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.
Our annual Transport Smart Class for the North of England hosts our speakers discussions on how the latest digital innovations can help overcome the transport and mobility challenges faced by city-regions of the Northern Powerhouse and beyond. Delegates 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 features 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, North of England 2026 returns to Leeds, and follows on from our highly acclaimed 2025 (Liverpool), 2024 (Manchester), 2023 (Leeds), 2022 (Manchester), 2021 (Manchester), 2019 (Leeds) and 2018 (Manchester) North of England editions. 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:
Policy Manager for Mass Transit, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
“I found it way more interesting than expected. The experts presentations and roundtable sessions were incredibly interesting!”
Transport Modelling Lead, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
“Some great presentations at this event which chimed with much of what the emerging LCR Local Transport Plan will cover, particularly around how being innovative will be crucial to tackling our transport challenges”
Policy Officer – Place & Net Zero, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
“An excellent event and valuable practical applications in my area of work”
Engineering Manager, Transport for Greater Manchester
“Last week our Head of Policy, Strategy & Research Peter Cole gave a keynote at the Transport Smart Class in Liverpool, outlining how we’re delivering our Strategic Transport Plan. He spoke about turning evidence into action from pan regional advocacy to supporting local partners with data, tools and technical expertise. Peter also shared how we’re tackling local priorities, including transport related social exclusion. We heard great insights from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and others. Thanks to all the speakers and attendees for a productive day”
Transport for the North
“Thanks – it was a pleasure!”
Head of Policy, Strategy and Research, Transport for the North
“Great event, thank you. Could see lots of applications in my work area and all the roundtables were valuable”
Transport Manager, Cheshire West and Chester Council
“Really enjoyed it, interesting presentations and thought provoking roundtable discussions”
Principal Transport Officer, Lancashire County Council
“Thank you for organising the event at the Town Hall yesterday. It was my first one and I found it very insightful and useful!”/“Great to have attended the Transport Smart Class at Liverpool Town Hall last Thursday. A valuable opportunity to hear from leading voices on decarbonisation, inclusive transport, and data-driven innovation. Plenty of insights to take forward in my work!”
Improvement Delivery Coordinator, Liverpool City Council
“It was good to see and hear colleagues with the same interest. Found the presentations really quite informative. Thanks!”
Transport Planning & Strategy Inclusive Design Officer, Liverpool City Council
“Thank you for the event. An overall excellent experience”
Senior Transport Planner, Liverpool City Council/Associate Director, SNC-Lavalin Atkins Transport Consulting & Advisory
“Most relevant to issues I am dealing with at the moment, and was able to spend time delving into issues, building on examples and open discussion. AI, future mobility and smart city applications of particular interest”
Thriving Places – Infrastructure and Network Manager, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
“Very good event, which has provided food for thought when planning the network”
BSIP Programme Manager, Stoke-on-Trent City Council
“I’ve never been to a better organised, well run event and I came away informed and inspired. You should be rightly proud of what you’ve set up and the way you deliver these – outstanding. I hope other feedback was just as positive as I know that’s what people have said to me! I’ll just remember it as a great event” & “What a brilliant event. Perfectly organised, brilliant speakers and sponsors, and lively insightful thought provoking discussion. Thank you so much”
Director of Transport, Highways and Climate, Cheshire West and Chester Council
“Thanks so much for having me! I really enjoyed it, and it was so interesting to hear not just from partners, but also the innovators. I hope we can support you again in future events if the opportunity arises!”
Strategy Director and Deputy Chief Executive, Transport for the North
“Great discussions”
Transport Strategy Officer, Transport for Greater Manchester
“Thank you for having me at TRANSPORT Smart Class, North of England last Thursday. I enjoyed the presentations and had some great conversations during the roundtables and networking”
Policy and Public Affairs, Transport for Greater Manchester
“Informative, structured and a great setting. Gained a better understanding” –
Team Manager – Transport Design and Improvement, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
“Found the day really valuable, will aim to attend more of these in the future. Really enjoyed it and roundtables very useful. Thanks again”
Team Leader – Feasibility and Road Safety, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
“Great content! Thanks for inviting me, it was a great event and I got some really good insights beyond EV which was my reason for attending”
EV Project Manager, Kirklees Council
“All of the presentations and roundtables were informative…Found them interesting and fun”
Head of Sustainable Transport, Policy & Highway Development, Liverpool City Council
“Some brilliant keynote speakers at the North of England Transport Smart Classes today, including a particularly inspirational talk on the Bee Network. The crux of having data lead strategies with technology focused solutions”
Senior Engineer – Intelligent Transport Systems Development, Sheffield City Council
“Thank you very much for inviting me – it was a pleasure and I found it to be a very useful day”
Councillor and Chair of the Community Transport Committee, Macclesfield Town Council
“Thanks, it was a good session”
Active Travel Officer, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
“All of the expert presentations and roundtables were valuable. Would like to be part of the solution for Cheshire West and Chester Council, hopefully to work with the presenter in the near future”
Transport Planner, West Sussex County Council
“Excellent organisation, facilities and venue”
Regional Sponsor for Smart Motorways North, National Highways
“As usual, an excellent event with thought provoking presentations!”
