Details
TRANSPORT Smart Classes show key buyer side stakeholders how they can deploy the latest digital technology-enabled solutions, data-driven strategies, policies and best practices to tackle their transport sector challenges (e.g. around congestion, traffic flows, air pollution and emissions, noise, first and last mile mobility, customer experience, cost effectiveness, connecting transport networks, managing and maintaining assets & infrastructure) and deliver a transport system that will allow passengers and citizens to travel efficiently, safely and with minimal impact on the environment.
Qualifying delegates include commissioning, procurement, trialling, partnering and policy leads, senior influencers, strategic decision makers, programme managers and planners from local authorities (e.g. city, borough, metropolitan, district and county councils); public transport operators; regional transport partnerships, sub-regional transport bodies, combined authorities, integrated transport authorities and passenger transport executives; highways authorities and road operators; government and supporting national transport agencies; non-governmental organisations; fleet operators, parking operators, prime contractors etc.
Core themes range from on-demand transport and MaaS applications, EVs and e-mobility, bus franchising, micro mobility, predictive traffic management, AI based journey monitoring, smart parking and enforcing CAZs and LEZs, to active travel and behavioural change, analysing people movements, new ways of visualising data, connected and autonomous vehicles, intelligent street lighting, real-time transport modelling, smart ticketing and fare collection, and ITS in a post-Covid/polycrisis world.
On Wednesday 25th February we will be casting a spotlight over Central England, hosting our speakers discussions on how the latest digital innovations can help overcome the transport and mobility challenges faced by the burgeoning city-regions of the West and East Midlands (incl. Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Kettering, Leicester, Lincoln, Northampton, Nottingham, Peterborough, Solihull, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford, Worcester, Wolverhampton etc), and beyond. Delegates will hear from industry movers, shapers and disruptors during initial rapid-fire thought leadership presentations, before moving on to in-depth consultations with experts and peers during the roundtable discussions. In addition, this Smart Class will feature up to 3 keynote presentations from ITAs, PTEs, major transport operators, agencies or local/combined authorities giving real world insight into their programmes, collaborative initiatives, digital journeys and adoptions of emerging, transformative technologies.
TRANSPORT Smart Class, Midlands 2026 takes place at The Old Library (below), Birmingham, and follows on from the highly acclaimed Midlands editions that we hosted in 2023 (Drapers’ Hall, Coventry), 2022 (Nottingham Council House), 2020 (Fazeley Studios, Birmingham), 2019 (Fazeley Studios, Birmingham) and 2018 (Radisson Blu Hotel, Birmingham). This half day in-person event is free to attend for bona fide delegates satisfying our registration criteria.
Previous Transport Smart Classes have attracted senior delegates from:
Previous Transport Smart Class presentations have addressed:
Testimonials and feedback:
Travel Demand Manager, Transport for West Midlands
“I think Smart Classes are some of the best events I have been to, in the the sense of the timing, the engagement and the ability to speak to everyone in the room. I found all of the roundtables very valuable and a really good chance to speak to the speakers”
Principal Transport Planner, Walsall Council
“First time at a Smart Class and very impressed. All really good presentations and benefited from every roundtable. Very good session, thank you!”
Traffic and Network Coordination Manager, Transport for West Midlands
“Thanks for the opportunity to speak. A good morning’s thought provocation”
Transport Strategy Manager, Nottingham City Council
“Excellent event. Thanks for the opportunity to present”
Head of New Technologies, Midlands Connect
“Worthwhile and appreciated. All good presentations and equally good discussion at each of the roundtables”
Transport and Growth Manager, Lincolnshire County Council
“Would recommend Smart Classes to colleagues”
Regional Delivery Director (Midlands), National Highways
“Excellent organisation of the event”
Principal Officer, Coventry City Council
“Thanks for running a brilliant event. It has certainly helped open our eyes at NCC to the world of possibilities related to MaaS. I look forward to joining again in the future”
Growth, Infrastructure & Development Team, Nottinghamshire County Council
“Excellent service by Mark and Harriet. Clearly passionate about giving the attendees a well planned, joined up event. The presentations were all highly valuable. Thorough enjoyed it, very well coordinated and the material covered was exactly right”
Head of Strategy, Midlands Connect
“Myself and others from the authority certainly found it very enjoyable and informative. Many thanks for the invitation. Please bear me in mind for future events as I am sure colleagues would very much like to attend”
Transport Planner, Leicestershire County Council
“A really worthwhile event to attend, a very valuable use of my time and a really good mix of delegates in terms of public/private organisations and transport authorities and operators”
Head of Intelligent Transport Systems, National Highways
“The Smart Class is a really good format for exploring a contemporary area of work”
Professional Lead, Transport Strategy, City of Wolverhampton Council
“Excellent event, very informative and easy to delve into each area further”
Public Transport Operations Team Leader, Nottingham City Council
“Thank you for the invitation. It was a pleasure to present”
Transport Innovation Manager, Coventry City Council
“Colleagues fed back the event was very valuable. Many thanks”
Place Strategy Manager, Nottinghamshire County Council
“All of the presentations were informative and gave insights into solutions being offered to address a variety of issues on the transport and carbon reduction agenda”
Senior Project Engineer – Forward Programmes Highways Strategy, Derbyshire County Council
“The presentations and roundtables were all valuable”
Highways Strategy Manager, Derbyshire County Council
“Thanks for having me. Myself and my colleagues found it very interesting”
Transport Development Officer, Leicester City Council
“Pleased to be involved. I found it a very interesting morning”
Smart Leicester Programme Manager/Smart City Programme Lead, Leicester City Council
“Very informative, well chaired, excellent time keeping, lovely lunch and venue. Thank you!”
