measures may not translate into safer outcomes.
IRF is working to address this implementation gap through initiatives including the IRF International Registry for Road Safety Auditors, established in 2024 and now covering more than 350 professionals worldwide. The registry provides road authorities, project owners and development banks with a transparent means of identifying auditors whose qualifications and experience have been verified.
The IRF Ten-Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure provides another practical framework, linking national gap analysis, design standards, workforce development, assessment programmes, road safety audits and ongoing monitoring. The approach is currently being applied in Mauritania, Morocco and Senegal, while national design guidance is being adopted in the Kyrgyz Republic.
For DG Alcaraz, strengthening this capacity offers a way to advance both safety and connectivity: countries can expand their networks while building the expertise needed to ensure that new and existing infrastructure serves people safely.
Making better decisions through better data
During his intervention, DG Alcaraz identified data and monitoring as a practice that should be mainstreamed across the transport sector.
Reliable, comparable data provides the foundation for investment decisions, budget allocation and safety programmes. Yet in many countries, transport data remains incomplete, outdated or difficult to compare across jurisdictions.
IRF’s World Road Statistics contributes to addressing this challenge. The resource brings together more than 200 indicators across eleven themes from more than 200 countries and territories, drawing on data from primary sources including ministries, road authorities and national statistical offices. Its road safety data and dashboards also enable countries to benchmark casualty trends and monitor progress over time.
As the sector moves towards more people-centred measures of transport performance, data will need to capture not only the size and use of road networks, but also how effectively those networks provide access and protect their users.
Treating capacity as core infrastructure
Looking ahead, DG Alcaraz calls for governments to give capacity building a more prominent place in transport programmes and funding.
The need extends across four practical areas, specifically data and asset management, people-centred planning, procurement and contract management and institutional governance. Strengthening these capabilities can help road agencies and professionals translate standards and investment into better delivery.
DG Alcaraz also emphasised the role of consulting engineers in bringing this capacity into projects and helping scale safer and more inclusive infrastructure.
His message is straightforward: capacity should be funded as deliberately as physical infrastructure.