Principal Transport Officer, Lancashire County Council
“Having not long re-joined Transport for the North it was great to update wider industry on my work in developing a, now agreed, Connected Mobility Strategy for the North of England. Framed around the places context of the North, it’s all about delivering user centric outcomes that help people connect to the places that matter to them”
Connected Mobility Manager, Transport for the North
“This Smart Class experience was super valuable…please keep NCC updated with new meeting opportunities!”
Project Manager, Northumberland County Council
“The roundtables were really useful, was good to get perspectives on what was being discussed. Many thanks for another good event”
Senior Project Manager – Air Quality, Transport Decarbonisation, Fleet Transition, Net Zero, EV & Hydrogen in Transport, Leeds City Council
“Thanks, it was a great Smart Class!”
Project Lead in Transport Construction and Civil Schemes, West Yorkshire Combined Authority
“We’re delighted our Connected Mobility Manager could join this event to put forward our ideas for smarter more integrated travel across the North”
TfN Communications Team
“Very relevant to our case and all of the roundtables were equally good”
Public Transport Manager, Hull City Council
“Really informative! Thanks for the invite”
Project Manager – Highways Development, Calderdale Council
“Thanks for having me. It was great to get involved in the discussions”
Policy and Research Officer, Community Transport Association
“All very good presentations. Thoroughly enjoyed the Bee line presentation and how the challenges are being addressed. I also found the DRT engagement really engaging in the sense that it presented alternative public transport services for deprived communities. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the event. Well done to you and the team for the fantastic organisation”
Engineer – Active Travel Projects, Sustrans
“Another brilliant Transport Smart Class last week! Really engaging and thought provoking presentations and discussions. Great to hear about the important role of tech, data and the power of partnership working. Really strong female representation on the panel too”
Transport Development Analyst, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
“It was a pleasure to contribute to this very well organised event. Great format!”
Head of Innovation, Transport for Greater Manchester
“Thanks to everyone at Smart Classes for hosting their recent North of England 2021 Transport Smart Class and for the invitation to present on TfN’s Future Travel Scenarios and their application towards decarbonisation, EV charging infrastructure, transport planning, future mobility, future travel and spatial planning. It was strange but fun being back at a face-to-face event, seeing some familiar faces, and the innovator roundtable sessions were really engaging”
Senior Major Roads Planning and Strategy Officer, Transport for the North
“Many thanks for inviting me as a keynote speaker. I really enjoyed the event and presentations”
Roads Development Director, National Highways
“It was a really great event!”
Transport Strategy Officer, Transport for Greater Manchester
“Really interesting Morning”
Strategic Transportation Manager, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
“A very useful event, well worth the time spent. All the presentations and roundtables were valuable”
Group Leader Transport Projects, Blackpool Council
“Good event, relevant and well run”
Principal Engineer – Highway Network Resilience & Traffic Manager, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
“Many thanks for running the Smart Class this morning. It was a very well delivered and informative event”
Project Manager, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership
“Thanks again for a great event in Manchester, really well organised and great speakers!”
