TRANSPORT Smart Class, Midlands 2019

“The End to End Journey – Planning for Autonomous Vehicles on the Strategic Road Network” – In this opening keynote, the Head of Highways England’s Intelligent Transport Systems Group will talk to us about future Highways England ambitions, including the 9 key future trends highlighted in their “Connecting the Country” report that the organisation will be focussing on to meet the challenges currently faced on the strategic road network. Dr White’s presentation will focus on connected and autonomous vehicle trials, the role of Highways England in those trials and the value of collaboration across road authorities, vehicle manufacturers, telecoms providers and academia. She’ll also discuss how the outcomes of those trials will deliver services and determine future intelligent infrastructure requirements for digital roads as well as how these can support intelligence led end to end journey planning.

“How to Deliver Business Benefit, Solve Public Sector Challenges and Create Social Value Through Transport Data Sharing” – The public sector is increasing its focus on ensuring that data is shared to unlock social and economic value. In isolation, businesses have struggled to realise tangible value from sharing data. Without a strategy that everyone can benefit from, including businesses, we risk remaining trapped in a spiral of fear, funding gaps and skills shortages. This will prevent us from turning the public sector challenge into an opportunity. ODI Birmingham offers a practical, collaborative approach to solving this conundrum and celebrates their regional strengths. It helps us find a balanced way to solve the business, public sector and social challenges involved in data sharing for the benefit of the region and individual organisations.

“How to Effectively Manage and Enforce Clean Air and Low Emission Zones with Virtual Permits and Digital ANPR” – A recent UN pollution report found that air in 44 UK cities and towns is too dangerous to breathe and estimated over 40,000 premature deaths per year from road polluted air. Imperial and Videalert demonstrate that the move towards managing air quality needn’t be a giant leap into the unknown and can be achieved by simply utilising proven technologies in a way that will make a very real difference to the quality of life in our cities and towns.

“How Digital Tools Can Advance Knowledge of Active Travel” – Living Streets demonstrate how digital technology is helping them to deliver one of the biggest behaviour change programmes in the UK. Working with local authority and transport partners, WOW – the year round walk to school challenge is making an impact in thousands of schools the length and breadth of the country.

“The Role of DRT in Supporting the Public Transport Network and Initiating Behavioural Change” – This keynote presentation from Arriva’s UK lead for demand responsive transport will look at how Arriva is developing a DRT strategy that strengthens the spine of public transport and uses digital innovation to initiate behavioural change in customers to modal shift.

“Using Data and Developing Partnerships to Tackle Congestion” – The West Midlands is undergoing an economic renaissance, unprecedented investment is taking place to deliver transport upgrades, motorway junction improvements and of course HS2. In addition the region is due to host the Coventry City of Culture in 2021 and the Commonwealth Games in 2022. All of this is against a backdrop of an already over capacity network, so managing the change will impact massively the existing transport network. In this closing keynote, TfWM’s Data Innovation Lead will explain how, in order to help to mitigate the effects, high quality, trusted data is required to be shared by Transport for West Midlands with partner organisations so they can all deliver a revolution in customer communications.