The 8th European Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems and Services was held on 6-9 June 2011 in Lyon France under the theme “ITS for sustainable transport of persons and goods in urban regions”.  The Congress was organised by ERTICO – ITS Europe with the active participation of Grand Lyon the Rhône-Alpes Region the Lyon Urban Truck and Bus Cluster the French Ministry of Transport (MEDDTL) ITS France French organisations active within ERTICO the European Programme Committee and the French Organising Committee.

Video recordings of the Opening Ceremony Plenary Session Congress Conclusions and Closing Plenary may be downloaded from the i-Mobility Network library. The full Congress Conclusions are also available as a written report.

Facts and figures

Congress delegates: 845

Participants: 1821 (46 countries)

Exhibitors: 100+ (17 different countries)

Journalists: 50+

Monday 6 June – Opening ceremony

The Congress opened with a ceremony hosted by TV presenter and journalist Melinda Crane and featured speeches from a number of high-profile guests.

European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas spoke of the importance of ITS for the future development of a seamless cooperative multi-modal European transport network and emphasised the EU’s efforts through its 2011 White Paper on Transport and the ITS Action Plan and associated Directive.

Gunter Zimmermeyer Chairman of the Board of ERTICO highlighted the unprecedented size of this year’s European Congress paying tribute to organisers and hosts of the event as well as the many hundreds of participants attending from a wide range of sectors and backgrounds.

Mayor of Lyon Gerard Collomb spoke of his pride at hosting the European ITS Congress and the positive effects it brings to the city which is at the forefront of ITS development and deployment in its capacity as the largest transport hub in France

Jean-Jack Queyranne President of the Rhône-Alpes region echoed these remarks and underlined the transport challenges that the region faces and meets through strong investment and high levels of innovation.

Daniel Bursaux speaking on behalf of the Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet French Minister of Ecology Sustainable Development Transport and Housing outlined some of France’s most recent achievements in the development of multi-modal transport systems alongside the reduction of carbon emissions. He also congratulated the city of Bordeaux on its successful bid to host the European ITS Congress in 2015.

Finally it was announced that the host cities for the European ITS Congresses in 2013 and 2014 were chosen. Dublin will host in 2013 and in 2014 Helsinki will be he host.

 

Tuesday 7 June – Plenary session

The following day started with the plenary session entitled “Strategies for successful implementation of ITS in cities and urban regions”.  The round table introduced the vision of ITS innovation in the context of transport and discussed the ITS strategies that local authorities are most likely to prioritise when setting up multimodal mobility solutions. Likewise the supply side of innovative transport systems and mobility services and close cooperation between ITS stakeholders were highlighted.

Zoran Stan