Skip to main content

Australia steps up to next level of ITS deployment

The recent 2013 Australian ITS summit revealed that Australia is moving rapidly from test beds and pilots to real world applications of new ITS technologies, especially in the vehicle sector. The summit identified some next steps in technology to improve Australia’s transport networks, including: integrated public transport systems; interoperability of communications and ITS platforms; totally integrated multi-modal, real time traveller information; roll out of managed motorway systems; and autonomous ve
September 30, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The recent 2013 Australian ITS summit revealed that Australia is moving rapidly from test beds and pilots to real world applications of new ITS technologies, especially in the vehicle sector.

The summit identified some next steps in technology to improve Australia’s transport networks, including: integrated public transport systems; interoperability of communications and ITS platforms; totally integrated multi-modal, real time traveller information; roll out of managed motorway systems; and autonomous vehicles and “platooning” to increase road network capacity and safety.

858 ITS Australia president Brian Negus said Australia’s third biennial summit demonstrated an energised convergence of government, industry and academia to focus on both the forward strategy for national ITS, and the actual projects and initiatives required to deliver improved mobility, safety and sustainable travel.

“Governments are recognising that ITS applications can ‘sweat the asset’, but clearly the challenge is to get more funding into the sector. This amplifies the need to demonstrate the real benefits from the trials being run,” he said.

Summit delegates learned there is great synergy between the strategies and initiatives across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, and Australia was recognised as a leading developer and installer of ITS.

Chairman of 560 ITS America Peter Sweatman, who was a keynote speaker, emphasised the renowned capability of Australia in the international ITS industry, highlighting in particular the areas of road safety and freight where he considers Australia to be a world leader.

ITS Australia chief executive officer Susan Harris said it was satisfying to see a wider range of ITS representatives at this year’s summit, including delegates from spatial and mapping, transport and logistics, transit, traffic sensing and other specialist fields.

“The varied inputs at the summit reflected the need for and importance of clear policies and strategies to ensure that key industry issues are addressed. This is critical to get traction in priority areas in an industry that is so diverse and technically complex,” she said.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Here and CDOT to partner on US RoadX connected vehicle project
    January 12, 2016
    The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and mapping and location technology specialist Here are to partner in the first cellular network-based connected vehicle alert system in North America.
  • MaaS: 'It's been much easier to convince politicians than we expected'
    August 11, 2021
    As she leaves the Mobility as a Service sector, Piia Karjalainen explains why the user must continue to be the focus – and why we haven’t yet even seen half of the innovations available 
  • Emissions reductions targets to have major impact on transport
    October 28, 2015
    As bold moves aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions have been introduced in California, David Crawford looks at the ramifications for transportation. California Governor Jerry Brown’s recent dramatic raising of the bar on emissions reduction policy for the state has won him praise from Japan, Australia, Europe and the secretariat of the critical UN conference on climate change being held in Paris in November/December 2015. His April 2015 executive order aimed at bringing emissions to 40% below 1990 lev
  • MaaS Market conference platform for pioneering projects
    August 21, 2017
    In opening the session on putting MaaS ideas into practice, Hans Arby, chief executive of UbiGo, told the conference that, “MaaS can mean different things to different people. This is why we decided to run MaaS under real conditions and launch the Gothenburg pilot scheme in 2013.” The trial involved 70 households paying €130/month for 6 months with participants agreeing that 20 cars could be put into storage. More than 12,000 bookings/transactions took place during the trial and there were no drop-outs. Ac