Environmental Protection Team Leader, Warwick District Council
“Love the structure of concise talks – gets rid of the uninteresting info and keeps the attention – then the opportunity to speak with them all afterwards. Excellent event”
Parking & Traffic Control Management, Warwickshire County Council
“Related well to my ongoing projects”
Transport Planning Project Officer, Warwickshire County Council
“Great opportunity to see real examples of tech in use and ask the daft questions – Very enjoyable”
Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy, Worcestershire County Council
“Well organised, great location and good brand of delegates”
Contract Manager, Birmingham City Council
“I attend a fair few industry events as you might expect and this was certainly one of the best ones I’ve been to”
Head of Commercial Management, Railway Operations, HS2
“A valuable learning opportunity, very interesting and enjoyable, and all the roundtables were insightful. I learned a great deal from the day and came away with some great ideas to research and chase up”
Transport Manager, Derbyshire Community Transport, HCT Group
“An excellent use of time that repaid my travel and overnight expenses several times over”
Director, Association of Transport Coordinating Officers
“I found the afternoon very helpful; a carefully curated audience, very well managed, and a warm friendly organisation to work with”
Ex-Head of Digital Transformation & Transport Data Policy, Department for Transport
“Spot on content! Thanks again and see you again next year!”
Value Chain Delivery & Development Manager, Highways England
“It was a great session. Thank you to you and your team for organising”
Sustainable Transport Manager, Coventry University
“All excellent!”
Sustainable Transport Coordinator, Nottingham Trent University
“The roundtable segment encouraged really dynamic discussion between experts and novices”
Innovation Manager, WMG, University of Warwick
“Great event”
Sustainability West Midlands
“Great to see you going from strength to strength to strength. The format delivers an engaging and useful experience; intelligent discussion on the roundtables; well worth attending!”
Transport Sector Lead, West Midlands Open Data Forum
“Thanks again for the opportunity to attend the event. It was both enjoyable and informative”
Market Development Lead, Smart Mobility & CAV, TRL
“Great event last week and I will be sure to look out for future sessions, especially in the Midlands. Your classes are a fantastic way for me to build my network and keep up with industry innovations”
Senior Project Manager – Infrastructure, Aecom
“The smart class was really interesting. Thank you!”
Environmental Consultant, Aecom
“Thank you so much for the invite. Really enjoyed it. Very relevant to work we are doing. Very interesting discussion and great to see and think about future considerations in data. Have made some good connections and looking forward to future classes”
Associate Director – Intelligent Mobility, Arup
“Was great to meet and have some really useful discussions today!”
Director Future Mobility, Arup
“Really enjoyed. It was expertly run and I particularly liked the roundtables. I hadn’t experienced quite that format before but it worked really well”
Associate, Policy & Strategy Division, Integrated Transport Planning
“The presentations were great quality and all had relevance. All of the roundtables were informative and the venue was great”
Senior Associate Director, Jacobs/Professor, University of Wolverhampton
“All presentations provided useful and interesting insights”
Transport Planner, Mode Transport Planning
“The Midlands Smart Class last week was informative and included thought provoking presentations. It was great to hear about innovation in transport planning first hand, and to contribute to some insightful conversations regarding emerging technology in the break out sessions, particularly where PJA is already working closely with the presenters to innovation into our projects such as the use of the latest mobile data in development planning”
Associate Director, PJA
“Really interesting event, good networking opportunities and great debate on roundtable discussions”
Divisional Director, Pell Frischmann
“Really interesting presentations and roundtables were a valuable opportunity to discuss real world issues. Great morning – Thank you!”
