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Using smart technology to deliver best value

Posted: 22 February 2010 | Mike Schofield, Chairman, ITS United Kingdom | No comments yet

ITS United Kingdom is the UK society for everybody who works in the intelligent transport systems (ITS) sector. ITS can be defined as the integration of information and communications technology with transport infrastructure, vehicles and users. Everyday examples of ITS are urban traffic management systems, in-car sat-nav systems, security camera systems on train stations, and dynamic passenger information displays at bus stops. The professionals involved in developing, designing, implementing, maintaining and using these systems have their information sharing, learning and networking needs met by ITS United Kingdom. ITS (UK) has around 160 corporate members which translate into some 800 individuals who take an active part in some or all of the society’s activities.

ITS United Kingdom is the UK society for everybody who works in the intelligent transport systems (ITS) sector. ITS can be defined as the integration of information and communications technology with transport infrastructure, vehicles and users. Everyday examples of ITS are urban traffic management systems, in-car sat-nav systems, security camera systems on train stations, and dynamic passenger information displays at bus stops. The professionals involved in developing, designing, implementing, maintaining and using these systems have their information sharing, learning and networking needs met by ITS United Kingdom. ITS (UK) has around 160 corporate members which translate into some 800 individuals who take an active part in some or all of the society's activities.

ITS United Kingdom is the UK society for everybody who works in the intelligent transport systems (ITS) sector. ITS can be defined as the integration of information and communications technology with transport infrastructure, vehicles and users. Everyday examples of ITS are urban traffic management systems, in-car sat-nav systems, security camera systems on train stations, and dynamic passenger information displays at bus stops. The professionals involved in developing, designing, implementing, maintaining and using these systems have their information sharing, learning and networking needs met by ITS United Kingdom. ITS (UK) has around 160 corporate members which translate into some 800 individuals who take an active part in some or all of the society’s activities.

The pioneer years of ITS technology were the seventies, when the first example of using a computer to control traffic light sequencing (Toronto) and the first example of using closed circuit cameras to monitor traffic (Munich) marked the beginnings of the basics of ITS. In the UK, the cities of London and Glasgow were early adopters of the new technology approach to traffic management. Systems for public transport and for surveillance and enforcement followed during the eighties. In these early stages, the systems were referred to as ‘informatics’ or ‘tele­matics’. The term ‘intelligent transport systems’ gained acceptance worldwide during the 90s and is now universally used, while tele­matics lives on mainly in the automotive sector.

ITS (UK) was founded in the early nineties as a focus for the emerging new profession of ITS specialists. These people came from a wide variety of backgrounds such as traffic engineering, transport planning, programming, electrical engineering, and a variety of academic disciplines. Even now, there is no pure ITS BSc course available at any UK university, and so, maybe for the best, ITS professionals still bring a range of individual knowledge and experience to their work.

ITS (UK) was a private/public partnership from the very start, with Government organi­sations such as the Department of Transport and the Transport Research Laboratory joining with several consultancies and systems supp­liers as founding members of the society. Also from the beginning, the organisation was set up as a not-for-profit with corporate membership subscriptions being collected and then spent on providing benefits and value for the subscribing members.

There are three tiers of membership: Associate, for not-for-profit associations; Corporate, for public sector, academic and commercial organisations, and the Foundation Members, who pay a higher fee and each have a seat on the ITS (UK) Council or board. The Council elects a Chairman and Vice Chairman each year, and functions as the governing body of ITS (UK).

During the early years, when the active members numbered one or two hundred, most activities were organised on a plenary basis, but as numbers have grown, it has become essential to differentiate services in order to cater for everybody. This led to the formation of the first ITS (UK) Interest Group, the Freight Interest Group, in 1998. The founding FIG chairman was Steven Norris, the former UK Transport Minister who is also the President of ITS (UK), and Mr Norris still chairs the FIG today. Other Interest Groups quickly followed as membership interest demanded, and there are now 15 Groups (see Box 1). These are set up and disbanded as required. All the Interest Group chairs and honorary secretaries are volunteers from within the ITS (UK) membership. The Interest Groups give ITS (UK) its authority and credibility. Each Group contains several of the UK’s leading experts in their field, and some can boast recognised world authorities within their ranks.

The Interest Groups generate most of the day-to-day activity of ITS (UK), with round table meetings, conferences, workshops, technical visits, email updates and discussions being typical Interest Group undertakings. In a typical year, there might be 50 or so Interest Group meetings of different types, and this means that each individual member has a choice of opp­ortunities to meet, learn, share their own expertise, and network.

In addition, there is a general ITS (UK) programme of information dissemination, based on various regular electronic publications, and the website, where the members area includes a constantly updated library of documentation, again mainly organised around the Interest Groups. There is at least one plenary conference each year, a couple of dinners and some other social events, and the AGM which is not a formality but rather managed in order to encourage members to put forward requests and suggestions for how the society can improve its services to them.