Head of Environment, Planning & Infrastructure, Manchester City Council
“Thank you for organising. Presentations and roundtables were excellent”
Specialist Transport Planner, North East Combined Authority
“Excellent event”
Technology & Change Business Partner, North Yorkshire County Council
“A valuable opportunity”
Intelligent Transport Systems Analyst, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive
“An excellent event experience – informative presentations and engaging roundtable discussions”
Head of Digital Strategy, Transport for the North
“The format worked well, and a good choice of topics in the right level of detail”
Senior Consultant & Rail Subject Matter Expert, Transport for the North
“Great event”
Sustainable Journeys Delivery Officer (Clean Air), Transport for Greater Manchester
“Very useful insights into Buses in the Liverpool City Region and into MaaS…Enhanced partnerships, fares and integrated ticketing and zero emission buses of most interest and all of the roundtables were useful”
Transport for Warrington Service Manager, Warrington Borough Council
“Roundtables were all enjoyable and very engaging”
Principal Traffic Engineer, Warwickshire County Council
“Thank you very much for organising the Smart Class last Friday. It was a very useful and well organised event. I hope that me and my colleagues can be part of the event again in the future”
Transport Planner, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
“It was great to be invited so thank you. I would certainly love to attend the next one too if able”/“A big thank you to the Transport Smart Class team for the invitation to their recent workshop at Liverpool Town Hall. It was particularly interesting to hear about the work being done to improve bus-friendly corridors, deliver healthy and inclusive transport networks, and explore how data and innovation can support more seamless surface access across regions. Lots of valuable insights to take away as we continue our own work on sustainable and integrated travel. Looking forward to the next one!”
Transport Planning Analyst, Birmingham Airport
“Thank you again for your invitation. It was a fantastic event”
Professor of Maritime Transport, Liverpool John Moores University
“Thought provoking and informative, very useful local input and great to hear about integrated land use, regeneration and transport planning”
Associate Director – Transport Planning, WSP
“Another excellent morning. Good people, good presentations, good examples, good networking”
Director, Mitre Transport Policy & Planning/Director, Association of Transport Coordinating Officers
“Directly relevant to my role and interest in wider strategy”
Associate Director, Steer
“A great event, well organised with plenty of interesting topics followed by discussions afterwards. Thank you for the invite”
Area Manager, Waterman Aspen/Lead Designer & Project Manager – Highways and Traffic Projects, Amey (Seconded)
“Excellent knowledge and collaboration”
Regional Director, Waterman Aspen
“Found the event very worthwhile and would value attending further events in the future”
Chief Executive, Highways Term Maintenance Association
“The event was extremely useful and well organised. I learned and met people in real life who I had previously only engaged with virtually. Please keep me up to date with future events”
Founder and Director, busreinvented.com
“Thanks for organising. I truly enjoyed my time at the event, it was very useful”
Intelligent Mobility Engineer, Arup
“Incredibly informative for my work and very interesting discussion”
Consultant – Transport Decarbonisation, WSP
“Good event. The Policy/Strategy Local Transport Plan material was very relevant to my work at present…and the potential of data collection and visualisation approach is very relevant to current challenges. All of the roundtables had value and went in several directions”
Regional Director of Surface Transport – Yorkshire & North East, Integrated Transport Division, Mott MacDonald
“Back to conference and commute. Great to meet real people, hear insightful presentations and have rich conversations at Transport Smart Class, North”
Work Winning Director, AECOM
“Really enlightening”
Principal ITS Engineering Manager, Amey Consulting
“Thanks so much for the invite and organising the session on Friday. It was a great event and very nice to see some of the transport community in person after so long”
Research and Behaviours Lead – Intelligent Mobility & Smart Technologies, Atkins Global
“A very valuable event. I learned a lot about current transport innovations”
Managing Consultant – Transport Planning, MM Transport Planning
“It was one of the better conferences I have attended recently and I’d be interested in attending future Smart Class events”
Area Manager, Waterman Aspen/Lead Designer & Project Manager – Highways and Traffic Projects, Amey (Seconded)
“It was my pleasure attending. I found it really useful”
Zero Emission Mobility Lead – UK & Europe, Wood
“Thanks for having me, I really enjoyed the event. Great amount of time – half a day – with great number of interesting presentations and a delicious lunch”
Senior Future Mobility Consultant, WSP
“Thank you Smart Classes for inviting me to speak at the event! It was great to hear and discuss the challenges transport authorities and local authorities face when designing frictionless and inclusive transport systems. A very engaging crowd!”
Co-Founder & CEO, CityMaaS (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thoroughly enjoyed the Smart Class in Leeds and got a lot out of it”
Founder & COO, Vivacity Labs (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thanks for running a great event”
Head of Marketing, Clearview Intelligence (Innovation Sponsor)
“Very well organised and delighted with the feedback from such an attentive and informed audience. A great format and a pleasure to meet the delegates and discuss some of their own smart city challenges”
Managing Director, Imperial Civil Enforcement Solutions (Innovation Sponsor)
“I would like to thank you for your help with the organisation of the Smart Classes sessions. It was a great event!”