Principal Transport Planner, Rodgers Leask
“Thank you for today’s Transport focused Smart Class in Coventry. It was jam packed full of excellent speakers, showcasing innovation in their field, and a host of interesting attendees. Key takeaways include engaging with peers, innovators and the public and sharing tools, tech and knowledge to strengthen the whole of the UK, not just the Midlands. All of the topics addressed were valuable to developing my knowledge”
Senior Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager, Skanska
“The presentations and roundtable discussions were all valuable”
Principal Transport Planner, Waterman Group
“All of the presentations were valuable as they covered different points”
ITS Engineer, WSP
“Had some really useful conversations, which have already resulted in what looks like some potentially collaborative work”
Project Coordinator, Living Streets (Innovation Sponsor)
“A very useful and collaborative event”
Marketing Team, Marston Holdings (Innovation Sponsor)
“Delighted to be part of it; interesting presentations by all, and very useful roundtable discussions in the smart classes format”
Transport Lead, ODI Birmingham (Innovation Sponsor)
“Really enjoyed speaking at this event. Smart Classes are must attend events for local authority officers looking to see the latest innovations in the transport market”
Head of UK Business Development, Padam Mobility (Innovation Sponsor)
“A very interesting event”
Marketing Manager DACH, UK & Nordics, Padam Mobility (Innovation Sponsor)
“The event was a great opportunity to meet our targets”
Marketing Acquisition Manager, Padam Mobility (Innovation Sponsor)
“Really enjoyable day and thought provoking sessions from fellow presenters”
Principal Engineer, Project Centre, Part of Marston Holdings (Innovation Sponsor)
“With my colleagues from Padam Mobility, I attended the Smart Classes event in Nottingham last week. I really enjoyed the discussion with all the experts and gained many useful insights during the roundtable discussions. Thanks for organising this kind of event!”
Business Development Manager, Siemens IMS (Innovation Sponsor)
“I enjoyed presenting at this Midlands conference yesterday and hosting the roundtable discussions. It was good to share how Sustrans has moved from having a GIS team to becoming an organisation that uses GIS daily and how that has transformed our work. It was also good to discuss how important it is to engage with people…For us, digital engagement is a tool rather than an approach. Early and meaningful engagement is going to be vital as cities introduce transformative change through Mini Hollands and liveable neighbourhoods. Thank you for the rich roundtable discussions: lots of interest in the National Cycle Network and our GIS data. Fascinating presentations and lots for me to reflect on! Thanks for the opportunity. It was a really interesting morning”
Director: England Midlands and East, Sustrans (Innovation Sponsor)
“Many thanks for hosting this excellent event”
Business Development Manager, Videalert (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thanks for another great event today!”
Director, Videalert (Innovation Sponsor)
“Great to be part of the session today and hear where others thoughts are going with infrastructure, technology and decarbonisation of transport”
Head of Design and Engineering (Midlands), Sustrans (Innovation Sponsor)
“All of our roundtables were a good opportunity to talk with all of the delegates. How community engagement can be integrated into our network and planning was a most interesting topic of discussion. Thank you for making us feel so welcome”
Senior Project Manager (West Midlands) – Behaviour Change and Engagement Team, Sustrans (Innovation Sponsor)
“Really enjoyed the session and I’ll look forward to seeing you again”
Strategic Account Director, Marston Holdings (Innovation Sponsor)
“It was a good day. Happy to attend other events like this one in the future!”
Mobility Insights Technical Manager, BT Active Intelligence (Innovation Sponsor)
“One of my favourite days of 2023 as we met with data and transport experts from across the UK in an exciting and engaging format”…“Great to be at Smart Classes event in Coventry today discussing how BT Active Intelligence’s data can understand every journey to enable better decision making. Some great conversations around making location data easily accessible and readily available to meet the demands of current projects”
Transport Senior Sales Specialist, BT Active Intelligence (Innovation Sponsor)
Speakers
“The Transition to a Franchised Bus Network for the West Midlands and the Benefits that Franchising will Bring” – The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is transitioning to a bus franchising system, aiming for full implementation by the end of 2029. Restoring public control will allow Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) to set routes, fares, and service standards, and see WMCA purchase key bus depots and vehicles to support the new, competitive network.
In this keynote, Sandeep Shingadia (Executive Director) and Pete Bond (Director, Integrated Transport Services) will delve into the backdrop, process and benefits of bus franchising for the West Midlands region, including the primary goals stated by Mayor Richard Parker to improve service reliability, better integrate transport, and make fares more affordable.
