Clever technology is not enough: ITS must solve customers’ problems, warn experts

ITS professionals must ensure they are responding to customer needs and not simply being blinded by the possibilities of technology, warn ITS experts. This was among the main messages from ITS (UK)’s 2018 summit this week. “Don’t deploy technology for technology’s sake – that’s just having a toy,” said Kirk Steudle, former boss of Michigan Department of Transportation, in his keynote speech at the event in Bristol, UK. “Just because the technology is clever, it doesn’t mean it’s any use,” warned ITS (
November 28, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
ITS professionals must ensure they are responding to customer needs and not simply being blinded by the possibilities of technology, warn ITS experts.


This was among the main messages from ITS (UK)’s 2018 summit this week. “Don’t deploy technology for technology’s sake – that’s just having a toy,” said Kirk Steudle, former boss of 1688 Michigan Department of Transportation, in his keynote speech at the event in Bristol, UK.

“Just because the technology is clever, it doesn’t mean it’s any use,” warned ITS (UK) president Steve Norris. He urged delegates to think: “What are the challenges we are actually solving?”

The former UK transport minister also suggested that some form of road user charging in the UK was inevitable to raise revenue as the government’s tax-take from fuel duty continues to decline, in large part due to more fuel-efficient cars.

“Receipts from fuel duty are falling off a cliff,” he said. “It’s pretty illogical that the last great free public utility should be the roads.”

• A full report of the ITS (UK) 2018 summit will appear in ITS International, January/February 2019

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • MaaS must be seamless and invisible - or forget it
    June 5, 2018
    MaaS experts from around the world converged on ITS International’s MaaS Market Atlanta conference to talk about how MaaS can be implemented in the US. Andrew Bardin Williams had a front row seat. Transportation experts from around the world gathered in the US earlier this month to discuss the future of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and how it could be deployed in the US market. While most attendees at ITS International’s MaaS Market Atlanta conference were familiar with the MaaS concept, the US’s highly
    Read More
  • ATA president calls on Congress to address highway funding needs
    June 18, 2015
    American Trucking Associations (ATA) president and CEO Bill Graves has told members of the House Ways and Means Committee that Congress must act quickly to find a sustainable funding source for the Highway Trust Fund. "It is important for all to understand that the decisions made by this Committee over the next few months will have effects beyond the immediate solvency issues. The federal commitment to investment in transportation, if not properly addressed this year, could be placed in jeopardy for many
    Read More
  • Microsoft predicts ‘pay as you-go’ solution to congestion
    April 9, 2019
    Congestion pricing is the solution to inner city traffic gridlock, according to Microsoft’s chief economist, Michael Schwarz. Speaking at the IBTTA’s Annual Technology Summit in Orlando, Florida last week, Schwarz said “traffic will be a thing of the past”, citing the difference between the traffic volumes in the free use and managed lanes as evidence. He also highlighted Singapore’s plans to have satellite tolling on all cars in 2020 and noted that almost all new cars are already fitted with SIM car
    Read More
  • ITS events vital forum for networking, calls to action
    February 6, 2012
    Tom Kern, executive VP of ITS America, on why he believes events like the forthcoming ITS World Congress are so important for the industry
    Read More

Highlighted Content