Think what the future will look like, Traffic Commissioner urges conference delegates

Keynote speaker Kevin Rooney, Traffic Commissioner for the West of England, urged delegates to start planning and thinking strategically about what their fleets will be like in 2030, and warned them of the consequences of failing to keep pace with vehicle technology.

Citing trials of autonomous buses in Didcott and Cambridge he explained to delegates that it was already possible to board a driverless bus, which would take them into the centre of Cambridge.

“When I say autonomous, there is no driver, they drive themselves,” he said, “Think when you’re investing, what the future will look like.”

Delegates also heard from senior representatives from truck manufacturers Volvo and Iveco about the changes we are likely to see in vehicle design over the coming decade.

The mammoth challenge of decarbonising the industry was the main theme for the afternoon session, which conference chair Phil Lloyd, Head of Engineering Policy at Logistics UK, kicked off with the launch of Decarbonising Transport, a Logistics Magazine supplement, before introducing Siemens Mobility’s Gerrit Stumpe, who gave an overview of his company’s eHighway overhead catenary project in Germany.

The conference closed with the enforcement and technical standards management team at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) offering insights into the Agency’s approach to vehicle maintenance.

*www.logistics.org.uk/fleet-engineer

Published On: 09/09/2021 16:00:43

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