Organised by PoDIUM partner ERTICO, the ITS European Congress 2025 brought together key experts in the ITS community to discuss the latest advancements in clean, efficient, and resilient mobility. Held in Seville, Spain, from 19 to 21 May, PoDIUM contributed to three Special Interest Sessions (SIS), offering insights into Vulnerable Road User (VRU) protection, large-scale Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) deployment, and the use of data to improve road safety.
PoDIUM was first represented in SIS 24 “Traffic efficiency and safety for VRUs and emergency response”, moderated by Vasilis Sourlas from PoDIUM Coordinator ICCS. The session explored practical approaches from European pilot sites to improve traffic efficiency and protect vulnerable road users. Jorge Suárez Luque (ETRA) presented one of the project’s use case in the Spanish Living Lab, which focuses on emergency vehicle prioritisation and on VRUs safety along an urban corridor in Barcelona. The use case showcases how emergency vehicles are given priority through dedicated routing, signal control, and the coordination of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs). It also uses CAV data to optimise traffic flow and evaluates collision risks at intersections to enhance safety for VRUs.
Continuing the conversation on road safety, Daniele Brevi (LINKS Foundation) took part in SIS 64 “The way to safer roads: insights into road safety and contributing factors”, sharing insights from the PoDIUM and EvoRoads projects. He explained how digital twins are used in PoDIUM to enhance VRU protection at intersections in Turin, where one of the project’s use cases will be demonstrated in the Italian Living Lab.
In SIS 65 “CCAM: challenges towards large scale deployment”, PoDIUM discussed key drivers and barriers for the large-scale deployment of CCAM. Vasilis Sourlas (ICCS) shared lessons learned from the project’s Living Labs and outlined some of the challenges for CCAM deployment. These include difficulties in obtaining permissions to operate automated vehicles in urban areas, a lack of consistent coordination between local authorities, and the complexity of securing vehicle insurance. He also highlighted the limited availability of controlled environments for testing, the need for alignment with local traffic management protocols, and difficulties linked to technological integration.
Overall, PoDIUM’s participation in the ITS Congress underlined the project’s active role in supporting the transition towards safer, smarter, and more connected transport systems.