The scope of the presentation includes:
- Transport as a key enabler of the WM Growth Plan and TfWM’s key role in delivering the LTP Core Strategy vision (‘Journeys for Everyone’);
- Why franchising? Local transport outcomes, the importance of buses, how services work now, and addressing accountability;
- Franchising approach and principles;
- Approach to fleet, depots and lotting contracts, and provisional lotting strategy;
- Timeline to date, proposed phasing, and Bus Franchising Programme delivery;
- Sprint – A transformational BRT system for the Walsall to Solihull corridor.
“Next Steps for Devolution and Growth in the Midlands: Challenges and Opportunities for Integrated Transport and Infrastructure” – Devolution brings major opportunities for the Midlands by giving local leaders greater control over transport, infrastructure, and economic growth. But turning these new powers into real, on‑the‑ground delivery remains challenging.
While major programmes such as Midlands Rail Hub, HS2 to the West Midlands, and multi‑year Transport for City Regions funding continue to advance, longstanding issues persist — including ageing infrastructure, the cancellation of schemes like Midlands Main Line Electrification, and uneven investment across the region. The WMCA–EMCCA compact is a positive step toward coordinated growth, yet varied devolution timelines and ongoing local government reorganisation create uncertainty.
In this keynote presentation, Mike Bull, Strategy & Programme Director at Midlands Connect, will set out some of the key challenges and how strengthened collaboration, shared capability, and integrated planning will be essential to deliver more resilient infrastructure and inclusive regional growth.
“Coventry Very Light Rail – Delivering a Demonstration Line” – In this keynote presentation, Nicola Small (VLR Programme Director at Coventry City Council and Regional VLR Programme Director at Transport for West Midlands) will talk about the progress and challenges in delivering Coventry’s first major Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) demonstration line, which is an 800-meter, twin-track route from the Railway Station to the University Technology Park.
The Demonstrator is required to prove the technology for future commercial lines, with operation in live traffic expected by October 2027 to coincide with the ITS World Congress, showcasing a quick, affordable, sustainable transport solution. This next-phase demonstrator builds on earlier trials, allowing public rides and testing integration with city traffic, aiming to attract global interest in the council’s home-grown VLR system.
“From Blocks to Better Streets: Empowering Young People to Reimagine Public Realm through Minecraft” – Walk Wheel Cycle Trust provide advice and consultancy to make walking, wheeling and cycling safer and easier. They are trusted by public and private sector partners to deliver projects that transform routes, spaces and travel habits.
This presentation will explore how Minecraft can be used as a joyful, accessible tool for engaging young people in engineering thinking and placemaking design. Drawing on recent projects, Lorenzo Ciancarini (Senior Engineer) will show how virtual modelling supports child‑led insight into street layouts, movement, safety, and public space quality.
The session will highlight how blending digital play with hands‑on engagement and local conversations can spark collective imagination, build stronger relationships between young people and their surroundings, and inspire more responsive, community‑rooted active travel and public realm improvements.
“Inter Modal Logistics – Unlocking Urban Deliveries Through Containerisation” – Freight is one of the biggest sources of urban emissions. Today, only around 10% of urban deliveries are made by cargo bike — but with containerisation, the potential rises to 50%.
Pre-packed units can transfer seamlessly from rail into city centres, cutting out vans and depots while scaling capacity. Steve Evans, Director of Inter Modal Flow, will explore in this presentation how this model can transform zero-emission logistics across UK cities.
“Maximising Co-Benefits and Minimising Cost of EV Deployment and Charging – No One Plug will Rule them All” – This presentation on behalf of UK-based home EV charging solutions innovator Nodum will focus on learnings from deploying a handful of guerrilla installs of cross pavement solutions (that are not a gully style).
With a focus on making EV ownership more accessible for more people, Ben Macdonald (Co-founder and CEO) will also look forward to how V2G could help alleviate some of the wider challenges around grid congestion and supply constraints. Key to this is enabling as many people to plug in as often as practicable – especially on those cold miserable February days.
Agenda
- 8:30 am - 9:00 am Registration, Networking and Continental Breakfast
- 9:00 am - 9:30 am Introduction and Opening Keynote
- 9:30 am - 10:40 am Expert Innovator Presentations
- 10:40 am - 11:00 am Keynote Speaker 2
- 11:00 am - 12:40 pm Roundtable Discussions and Consultations
- 12:40 pm - 1:00 pm Keynote Speaker 3
- 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Close and Lunch Networking
