One of the highlights of the Digital Transport Days in Tallinn in November 2017 was the speech of Mr Henrik Hololei , Director General of DG MOVE and the organiser of the DTDs . In a very dynamic way he outlined the effects, both negative and positive, of digitalisation within the wider framework of societies.
Obviously, he positioned digitalisation of transport in this framework and this led to his comment that transport needs to be and remains a key political priority. ‘Given the degree of challenge and disruption’, he said, ‘regulatory choices have to be made in such a way that the future is embraced and the potential is not not limited’.
He continued by saying that there are clear benefits like autonomous trucks, increased capacity of the existing infrastructure, multimodal integration etc. At the same time there are also obstacles that need to be taken away, with cybersecurity being an important issue and the changing nature of jobs in transport.
He finished by inviting to collaborate to make digital transport solutions a success and to deliver for Europe, for Business, for People, and for the Planet.
In the next newsletter you will read how ESC is already deeply involved in the “Digital Transport and Logistics Forum”. This initiative was set up by the European Commission and got a lot of attention during the DTDs. In the meantime, you are invited to read the speech of Director General Henrik Hololei and hopefully get inspired.