Traffex 2026 Look Ahead

A Sector at a Turning Point and Why ITS Is Now the Backbone of Modern Mobility

30th April 2026 - Alistair Gollop for ITS Now

As Traffex 2026 opens its doors this week, there is a palpable sense that the highways and mobility sector has reached an inflection point. The conversations that once revolved around pilots, proofs-of-concept and cautious experimentation have given way to something far more decisive. Across global events — from Orlando to Hong Kong, Zurich to Miami — the message has been remarkably consistent: Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are no longer optional enhancements. They are the essential enabling layer for the mobility systems we will need in the years ahead.

As one line from the TechTalks opening address puts it, “the technologies used to operate and manage our networks… are now being recognised as the essential enabling layer for the mobility systems we will need in coming years.” That sentiment frames not only the TechTalks Theatre programme, but the wider Traffex exhibition floor, where suppliers, authorities, innovators and policymakers converge to discuss what comes next.

This year’s Traffex arrives at a moment when the sector is grappling with a complex mix of pressures, including ageing infrastructure, rising public expectations, constrained budgets, climate-driven disruption and the accelerating pace of digitalisation. Yet it also arrives at a moment of extraordinary opportunity. The tools, data and capabilities that once felt futuristic are now deployment-ready. The question is no longer whether to adopt them, but how fast.

ITS as the Operating System of Modern Mobility

The shift in tone across the sector is unmistakable. Cities are no longer debating whether to invest in digital infrastructure, they are asking how to scale it. National agencies are no longer wondering whether connected mobility will arrive, they are preparing the regulatory frameworks that will shape it. And suppliers are no longer positioning ITS as a niche specialism, they are embedding it as the foundation of their product strategies.

This is reflected in the technologies dominating the Traffex agenda: connected corridors, digital traffic regulation orders, AI-supported operations, automated enforcement, dynamic kerbside management, digital twins, smarter signal deployment and frontline intelligence tools that reduce rework and improve safety. These are not abstract concepts. They are practical, deployable systems that are already reshaping how networks operate.

The sector’s challenge, and opportunity, lies in integration. As the TechTalks address notes, “Connected vehicles, cooperative corridors, automated freight… all rely on the same underlying truth. If we want mobility that is safer, cleaner, more efficient and more equitable, then ITS is the mechanism that makes it possible.”

TechTalks Theatre: A Programme Built Around Action

New for this year, the TechTalks Theatre provides a curated space for the sector to explore these themes in depth. Across two days, the programme brings together local authorities, national agencies, suppliers, researchers and innovators, each offering a different lens on the same set of challenges.

What stands out is the practical nature of the sessions. This is not technology for technology’s sake. It is technology in service of outcomes: reducing risk, improving safety, cutting waste, speeding up delivery and giving operators better visibility of what is happening across their networks.

Day One: From National Direction to Frontline Delivery

Day One opens with Alistair Gollop giving the opening address, he’ll be hosting both days of the conference and starts by introducing the keynote speaker Darren Capes from the Department for Transport. Darren will be setting out how the DfT is shaping the next generation of transport. His keynote frames the national ambition behind digital infrastructure, standards and future mobility.

From there, the programme moves through a series of sessions that reflect the breadth of the sector’s challenges:

Gafoor Din explores the design life of traffic signal infrastructure — a topic that has become increasingly urgent as councils face mounting renewal backlogs.
Scott Broadley from FYLD examines how frontline intelligence can reduce rework, risk and delivery cost — a reminder that digital transformation is as much about operations as it is about strategy.
Giorgio Potenza highlights the latest advancements in pedestrian detection and crossing safety.
Mike Potter and Tom Robison unpack the compliance crunch around Digital Traffic Regulation Orders (DTROs), showing how councils can turn a regulatory deadline into a strategic advantage.
Will Credicott focuses on designed-in safety for roadworks — one of the most high-risk environments on the network.
Mobile Worker Plus demonstrate how intelligent, event-based permit systems are transforming parking and kerbside management.
The afternoon concludes with the National Highways and Connected Catapult Launchpad, showcasing innovators tackling real-world challenges from decarbonising enforcement to smarter asset management. This will be judged by Alistair Gollop and Mark Braithwaite from National Highways.

Across the day, the theme is clear: better data, better tools, better deployment.

Day Two: Sharpening the Case for Action

If Day One sets the direction, Day Two pushes the sector to confront its most pressing risks and opportunities. This again starts with an opening address from Alistair Gollop, who will introduce Max Sugarman of ITS UK opens with a keynote on obsolescence, a topic that has become impossible to ignore. Ageing signal infrastructure is no longer just a maintenance issue; it is a reliability, resilience and public trust issue. As the address notes, “Few issues capture the pressure facing the sector more clearly than the challenge of ageing traffic signal infrastructure.”

The day then broadens into sessions on:

Alternative approaches to skid resistance prioritisation, offering a more evidence-led methodology.
Smarter traffic signal deployment, with Yunex Traffic demonstrating how Plus+ Advantage can reduce cost, carbon and disruption.
End-to-end digital enforcement, showing how councils can unify PCNs, permits and appeals within a single platform.
Ghost plates and evasive techniques, a growing threat to enforcement integrity.
Intelligent flood warning systems, increasingly vital as climate-driven disruption becomes more frequent.
Connected parking systems, demonstrating how user-centred design can make parking the easiest part of the journey.

The unifying thread is implementation. As the Day Two address puts it, “Today is not just about identifying problems; it is about showing what better looks like.”

A Sector Ready to Move

What makes Traffex 2026 feel different is the sense of urgency and readiness. The sector knows what needs to be done. The technologies exist. The data exists. The expertise exists. What is needed now is alignment between central and local government, between suppliers and operators, between policy and practice.

TechTalks captures this perfectly. It is a space built for conversation, challenge and collaboration, the ingredients that turn capability into delivery.

As the closing words of the programme remind us, “The work we do together, in rooms like this, will determine how effectively we harness ITS’s potential.”