The COST Association and the University of Žilina co-organised the conference “Intelligent Transport Systems: a Tool or a Toy?” in partnership with ERTICO – ITS Europe and under the auspices of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The event brought special attention to the role of research organisations in providing evidence to the policy makers for shaping the right ecosystem in ITS, and to the role of the industry, and in particular small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in delivering innovative, sustainable and interoperable solutions. Particular attention was given to two important pillars of future mobility: Autonomous driving and Mobility as a Service (MaaS).

This two-day conference took place in the context of the implementation of the legal framework (Directive 2010/40/EU) that was adopted by the European Union on 07 July 2010, to accelerate the deployment of the ITS across Europe.

According to the European Commission’s White Paper on Transport, new forms of mobility have to be proposed for overcoming reliability, environmental safety and affordability issues towards sustainable solutions for the transport of people and goods. Until this event, advancements in research and technology had significantly contributed to this recommendation by integrating multidisciplinary approaches, and having addressed the fragmentation of knowledge in ITS.

The MaaS Alliance had a strong presence in the conference, the presentations can be downloaded here.