IRF Geneva’s long-standing partnership and collaboration with China Highways and Transportation Society (CHTS) and with the Government of China will be at centre stage again this year.
This will be seen at the World Transport Convention 2018 to be hosted in Beijing from 18th to 21st June. The 2017 edition of the World Transport Convention (WTC) was hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) and organised by the China Highway & Transportation Society (CHTS). It also had the support of the Ministry of Transport (MOT), Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and was an indisputable success.
WTC 2018 wishes to push forward the innovation and development of the transport industry, and further promote the international exchange and cooperation in this field, especially the transport infrastructure connectivity among the countries along the Belt and Road Initiative. With the theme of “Better Transport, Better World”, WTC 2018 is structured around five major components. These are: the opening ceremony and keynote presentations; Transport Sci-Tech Expo; technical sessions and workshops; the 2018 urban traffic innovative design competition and 2018 college student bridge design competition; and the “Belt and Road” special activities. IRF Geneva is pleased to support again this must-attend event for Asia, which is expected to attract over 5,000 participants. During the convention, the 2018 Transport Sci-Tech Expo covering an area of 30,000m2 will be organised. The Expo will have two major exhibition areas, namely the infrastructure exhibition area and the travel service exhibition area.
The technical programme, consisting of keynote speeches, thematic forums and specialised sessions and workshops as well as poster sessions, will witness around 1,500 presentations. There will be over 30 thematic workshops focusing on hot issues and cutting-edge technologies in the field of transport. These will include topics such as the development of long-span bridges, high-speed rail technology, big data, future transport, intelligent transportation, the sharing economy and green mobility, and much more.
• If you are interested in getting involved in one of the sessions that will be hosted by IRF Geneva please contact the Secretariat in Geneva at info@irfnet.ch The official website of the conference is https://www.wtc-conference.com/
National Committee on ITS established by India
The National Institution for Transforming India (Niti Aayog) and the International Road Federation (Geneva) signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) on 21st September 2017 to cooperate in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India. While designing strategic and long-term policies and programmes for the Government of India, NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre and States. The SoI between IRF and Niti Aayog came following a series of high-level roundtables on ITS hosted in India by the IRF during the course of 2017.
Under the NITI – IRF association, a National ITS Committee has been constituted. The Committee will involve all relevant Government of India ministries and stakeholders (Road Transport, Industry, Industrial Promotion, Telecom, Urban Development, Road Congress, Bureau of Indian Standards, Home Affairs, etc.), Indian and foreign companies active in the sector, and relevant technical experts for the purpose of developing a National ITS Policy. Under the National Committee, three initial Working Groups – headed by Balraj Bhanot, (IRF Advisor) – have been established.
They will work for the development of a National ITS Policy covering:
1) Traffic Management
2) Parking Management
3) Electronic Enforcement of Traffic Rules and Regulations
4) Fleet Management and Monitoring,
5) Innovation in ITS
6) Education in ITS
The objective of this national ITS Policy will be to contribute to reducing urban traffic congestion, improving the situation around parking of vehicles in cities, improving road safety, and improving the security of passenger and goods traffic. The work of this National Platform will contribute to the Government of India’s SMART City Program, the Make in India initiative, and to a host of other initiatives aimed at supporting the economic and social development of India.