Strategic Marketing Manager, Padam Mobility (Innovation Sponsor)
“For our first meeting outside France, I had the pleasure to present at the Transport Smart Class in Manchester…insightful and inspirational presentations from TfGM, National Highways, TfN, Padam Mobility, Videalert, Project Centre and Vortex IoT”
International Sales Director, Instant System (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thanks for having us Smart Classes. We loved presenting on new vehicle to infrastructure technologies and chatting about use cases for continuous urban scanning”
CEO and CTO, Vortex IoT (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thanks for organising. It was a great event and brilliant to speak and meet with people in person”
Head of UK Business Development, Padam Mobility (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thankyou for organising such a great event and having us on board…really enjoyed!”
Area Manager, Instant System (Innovation Sponsor)
“A great event with a lot of interesting discussions”
Head of Business Development & International Partnerships, Padam Mobility (Innovation Sponsor)
“Interesting day at the North of England Transport Smart Class. Great presentations and discussions on how to improve passenger mobility now and in the future”
Senior Consultant, Brightly, a Siemens company (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thanks Mark, I’ve really enjoyed the sessions and working with both you and Harriet. Hope to see you again in the future”
Senior Director for EMEA Client Services Centre, Brightly, a Siemens company (Innovation Sponsor)
“This was the second time ioki has participated in the Smart Classes format. Big thanks to the hosts of this event and the participants for the inspiring and interesting discussions about the future of mobility in the UK! We are already looking forward to next time”
Marketing Team, ioki – a DB company (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thank you Mark and Harriet for having Laura and myself at Friday’s Smart Class. It was as always a pleasure to exchange ideas about how to evolve Public Transport in the UK. Looking forward to the next one on October 6th in London”
Senior International Sales & Business Development Manager, ioki – a DB company (Innovation Sponsor)
“Delighted to share our active travel experience from two excellent LCRCA projects”
Director of Operations, Project Centre, part of Marston Holdings (Innovation Sponsor)
“At the Transport Smart Class in Manchester last week, Project Centre focused on deploying active travel schemes and the lessons learned from our experience, particularly working with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. It was a fantastic opportunity to catch up with clients and colleagues and showcase what we’ve achieved so far in Wirral and Halton”
Marketing Team, Project Centre, part of Marston Holdings (Innovation Sponsor)
“It was a pleasure! Thanks for a well run and planned event, we all got a lot from it”
Intelligent Mobility Solutions Manager & Novus Product Lead, Trapeze Group (Innovation Sponsor)
“Another really well organised Transport Smart Class with many interesting presentations and an extremely knowledgeable audience”
General Manager, Siemens Mobility Software UKI (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thanks for putting on a great event”
Head of Northern Europe, Padam Mobility, Siemens Mobility Software Business Unit (Innovation Sponsor)
“Last week our sister company, Project Centre, supported yet another successful Transport Smart Class event in Leeds”
Marketing Team, Marston Holdings (Innovation Sponsor)
“Fantastic event! It was great meeting so many people on the roundtable sessions and getting to know about the amazing projects people are working on”
Regional Director – South, Project Centre, part of Marston Holdings (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thank you again for yesterday’s event – I think it went down very well and well done on getting such a high quality audience. The UrbanThings team was happy to be involved in this event”
Marketing Manager, UrbanThings, a Paragon ID company (Innovation Sponsor)
“Our thanks to Smart Classes for organising and facilitating an excellent and fun forum to discuss the challenges facing us in the mobility space!”
Founder & CEO, UrbanThings, a Paragon ID company (Innovation Sponsor)
“Fabulous morning yesterday for the Transport Smart Classes North of England in Manchester. A pleasure to share the floor with thought provoking keynote speakers. Huge thanks for the seamless organisation and warm hospitality” & “Has been a pleasure forming part of the Smart Classes family!”
CMO, Nemi Mobility Solutions (Innovation Sponsor)
“Very productive day discussing how data and data science (models, simulations, digital twins, AI/LM) can be used to develop a ‘system level perspective’ to improve regional transport performance, accelerate decarbonisation and increase climate resilience. Thanks Smart Classes for the opportunity to share our work and the insight provided by fellow speakers. Great event, lots of open discussion around real world challenges and the solutions that the innovation presenters can deliver”
CEO, Slingshot Simulations (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thanks for having us! A really informative day all round. Looking forward to the next one”
Head of Growth and Partnerships, VivaCity (Innovation Sponsor)
“Lots of interest in the room for our network approach to traffic monitoring, road safety and signal control”
Commercial Manager – Smart Signal Control, VivaCity (Innovation Sponsor)
“I just wanted to say thanks for having us at TRANSPORT Smart Class, North of England last week. The VivaCity team found the session, talks and connections really impactful and positive. You guys put together a great event, very professionally organised. Well done!”
