On September 11th we hosted TRANSPORT Smart Class, Scotland 2025 in the stunning Library Room at Riddle’s Court, Edinburgh. This Smart Class provided a fresh take on how to deploy the latest digital technology-enabled solutions, data-driven strategies, policies, programmes and best practices to tackle transport and mobility challenges faced by the city-regions of Glasgow & Clyde Valley, Edinburgh & South East Scotland, Stirling, Tay, Aberdeen, Inverness & Highlands, and beyond, and deliver a transport system that will allow passengers and citizens across Scotland to travel efficiently, safely and with minimal impact on the environment.
As usual, our videographer captured the keynotes and innovator presentations on film for additional stakeholders to enjoy post-event!
If you meet our regular delegate qualification criteria but were unable to join us on the day, just complete the “Download form” at the bottom of this page and we’ll give you complimentary access to the presentation video recordings and slides.
Our inspirational speakers included: Fiona Hyslop MSP/BPA, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport/Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson Còmhdhail; Ruth White, Team Manager – Transport Strategy and Partnerships at The City of Edinburgh Council; Brian Butler, Partnership Director for SEStran (The South East of Scotland Transport Partnership), accompanied by Ewan Doyle, Workforce Mobility Manager at the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City Region Deal; Padam Mobility’s Maxime McDonald (Global Business Development Manager), alongside Mario Gessner (MaaS Sales Director) from the Siemens Mobility Software Business Unit; VivaCity’s Carl Pittam (Commercial Manager, Smart Signal Control); and Josh Mellor (Chief Revenue Officer) from Velociti Solutions.
The Smart Class also featured thought provoking Q&As and engaging roundtable sessions hosted by the innovator teams which, in addition to the speakers, included the expert contributions of John Howard (Head of Business Development, VivaCity), Adam Quieros (Account Manager – Public Sector, Velociti Solutions) and Tom Birkin (Product Owner, Velociti Solutions). Further networking was facilitated over breakfast, drinks and lunch.
There was invaluable delegate input into these discussions on behalf of key stakeholders such as Argyl and Bute Council, East Lothian Council, Glasgow City Council, Midlothian Council, North Lanarkshire Council, Scottish Borders Council, The City of Edinburgh Council, Transport Scotland, The Scottish Government, SEStran (The South East of Scotland Transport Partnership), Edinburgh & South East Scotland City Region Deal, Nexus (The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive), Lothian Buses, Stagecoach Group, ScotRail, Bus Users UK, Department for Transport (DfT), Transform Scotland, Transport Focus, BDP, Indepen, Mott Macdonald, Steer Group, Systra, Waterman Group, and more!
Presentations included:
Partnership Working and Creative Thinking for Today and the Future – Fiona Hyslop MSP/BPA was reappointed as the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport in May 2024. We were delighted to welcome her back once again to deliver the opening keynote:
“Reflections on how we are working collectively to improve transport through the use of technology and innovation, looking at recent successes and highlighting new projects that are helping us to travel smartly and more efficiently across our networks”.
Bridging the Gaps: MaaS and On-Demand Transport for Inclusive Rural Mobility – Rural Scotland continues to face mobility challenges, with limited public transport, car dependency, and barriers for elderly and disabled travellers. On-demand transport, integrated into a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform, can provide flexible, accessible journeys — allowing users to plan, book, and pay in one place while ensuring step-free routes, vehicle accessibility, and simplified digital interfaces. This helps connect isolated communities to healthcare, education, and essential services, while reducing car use and social exclusion.
These solutions – as Mario Gessner and Maxime McDonald ably demonstrated in their presentation on behalf of Siemens Mobility and Padam Mobility – align with the wider UK and Scottish transport policy agenda. Westminster is debating free bus travel for under-22s and reversing the decline in rural bus services, while Scotland targets a 20% cut in car mileage by 2030 and considers measures such as daily driving charges with rural exemptions. Against this backdrop, MaaS and on-demand transport are not just technological innovations but also politically relevant tools — helping governments meet inclusion, sustainability, and climate targets while strengthening rural connectivity.
