On September 10th we hosted TRANSPORT Smart Class, Scotland 2026 at The Exchange (Royal Exchange Square), Glasgow. This Smart Class provided a fresh take on how to deploy the latest digital technology-enabled solutions, data-driven strategies, policies and best practices to tackle transport and mobility challenges faced by the burgeoning 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 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 met the 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: Glasgow’s Convenor for Climate, Glasgow Green Deal, Transport and City Centre Recovery, Councillor Angus Millar; Glasgow City Council’s Traffic Engineering Officer, Brian Davidson; Nestrans’ Director, Paul Finch; Aberdeen City Council’s Bus Partnership Programme Manager, Kirsty Chalmers; Mark Neilson, Scotland and NI BDM Highways at Clearview Intelligence; Garance Locatelli, Operations Director and Co-Founder of Marked; Walk Wheel Cycle Trust Business Development Manager, Colleen Trousdale; and CalCommuter’s Founder, David Smith.
Stephen Flynn MSP also expected to deliver a closing keynote on behalf of The Scottish Government and Transport Scotland. Unfortunately, due to urgent business arising on September 10th, he was unable to join us and conveyed sincere apologies for the very short notice. Our stakeholder engagement contacts at Transport Scotland, however, are currently liaising with Mr Flynn’s team to record a short video message from the Cab Sec that can be shared with delegates and with the wider Smart Classes community. We expect to be able to share this over the next week or two.
The Smart Class also featured thought provoking Q&As and engaging roundtable sessions hosted by the innovator teams which, in addition to their speakers, featured Andy Salotti (Client Relationship Director, Clearview Intelligence), Mark Smith (Managing Director & C0-Founder), and Rachel Oliveira (Senior Network Development Manager, Walk Wheel Cycle Trust). Further networking was facilitated over breakfast, drinks and lunch.
There was invaluable delegate input into these discussions on behalf of key stakeholders such as Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen Rapid Transit, Aecom, AtkinsRéalis, BDP, CPT Scotland/Confederation of Passenger Transport UK, Cycling Scotland, Dundee City Council, The City of Edinburgh Council, Glasgow City Council, Midlothian Council, Mott MacDonald, Nestrans (The North East of Scotland Transport Partnership), North Lanarkshire Council, Project Centre, The Scottish Government, The Scottish Road Works Commissioner/Office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner, SEStran (The South East of Scotland Transport Partnership), SPT (Strathclyde Partnership for Transport), Stagecoach, Stantec, Stirling Council, Transform Scotland, Transport Scotland, University of Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire Council, WSP, and more!
After lunch, Architect Associate Director Edward Dymock treated a group of our attendees to a special on-site presentation and tour of BDP’s redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street Station.
Presentations:
From SCOOT to SCAITS – Integrating a Self-Calibrating AI Traffic System – Councillor Angus Millar is Glasgow’s Convenor for Climate, Glasgow Green Deal, Transport and City Centre Recovery. He leads on the city’s journey to Net Zero, promoting sustainability and a just transition to a greener economy, and developing the city’s transport strategies. Brian Davidson is Engineering Officer within the Traffcom Team of Glasgow City Council, with over 30 years’ experience in traffic engineering.
Their opening keynote presentation addressed the challenges and incentives for bus patronage across Glasgow, and explored:
– Developing a self-calibrating AI traffic system to balance movement, access and place to reduce bus delays
– Demonstrating quantifiable improvements in journey times during the pilot via AI-generated peak timing plans layered on SCOOT
– Data-driven scaling through fusing SCOOT, radar, thermal imaging, Bluetooth, HD cameras and live bus feeds to enable corridor-level optimisation now, with expansion planned across the network and live bus-delay heat mapping
Raising the Standard – Clearview has been delivering technology solutions to the highways and transport sector for 50 years and brings a wealth of knowledge and innovative ideas to the industry.
This presentation from Mark Neilson (Scotland and NI BDM Highways) explored how SolarLite active road studs can help road authorities rethink the traditional approach to road delineation, visibility and safety. It looked at how roads and driver needs have evolved, the value of clearer and more intuitive guidance, and real-world schemes demonstrating improvements in visibility, confidence and road-user experience.
Mark also considered the wider opportunity to deliver smarter, lower-cost and lower-carbon infrastructure by challenging long-established defaults and making greater use of modern road technology.
Usable and Visible Active Travel Network – Marked’s work focuses on making cycling networks visible and usable, both on the street and in the apps people already use. As more active travel infrastructure gets built, it’s critical that its digital representation is accurate, so people can actually find and use it.
Through this talk, Marked used their latest project in Fort William to show how bringing physical and digital together leads to better outcomes for planners and users alike. Garance Locatelli (Operations Director & Co-Founder) addressed key topics including data standardisation, integration with other platforms, and physical signage and digital routing designed to reinforce each other.
Aberdeen Rapid Transit, and North East Scotland’s Transport Priorities – Paul Finch was appointed as Nestrans’ new Director in June 2025, after serving as its Strategy Manager since 2020. Kirsty Chalmers is employed as Aberdeen City Council’s Bus Partnership Programme Manager.
In this keynote presentation, Paul set out key elements of the Nestrans’ Regional Transport Strategy, including the vision and key priorities for the region’s transport to 2040. This addressed the key priorities following the recent Holyrood election, and the challenges and opportunities that are specific to the north east’s social, economic and community needs.
Kirsty highlighted the approaches to, and progress on Aberdeen Rapid Transit, a transformational rapid bus system for the Aberdeen region. She detailed the scheme option development and business case progression, including vehicles, routeing, ticketing and delivery pathways.
Better Commutes, Lower Carbon, Smarter Decisions – This collaboration between CalCommuter and the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust aims to help employees and organisations identify, understand, and reduce commuting emissions.
Colleen Trousdale (Business Development Manager at WWCT) and David Smith (Founder at CalCommuter) explained how, by combining workplace travel data with AI-powered analysis of real-world travel behaviour, the project seeks to pinpoint where carbon emissions are generated, highlight opportunities for active travel, and provide evidence-based insights for smarter behaviour change interventions.
Smart Transport, Strong Economy: Harnessing Technology for Scotland’s Future – Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, Stephen Flynn MSP, had intended to reflect in his closing keynote on the role of innovation, digital technology and partnership working in delivering Scotland’s transport ambitions.
Mr Flynn planned to address the opportunities and challenges ahead, and outline how smarter transport networks can support sustainable economic growth, strengthen connectivity, improve accessibility and help create thriving communities across Scotland.
As confirmed, we look forward to sharing a recorded video message from the Cab Sec in due course.
Glasgow Queen Street Station post-event tour and presentation – Edward Dymock, Architect Associate Director at BDP, and design lead for the redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street Station, led an on-site presentation and tour of the station for up to 15 of our delegates, covering the site’s heritage and the story of its development as part of Transport Scotland’s Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP). Participants gained access to back of house areas and fascinating insights into the design that redefined the connection between Scotland’s Railway and the city.
Those qualifying to receive the presentation videos and/or other 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!
