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Navigating the Future of Global Mobility

Welcome to the ITS Now Articles hub, your central resource for expert analysis, technical insight, strategic thought leadership and educational content within the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) sector. As the transport landscape undergoes a radical transformation driven by digitisation, decarbonisation and automation, staying informed is no longer just an advantage, it is a necessity for industry professionals, policymakers and innovators alike.



Global Insight, Local Impact

While the challenges of congestion and safety are universal, the solutions are often local. ITS Now brings together perspectives from across the globe, highlighting international best practices while providing a dedicated lens on the UK’s evolving transport strategy. As the growing technological requirements of mobility evolve and mature, our content is designed to provide you with actionable intelligence. Join the conversation as we work together to build a smarter, safer and more efficient future for transport.



Find the latest articles across our different topic areas below.



To see more of our 100's of articles, click on the links to engage with the latest Industry Insight, find out what has been happening at Events that will impact ITS across the globe, catch up on ITS Thought Leadership and dip into our ITS Educational articles.



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Industry Insight >

We bring you a range of topics from across the ITS sector, to see more articles click here for the Industry Insight page.



An image of a Grid Smarter Cities Bookable Loading bay in use on Walworth Road, London

Stress at the Kerb

How digital kerbside management could reduce pressure for freight drivers

Urban freight is a constant negotiation for space and the kerbside is often the most contested part of that stage.


An image of Clearview's Intelligent Road Studs being installed in the A3 Hindhead Tunnel, UK.

Intelligent Studs
Technology Renewal Project at Hindhead Tunnel Lights the Way

Clearview’s high-intensity LED studs actively illuminate the lane guidance for lane closures, maintenance activities, contraflow arrangements and incident management by altering the illumination pattern of the studs.

An image of Angelos Amditis - Chairman of ERTICO and Joost Vantomme cutting a 35 year celebratory cake at the ITS European Congress in Istanbul

ERTICO at 35
From Shared Ambition to Real-World Mobility Impact

Alistair Gollop sat down with Joost Vantomme, CEO of ERTICO, during the organisation’s 35th anniversary year to discuss progress in 2026 and the wider direction of intelligent transport.

An photograph of Paula Claytonsmith

Stuck in Pilot Purgatory
Why Intelligent Transport Systems Can Struggle to Scale

Paula Claytonsmith asks why execution keeps failing at the same point, at the moment when a pilot should become permanent infrastructure.

An illustration of how ITS systems could be vulnerable to cyber attacks

Cybersecurity moves center stage
Why Modern ITS Equipment Must Be Secure by Design

As roadside technology becomes smarter, more connected and more critical to the safe operation of our transport networks, the resilience of the systems behind it is no longer a specialist concern.



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Events >

Updates from major ITS events around the globe, to see more articles click here for the Events page.



An illustration of future mobility in Guildford, Surrey

UTSG 2026

Academia Signals a New Era for Intelligent Mobility

The 58th Universities’ Transport Studies Group (UTSG) Annual Conference returned to Surrey looking at the depth and direction of the research being shaped across the UK and Ireland’s transport schools.


An illustration of a futuristic automated vehicle driving through Stuttgart

Autonomous Vehicle Tech Expo 2026 Stuttgart
Key ITS and Mobility Technology Themes from this years' Autonomous Vehicle Tech Expo

The Expo delivered a rich seam of advances in simulation, breakthroughs in sensing, new architectures and a renewed focus on safety, cybersecurity and validation.

An illustration of a digital twin model overlaid on a highway

LCRIG Innovation & Learning Festival 2026
ITS and Mobility Technologies that provide Innovation with Purpose

LCRIG’s annual gathering in the UK is grounded, practical and relentlessly focused on the realities of local roads, local authorities and the people who keep the network functioning.

Image of the lectern at the 2026 ITS UK Parliamentary Reception

ITS UK Parliamentary Reception 2026
Transport technology steps into the spotlight at Westminster

ITS UK’s annual parliamentary reception brought together policymakers, industry leaders and innovators to see why ITS is critical for the future of UK transport.

Image of Laura Demeo Chace on stage at the ITSA Conference 2026

ITS America Conference & Expo 2026
Detroit Signals a New Phase for Intelligent Mobility

The ITS America Conference & Expo returned to Detroit, the city once again became the proving ground for the next chapter of connected, automated and intelligent mobility.



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ITS Thought Leadership >

The Thought Leadership series provides insight to a range of topic issues which surround the ITS sector, to see more articles click here for the Thought Leadership page.




An illustration of a possible cause for unexpected systems failures, when a cleaner plugs in a vacuum cleaner in a control room

90 Seconds to Disruption

What lessons can the ITS sector learn

The recent power failure at Network Rail’s Manchester operations centre was described as a rare event, yet its consequences were anything but minor, with widespread disruption across the rail network.


An illustration of an 'AI' driver being told off by a judge.

AI Vacuum
The Regulatory Vacuum Around AI in Transport

While AI technology accelerates, the law follows at a far more measured speed. The result is a widening gap between what AI can do and what regulators are prepared to govern.

An illustration of an urban city devoid of cars

Post-car City
How could our mobility choices change our cities?

What does a 'post-car' city actually look like when it is built from evidence rather than ideology?

An illustration of how Traffic Management Systems might work in future years

Death of the Monolithic Traffic Management Systems
What Comes Next for Cities?

Monolithic TMS, which was once the proud centrepiece of urban traffic operations, is now struggling to keep pace with a world that no longer behaves in neat, predictable patterns.

An illustration of data generation on an urban street.

Is Data a Public Utility?
Should transport data be treated and valued as a public utility rather than being siloed in commercial servers?

Mobility data is the unruly teenager of the infrastructure world. It is everywhere, growing fast, often misunderstood, and almost entirely unregulated in any meaningful sense. The question is whether it should remain that way.



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ITS Educational >

The items in the Educational series provide an opportunity to learn about Intelligent Transport Systems and their underpinning technologies,, to see more articles click here for the Educational page.

For more learning resources, also have a look at our Books in the Publications page.



An illustration of a range of mobility modes being assisted by ITS

What is ITS?

Ever wondered what Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are?

Despite sounding like a futuristic mode of transport, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are actually technologies and systems associated with the management, operation and use of a broad range of transport modes and their inter-relationship with other infrastructure.


Placeholder Picture

Introduction to Roadside Technology
An Overview Of Major Technologies Used To Control And Manage The Highway Network

Technologies have been used for many years to passively monitor activity on the highway, however over the years additional features have been added to assist in actively managing traffic, these range from informing users about current conditions, so that they can make their own decisions, such as automatically warning drivers of incidents using roadside variable message signs, through to compelling users to modify their driving, such as by implementing variable speed limits or by using enforcement cameras etc.

Image of inductive vehicle detection loops on a UK motorway, MIDAS system

Inductive Loop Vehicle Detection
The Backbone of Intelligent Transport Systems

Ever seen rectangular, diamond or chevron black lines in the asphalt surface of a road and wondered what they are?

Image of an old fashioned vehicle detection system

The History of Traffic Signals
The history of traffic signals and how they came to be used on our roads as far back as 1868

Many people assume that traffic signals emerged alongside the rise of motor vehicles, yet the foundations of modern signalisation were laid decades earlier. Long before roads were dominated by cars, engineers and scientists were grappling with the challenge of how to communicate movement, warning and control, at a distance.

Image of a typical signalised junction in London

Traffic Signals - Phases and Stages
Part 1 - Introduction to Traffic Signal Principles

This article introduces the key concepts of aspects, phases, stages, streams, and cycle time, and explains how they work together to manage traffic safely and efficiently.



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