Edinburgh Street Design Guidance and How Transport and Planning Work Together to Enhance City Mobility – This keynote on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council explored the city’s suite of Street Design Guidance developed to enable consistent and best practice decision-making to guide the reshaping of existing streets and inform the design of new streets.
The creation of Edinburgh’s Street Design Guidance is collaborative, and Ruth White set out the partnership working involved, in particular with the city’s Planning service.
Ruth shared some examples of projects where the Street Design Guidance is bringing critical disciplines together including heritage, accessibility, and women’s safety and guiding the delivery of award-winning projects on the ground. She also touched on the strategic context of the Street Design Guidance including the city’s Future Streets Framework, City Mobility Plan, and City Plan.
Optimising the Transport Network and Saving Lives in Scotland with AI – The difference between good intentions and real impact in transport lies in the quality of the data behind decisions. Real-time, high-quality multimodal data is the foundation of successful schemes, enabling safer roads and more active travel.
This presentation explored how AI-powered computer vision sensors are replacing outdated monitoring methods to deliver richer, actionable insights. VivaCity’s Carl Pittam showed us how advanced analytics uncover true traffic patterns, helping authorities optimise signal timings for active travel and public transport. Carl also demonstrated how near miss detection technology shifts road safety from reactive to proactive, identifying risks before collisions occur, bridging the road safety data gap.
These rich multimodal datasets have also been revolutionising traffic monitoring, enabling continuous, long term monitoring and supporting evidence-led decision making with confidence. Having a clear picture of how people and vehicles interact allows transport teams to target investment, measure impact, and optimise networks in real time. Thus reducing congestion, supporting sustainable travel, and building smarter, more liveable communities.
They Say Data is the New Oil, but it’s More Important than That – Brian Butler has been Partnership Director for the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership since 2023 and is leading on the implementation of the ‘SEStran 2035 Regional Transport Strategy’ (RTS), which was approved by Ministers in March 2023. The SEStran Regional Transport Partnership consists of eight local authorities in South East Scotland, namely Borders, East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Falkirk, and Clackmannanshire.
With increasing financial and resourcing challenges facing both public and private sector transport organisations, Brian’s keynote provided a ‘Dummies Guide’ to how and why the use of data and technology will be essential to the effective delivery of key themes from SEStran’s RTS. He applied this logic to priority projects including the Regional Bus Strategy, the People and Place active travel behaviour change programme, and Transport to Healthcare strategy.
Brian was joined at the podium by Ewan Doyle, who is currently seconded from Scottish Borders Council into the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City Region Deal, to deliver the Workforce Mobility Project. This project, as Ewan explained, aims to work across sectors to improve data, communication, and the effectiveness of local transport to support the ambitions of the IRES programme, the Regional Prosperity Framework and other regional and national strategies.
Building Better Bus Networks – Turning Performance Data into Action – In recent years, the UK transport sector has adopted a more collaborative approach between transport authorities and bus operators, with data sharing being a key requirement. However, the challenge goes beyond collecting data; it lies in making the data valuable and the ability to translate that data into actionable insights.
While vast amounts of operational data already exist, they’re often siloed across disparate systems, complicating analysis and ultimately limiting the value of the data. To enhance the effectiveness of this data, transport authorities need tools that consolidate the data and can turn performance metrics into actionable insights.
This presentation from Velociti Solutions’ Josh Mellor, explored how technology can support closer collaboration and promote transparency. We discovered how leveraging the right data, through seamless consolidation and performance monitoring, can support you in building a successful, passenger-focused network that drives increased patronage.
Those qualifying to receive the presentation videos and rich media content from this event 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.
Register your details via the “Download form” below to receive a unique link enabling complimentary access!
