Skip to main content

Associations News around Europe

ERTICO ITS-Europe’s director of partnership services Rasmus Lindholm has met directors of Hungary’s National Mobile Payment scheme to explore opportunities for future cooperation. The event took place against the backdrop of the two organisations’ shared aim of putting ITS at the heart of the country’s Intermodal Transport Roadmap.
April 30, 2015 Read time: 4 mins
A French Pleiades-1 high-resolution imaging satellite

ERTICO: Hungarian  scheme has European potential

ITS Hungary

374 ERTICO ITS-Europe’s director of partnership services Rasmus Lindholm has met directors of Hungary’s National Mobile Payment scheme to explore opportunities for future cooperation. The event took place against the backdrop of the two organisations’ shared aim of putting ITS at the heart of the country’s Intermodal Transport Roadmap.

Lindholm sees the state-run Mobile Payment scheme as achieving more than just benefits for Hungary. “It has the potential to become a source of inspiration for public authorities and service providers across Europe,” he said.

 Echoing the point was Lajos Barcsa, deputy mayor of Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city, which faces mounting mobility challenges and is looking to public transport as a prime means of meeting them. “Sharing experience and learning from each other is essential,” he said.  

In its initial phase, which went live in July 2014, the scheme is enabling users to pay by mobile phone for parking and distance-based truck tolls. It will be rolled out to cover public transport fare payment, with the emphasis on enabling interoperable smart ticketing and multimodal travel.

The initiative forms an integral element in Hungary’s commitment to build ‘intelligent cities’ in conformity with EU Directive SCC3-2015 on the development of system standards for smart communities that will run on ITS-based transport.

  • %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkInternal ITS Ireland ITSIreland false #ITS-Ireland true false%>
  • %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal ITS France ITS-France false #ITS-France true false%>
  • %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkInternal ITS Australia ITS Austraila false #ITS-Aus true false%>

ITS Ireland

We like it, say Irish

A convincing 93% of respondents to a recent membership survey believe that 7075 ITS Ireland’s existence is important for the development of the sector. Major reasons for joining include widening knowledge of ITS and networking with other members, with networking emerging as the best aspect of the 2014 conference.

All who attended technical seminars and training events found them of value. But most would like to see greater emphasis on innovations. Over 95% are happy for their contact details to be shown on the ITS Ireland website.


 ITS France

France in Space

Satellite-based navigation remains poorly understood by a significant number of actors in the ITS industry, according to research by ATEC-8082 ITS France. Its findings show that some regard GPS as a fully-developed technology, “capable of dealing with every possible locational problem”; for others, it insufficiently reliable.

 The truth, says ATEC, “lies in between”. To help clarify issues, it staged a one-day seminar on 16 March to give those attending a deeper understanding of the underlying principles, strengths and weaknesses of the technology, and of the relevant contexts for deployment.

The programme covered themes including the role of GPS in developing the intelligent cities of the future; and, in a contribution from the Bordeaux Metropolitan Council, in real-time monitoring of public transport services.

The southwestern French city will become a focus of global interest in the technology as the venue of the 2015 6456 ITS World Congress, running from 5-9 October, which has ‘Better Use of Space’ as a major theme. ATEC-ITS France is a host partner.

Speaking for the International Programme Committee, which has just announced the receipt of over 900 papers, French ecology minister Roger Pagny recently said: “The Congress aims to kick-start a new technological era by bridging the awareness gap between ITS and the space sector.”


ITS Australia

Joining forces ‘down under’

858 ITS Australia is, for the first time, collocating the country’s two main sector events – the ITS Summit and the National Electronic Tolling Forum – at a single venue in Melbourne from 12-14 May. Says CEO Susan Harris: “Combining the two will deliver the most important gathering of ITS professionals in Australia in 2015.”

One session will cover the role of ITS in enhancing the transport user’s experience - against the backdrop of recent research by business consultants PWC for the country’s Tourism & Transport Forum. This stresses the “aversion to the unknown” lying at the heart of users’ perceptions, “often driven by disproportionate attention to system failures”. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • European Transport Conference
    July 3, 2015
    The 43rd European Transport Conference, organised by the Association for European Transport, takes place at Campus Westend, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany on 28 - 30 September 2015. The conference brings together people working in research, industry, and public policy to network, exchange knowledge, and inspire new ideas. First-class speakers from across the transport industry will talk on themes including: planning for the future, equity in transport, cycling, climate change, and emissions. Th
  • Last date for ITS World Congress papers - reminder
    January 6, 2015
    The deadline for the ITS World Congress 2015 Call for Papers and Special Interest Sessions submission is fast approaching. Authors must submit technical, scientific, commercial papers and special interest sessions by 19 January. No extensions will be granted.
  • ITS Asia Pacific Forum 2020: entry reminder
    August 30, 2019
    The ITS Asia Pacific (AP) Forum 2020 is accepting entries on the theme of ‘ITS Innovation Creating Liveable Communities’ until 6 September. The programme committee invites submissions for consideration as either scientific, technical or commercial papers. They are also accepting entries for special interest sessions. Additionally, AP 2020 has opened the Future Leaders Programme to recent graduates under 30 years old, allowing them to develop skills they need for academic and professional careers.
  • ITF Annual Summit 2015
    May 22, 2015
    The Annual Summit of the International Transport Forum 2015 will take place from 27-29 May in Leipzig, Germany, with the theme of Transport, Trade and Tourism. The summit is the unique platform for global discussions on strategies for transport in the 21st century. Since 2008, the Annual Summit has developed into the leading global get-together of the key players in transport and transport-related sectors, providing a unique platform for high-level exchange on strategic policy issues. Transport minist