The UK Government is to officially host the 33rd ITS World Congress taking place in Birmingham next year.
Organised by Ertico-ITS Europe, the Congress is centred around advancing the development and adoption of intelligent transport systems (ITS). It will connect governments, cities, local authorities, transport operators, researchers and industry players with more than 15,000 participants expected to attend from across 100 countries.
Didier Gorteman, Chief Financial and Operations Officer at Ertico-ITS Europe, called the UK a “global leader” in transport innovation, with “world-class expertise” in research, technology and real-world deployment.
“With the UK Government firmly behind Birmingham 2027, the Congress has great momentum and offers an exciting opportunity to showcase UK expertise alongside the best of what the global ITS community has to offer,” Gorteman told Zag Daily.
Taking place between 25 to 29 October 2027 at the NEC, the UK government will host the Congress alongside the West Midlands Combined Authority through Transport for West Midlands as the local host.
The official backing comes as intelligent transport continues to progress across the UK, with autonomous vehicles a large component. London has become one of Europe’s most watched cities for autonomous vehicles, with international players including Alphabet-owned Waymo, Uber, Lyft, Baidu as well as British firm Wayve all currently present in the city as they work towards offering robotaxi services.
Earlier this summer, Uber and Wayve secured approval from Transport for London to operate a supervised robotaxi service which permits passenger trips as long as a licensed Private Hire Vehicle driver is present.
Fully driverless passenger services, however, have not yet been permitted for any operator and the London Assembly Transport Committee recently stated that, as it stands, it has not heard “sufficient evidence” that London is ready to welcome fully autonomous passenger services on its roads.
Outside of London, autonomous transport is progressing largely in airports and shuttle services. The UK’s Teesside International Airport currently operates both autonomous passenger and autonomous baggage vehicles, while eight projects received a collective £1.4 million earlier this year as part of a government-backed programme to examine how connected and autonomous mobility could be deployed across Britain.
What’s on at the Congress
Four core themes will be explored during the ITS World Congress across road transport, rail, air and maritime. These themes are building trustworthy and resilient systems; advancing AI, automation and connectivity for “next-generation” ITS; connected and integrated services; and deploying ITS at scale.
The Congress will host an international exhibition of ITS players with dedicated UK feature zones and live demonstrations, alongside a technical programme exploring the core themes. Automated mobility will make up one key topic explored alongside public transport, data and AI, traffic management and road safety.
The UK government’s involvement will be led by the Department for Transport, with support from the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. National Highways and the devolved transport bodies representing Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also expected to participate alongside UK mayoral and local authorities, international governments, cities and industry.
According to Ertico, the UK government is encouraging Congress participation from its departments, local authorities and public sector transport organisations. As part of this, an agreement has been made in principle to provide eligible UK public sector officials with complimentary access to the Congress and the exhibition, with formal arrangements currently being finalised.