Marketing Manager, UK & Ireland, VivaCity (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thanks for having the VivaCity team at our first, but definitely not last, Smart Class. The level of conversations, engagement and enthusiasm from the delegates was second to none. It was supremely well organised and we can’t wait to be at the next event”
VivaCity Team (Innovation Sponsor)
“Fab to be able to speak today at the Transport Smart Class in Liverpool, talking about some of the School neighbourhoods work we’re involved with at Sustrans. Great mix of speakers and interesting to hear what’s going on across the North! Thanks for organising, Smart Classes”
Principal Urban Designer, Sustrans (Innovation Sponsor)
“Thanks again for putting on today’s event. We’ve made lots of good connections from the event already and I’m sure others will follow from it”/“A fantastic opportunity to speak yesterday at the Transport Smart Classes event for the North of England in Liverpool, alongside Alix Gunn and Carol Latham, highlighting some of our work on School neighbourhoods across the North West. A big thank you to Smart Classes and all the participants for questions and discussion”
Growth and Partnerships Manager – England North, Sustrans (Innovation Sponsor)
“Yesterday, our dear colleagues highlighted the transformative potential of the of the Integrated National Transport Strategy at Transport Smart Class, North of England 2025 in Liverpool. Speaking on behalf of Siemens Mobility and Padam Mobility, Mario and James explored how this strategy can foster a more ‘European’ approach to transport by granting regional control over services such as Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) and bus networks. This shift aims to enhance accessibility for residents by moving the focus from competition to providing integrated, convenient journey solutions tailored to regional needs. We are proud of their contribution to shaping the future of transport in the UK!”
Marketing team, Hacon (Innovation Sponsor)
“It was fantastic to be joined in Liverpool yesterday by Mario Gessner to discuss how integration of Transport can be coordinated and seized upon by the upcoming Integrated National Strategy. DRT and MaaS alone are not an ultimate solution, but through careful planning and consideration of the wider transport ecosystem, can help unlock new access to transport. Thanks to Smart Classes for having us!”
UK Business Development Lead, Padam Mobility (Innovation Sponsor)
“It was a pleasure speaking in Liverpool this week. The UK now has a great chance to improve the overall traveller experience. Let’s use this opportunity to make travelling within the country easy, accessible, and seamless. Thanks again to my colleague James for joining me and a special shout out to the guys at Smart Classes. Looking forward to seeing you again in September!”
Sales Director – MaaS, Siemens Mobility (Innovation Sponsor)
Speakers
“Buses for the People: Franchising in South Yorkshire” – South Yorkshire is taking bold steps to put the public back into public transport. Bus franchising will give local leaders control over routes, fares, and standards — creating a network that works for people. Backed by £350m of investment and strong public support, this approach is central to a wider renewal of transport across the region, alongside tram integration and developments in active travel.
In this keynote, Matt Goggins, Director of Bus Franchising at South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), will outline how South Yorkshire is delivering a franchised bus system designed for the people: to improve reliability, affordability, and connectivity — helping communities access jobs, education, and opportunity.
“North East MSA Local Transport Plan, One Year On” – After an extensive 12-week public consultation that received over 16,000 responses, the North East Local Transport Plan (LTP) was published in March 2025. The LTP aims to create a green, integrated transport network that works for all and sets transport priorities for the region up to 2040.
Just over one year on, there has already been considerable progress with some highlights including; the opening of the Northumberland Line, introduction of the new metro fleet, £2.50 bus fare cap, Kids go Free offer, approved funding for active travel and much more. There are also major projects in the pipeline that will also be discussed including the Mayor’s vision for rail and a Franchising Scheme Assessment (FSA).
This keynote presentation will be given by Lucy Jacques, Head of Transport Policy and Strategy at the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority where she will discuss the progress made to date and the next steps for the implementation of the LTP.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) keynote to be delivered by Sam Li, Senior Innovation Officer, Transport Strategy: Presentation title & summary to follow
Innovator presentations to be announced shortly!
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 - 11:10 am Expert Innovator Presentations
- 11:10 am - 11:30 am Keynote Speaker 2
- 11:30 am - 1:10 pm Roundtable Discussions and Consultations
- 1:10 pm - 1:30 pm Keynote Speaker 3
- 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Close and Lunch Networking




