Industry leaders and EU political figures have gathered in Brussels to explore future opportunities in digital technology for the road transport industry.
To kick off the autumn season in Brussels, IRU brought together industry and political leaders to unpack the future of digitalisation in EU commercial road transport.
The event featured Marian-Jean Marinescu, a prominent Member of the European Parliament, as well as the Vice Chair of the Parliament’s Environmental Committee and coordinator of the EPP group in the Transport Committee, Filip-Alexandru Negreanu-Arboreanu, the Deputy Head of Cabinet for the Transport Commissioner at the European Commission, and the Head of Legal Requirements at Continental, Matthias Kliché.
IRU Director of EU Advocacy Raluca Marian said, “Digitalisation is pivotal to the efficiency of road transport. It starts from something simple, like the digitalisation of control documents and control procedures, and develops into complex avenues such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.”
“Drivers carry piles of documents in their vehicles. We’re working with our members and public partners, including the European Commission, to achieve paperless driver cabins and enforcement by 2040,” she added.
IRU member Continental highlighted how digitalisation affects all aspects of road transport. A connected tachograph system, a trustful and reliable source of information for smart enforcement, offers flexible, connected and user-friendly services. Moreover, artificial intelligence is further elevating digital solutions, with significant impact on the entire commercial transport ecosystem.
The event, sponsored by Continental, followed an IRU workshop aimed at training industry representatives that are IRU members on the application of the complex set of social and market access rules grouped under the EU’s Mobility Package 1, based on IRU’s knowledge gathered during the EU-funded project TRACE 2.