The combination of a small but enthusiastic Secretariat staff, with so many members not only paying their subscriptions but also contributing freely of their time and expertise, means that ITS (UK) produces a lot of output for its modest £400,000 annual income.

Apart from keeping members up-to-date with the latest research, implementation results and other industry information, ITS (UK) is also active in conducting stakeholder consultations and advising Government regarding the benefits of ITS technology. ITS (UK) is absolutely not a lobbying organisation, and would not define itself as a trade association, since it includes within its membership senior public sector organisations such as the Department for Transport, the Highways Agency, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, Transport for London, and the transport administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But its financial and intellectual independence makes it a valued source of general stakeholder opinions for Government. During the last couple of years, the Department for Transport enlisted ITS (UK)’s assistance on several occasions when considering ITS policy, such as the UK response to the European Commission’s ITS Action Plan and Directive propo­sals. ITS (UK) regularly gives evidence to Parliamentary committees, particularly of course the Transport Committee. It also frequently consolidates the views of interested members into responses to formal Government con­sultation documents.

ITS is a global industry as well as an important part of the UK transport industry. While ITS (UK) has many members whose activities are con­centrated in the UK, it also has many others whose ITS work takes place all over the world. A national ITS association such as ITS (UK) has to be well connected to international ITS in order to serve its members properly. There are two main focuses for international information sharing in ITS: the ITS World Congress, and the Network of National ITS Associations. The Congress takes place each autumn and alternates between the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. The 2009 Congress was in Stockholm, and the 2010 one will be in Busan, South Korea. ITS (UK) has hosted a stand for its members in the exhibition associated with the Congress every year since 1999, and provides support for the UK delegation whether exhibiting, presenting papers, or attending. The distinctive Union Jack livery of the ITS (UK) stand always attracts foreign visitors, many on a regular basis going back for years at this point.

ITS (UK) currently holds the chairmanship of the Network of National ITS Associations; a body hosted by ERTICO, the pan-European ITS organisation. The Network contains 28 national ITS associations, and through ITS (UK)’s partici­pation, ITS (UK)’s own members gain instant and informal access to around 12,000 individual ITS practitioners in Europe.

In addition, the ITS (UK) Secretariat has a large number of Memoranda of Understanding with fellow ITS associations outside Europe, providing a wider range of contact for information sharing and business intelligence for members. The World Congress provides a ready made opportunity to refresh these relationships on an annual basis.

For 2010, the main areas of increased activity are expected to be in smart ticketing, following the lead provided in its December 2009 report by the Department for Transport; and the use of ITS to mitigate the negative impacts of transport on the environment, a topic which has been growing in importance for several years at this point. In the current economic climate, it is also important for ITS (UK) to press the point that investment in ITS is excellent value, for the benefits created in improved journey reliability, safety, and comfort. ITS (UK) will also continue to engage with the key public sector stakeholders at a senior level, in order to ensure that there is awareness of the value for money and the minimised disruption that ITS can deliver when it comes to tackling traffic congestion. ITS is largely invisible to non-practitioners, while building and widening roads are easier to visualise and therefore to understand and trust. It is ITS (UK)’s job, on behalf of its members, to keep making the case for using the smartest technology to deliver the best value to the UK’s travelling public.

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Box 1

The ITS United Kingdom Interest Groups and Task Forces

Automotive/ORACLE
Chair: Mark Fowkes, MIRA
Hon. Secretary: John Richardson, ORACLE

Carbon Working Group (sub committee of the Smart Environment Interest Group)
Chair: Keith McCabe, Atkins
Co-Operative Vehicle Highways Systems (CVHS)
Chair: Andy Graham, White Willow Consulting Ltd

Hon. Secretary: Phil Proctor, Highways Agency
Communications
Chair: Nigel Wall, Location and Timing KTN

Enforcement
Chair: Trevor Ellis, Rapp Trans (UK)
Hon. Secretary: Colin Wilson, IBI Group

Freight
Chair: Steven Norris
Hon. Secretary: Geoff Clarke, AECOM

Inclusive Mobility
Chair: Simon Edwards, Newcastle University
Hon. Secretary: Leslie Knoop, Centaur Consulting

Local Authority/Urban
Chair: Steve George, Efkon
Hon. Secretary: Dave Stoner, Envitia

Public Sector Liaison Group
Chair: Tony Wyatt , innovITS
Hon. Secretary: Gareth Tilley, Atkins

Public Transport
Chair: Dr Chris Querée
Hon. Secretary: Yuelin Liang, Egis

Road User Charging
Chair: Andrew Pickford, Transport Technology Consultants
Hon. Secretary: Keith Mortimer

Security
Chair: Mark Cartwright, Centaur Consulting
Hon. Secretary: Dr. Mark Beecroft, University of Southampton / Nigel Wall, Location KTN

Smart Environment
Chair: Professor Margaret Bell, University of Newcastle
Hon. Secretary: Tim Gammons, Arup

Training and Education Task Force (fixed term task force)
Chair: Dr. Alan Stevens, TRL

Women in ITS
Chair: Sharon Kindleysides, Kapsch

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