STA PRESIDENT CALLS FOR ROAD POLICY REFORM FOR DIGITAL, AI-DRIVEN TRANSPORT IN THE LATEST AEC PODCAST EPISODE

STA’s President Dr José F. Papí was featured in The Time Machine, a podcast series by Revista Carreteras, the digital magazine published by the Spanish Road Association (AEC), dedicated to the future of road infrastructure, transport, and mobility.

In this episode, Dr Papí underlines the central role of roads as the backbone of smart and sustainable mobility in Europe. He mentions the urgent need to reform the European regulatory and financial framework in order to closely align digitalisation goals with the rapid transition towards smarter and more sustainable transport systems in Europe. One of the main challenges, Dr Papí emphasises, is that road infrastructures do not receive sufficient funding and are not constructed “by design” to accommodate high traffic volumes. For this reason, the need for stable budget allocation is urgent, as well as alignment with the international recommendation for annual investment equivalent to up to 2% of infrastructure asset value.

Additionally, he highlights that Europe is at the forefront of road digitalisation, driven by advances in 5G connectivity, the use of AI tools, and connected mobility. Drawing on insights from an extensive research study conducted by STA in 2019, which examined the views of over 371 experts, it was revealed that over 79% of the expert participants consider the current regulatory and budgetary framework outdated, restricting the ability to develop the infrastructure of tomorrow that covers both societal needs and evolving market trends. The findings of the survey are available in the Discussion Paper 1/2019, “Key Challenges for the Smart Transportation Infrastructures of the Future, Assessment of Results of Perception’s Survey”.

Dr Papí concludes his interview on a positive note, reaffirming STA’s commitment to supporting innovation, evidence-based policymaking, and the adoption of advanced technologies and standards to strengthen Europe’s transport infrastructure and enhance its resilience, sustainability, and efficiency.

The full podcast episode can be found at the link below (in Spanish).