Transportation industry challenged by urban congestion, says IBTTA president

Road congestion and lack of infrastructure funding are among the main issues facing the transportation industry, according to the new president of the IBTTA. Chris Tomlinson, who is also interim executive director of the newly created Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority, suggested an absence of technological standards, particularly in the US, is also a potential problem. But along with “continued increases in congestion in our urban areas”, he points to opportunities. “We can see a convergence of t
January 8, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Road congestion and lack of infrastructure funding are among the main issues facing the transportation industry, according to the new president of the 63 IBTTA.

Chris Tomlinson, who is also interim executive director of the newly created Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority, suggested an absence of technological standards, particularly in the US, is also a potential problem.

But along with “continued increases in congestion in our urban areas”, he points to opportunities. “We can see a convergence of technological advancements in the areas of connected and autonomous vehicles; exponential growth in the areas of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications; [and] a resurgence and renewed focus on the role transit will play in meeting our urban mobility needs.”

In the US, he believes the upcoming federal transportation reauthorisation bill will also provide opportunities for the sector. Using the theme of ‘driving the future of mobility’, Tomlinson wants IBTTA to play a more active role “as opposed to the more passive role of ‘passenger’ that merely observes and reacts to these trends”.

Tomlinson is also executive director of the State Road and Tollway Authority and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.

Charging, Tolling & RUC

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • A coalition of the willing: iATL
    April 5, 2024
    A living lab on the streets of Georgia, US, is helping to improve traffic safety by real-world deployments of technology. ITS International talks to the founder and some of the partners at the Infrastructure Automotive Technology Laboratory
    Read More
  • Kapsch looks to the future
    December 16, 2014
    Colin Sowman reports from a two-day meeting where industry leaders, academics and political advisers presented their thoughts on the future of mobility. Most governments do not dare to introduce tolling systems… they are too frightened.” So said Georg Kapsch in his capacity of chief operating officer of Kapsch TrafficCom, during a forward-looking press event at the company’s headquarters in Vienna.
    Read More
  • Inrix identifies the worst traffic hotspots in the 25 most congested US cities
    September 28, 2017
    Inrix has published its latest research on the worst traffic hotspots in America. Using Inrix Roadway Analytics, a cloud-based traffic analysis tool, Inrix analysed and ranked more than 100,000 traffic hotspots in the 25 most congested US cities. The economic cost of hotspots was also calculated in terms of wasted time, lost fuel and carbon emissions over the next decade. The research identified and ranked 108,000 traffic hotspots in the 25 most congested cities in the US identified by the INRIX Global T
    Read More
  • More cooperation, fewer barriers
    May 21, 2012
    Increasing cooperation between the public and private sector and a less rigid approach to standards formulation are the keys to transportation’s future, according to Chris Vein, the Deputy White House Chief Technology Officer.
    Read More

Highlighted Content