Given the commitment to change and the innovation driven solutions that I saw in 2019, I am sure that 2020 is going to be another great year for the smart mobility sector. In 2020, ERTICO will continue to push forward the development of initiatives to achieve our vision of bringing innovation into mobility services, transferring knowledge to an increasing pool of stakeholders and providing smarter alternatives for users.

In 2020, ERTICO is keen to play a key role in scaling up mobility services in the context of the European Green Deal recently launched by the European Commission. This ambitious package of measures to ensure European citizens and businesses benefit from a sustainable green transition envisages a 90% reduction in gas emissions produced by transport by 2050.

Sustainability will be a key word in 2020 and we will work towards delivering on this challenge. Innovation will be pushed forward through the 20 EU projects we manage across our focus areas: Connected and Automated Driving, Clean Mobility, Urban Mobility, and Transport and Logistics. ERTICO intends to pass on the insights gained through this work. This year, the ERTICO Academy will offer specialised training to European cities to crucially fill knowledge gaps and support them in their quest to provide a better life for their citizens.

Also in 2020, ERTICO will engage with 300 cities and understand their needs through in-depth, impactful and individual interviews related to the latest mobility issues and solutions such as climate change, data access and sharing, and Mobility as a Service. With this initiative ERTICO aims to create a new mobility wave across European and international cities by understanding their needs and bringing them the benefits of ITS solutions and encouraging the share of best practice.

It goes without saying that ERTICO events and ITS Congresses are a fundamental part of ERTICO’s activities and are integral to learning and networking for the entire transport sector. Through our events, such as the Annual ERTICO Think Tank and our Focus On workshops, ERTICO reaches out not only to Partners, but also provides opportunities to other stakeholders to catch up on the latest innovations and developments. In 2020, we have not one but three Congresses, the 14th ITS European Congress in Lisbon, Portugal 18 – 20 May; the 1st Central Eastern Congress in Kazan, Russia 21 – 24 September and the 27th ITS World Congress in Los Angeles 4 – 8 October.

Equally important for us is to ensure as an organisation that we maintain the global perspective that these Congresses provide all mobility pioneers – insights into the progress made by other countries.  In 2020 we will have Partner delegations to the US, China and Japan to encourage further cooperation between our Partners and industry, cities and policy makers in these countries.

ERTICO is also keen to reach out to new players in the sector through ERTICO’s Start–up Initiative that was started last year, which offers collaboration opportunities and mentoring to encourage sustainability in this blossoming sector.

We are well aware in ERTICO that our real advantage is our extraordinary team of experts and our network of Partners. These Partners originate from a variety of sectors, industry, suppliers, research, cities, car manufacturers and now more recently start-ups. This diversity makes us stronger, gives us more leverage, more neutrality and more importantly, more trust in delivering the work we want to do before policy makers and for meeting our 2030 Vision. The commitment shown by our Partners to ERTICO is fundamental and one step on the path to the sustainable future that we wish to create for our own countries, Europe and beyond. I have no doubt we will meet the challenges of 2020 together to pave the way for tomorrow’s journey and to reach ERTICO’s vision for 2030.

Jacob Bangsgaard CEO ERTICO