This year’s ITS Arizona Conference is a joint venture with National Rural ITS and the National Rural ITS and ITS Arizona Annual Conference + Exhibit will be held October 21-24, 2018 at the We-Ko-Pa Conference Center in Fort McDowell, Arizona.

The Call for Abstracts has been extended to April 10th and we need your help to make sure Arizona is well represented by submitting an abstract.  All submissions are welcome, but we are especially interested in the following topics:

• Small Investments = Big Payoffs
• Using Technology to Solve Tribal Transportation Issues
• Pedestrians and Accessibility: Is There an ITS for That?
• Supporting Tourism and Special Events: Traveler Information, Parking, and more …
• What Gets Measured, Gets Done: Performance Measures
• Freight ITS in Rural Corridors.

Submit an Abstract

Shailen Bhatt has a big job on his hands. The CEO and president of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America is the second to hold the post in two years following the resignation last July of his predecessor Regina Hopper. It has not been the easiest time for the not-for-profit organisation, which has admitted that there was some rebuilding to do. Bhatt comes with a considerable pedigree. He was executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation for three years from February 2015 and, before that, cabinet secretary of the Delaware DoT and in a policy role at the Federal Highway Administration. 

Bhatt is a lifelong public servant and has spoken candidly of his sadness at leaving the public sector, calling it a “bittersweet day”. Rather winningly, he spoke of the “nobility” of public service. “There has almost been a demonisation of the public sector in recent years,” he says sadly in his first interview with ITS International. “The majority of public servants choose to give their careers to serving their city, province or state. It’s nice to be around people with that mindset. I feel for nearly the last decade I’ve been going in to work feeling I was going to save lives or make people’s lives better.”

Read the full article online at ITS International

Instead of our usual standalone conference in September, this year, as part of ITS Arizona’s silver anniversary, we have partnered with the Institute of Transportation Engineers to provide a historic joint annual conference opportunity for our members.  The National Rural ITS and ITS Arizona Annual Conference + Exhibit will be held October 21-24, 2018 at the We-Ko-Pa Conference Center in Fort McDowell, Arizona.

This year’s theme, Creating ITS Implementation Solutions for All Communities, represents the opportunity to share how leveraging technology applications and resources improves transportation in our communities. This meeting will combine rural ITS experts and Arizona’s transportation thought leaders to create a program that inspires attendees, allows them to create connections and leaves them with knowledge and tools to positively impact their own programs.

The Call for Abstracts is open, and the deadline for submissions is March 30, 2018. We encourage you to submit an abstract for this upcoming conference, which will have a large audience of ITS professionals from across the country.  To submit an abstract, or for more details on the conference, please see the conference website and stay tuned for more announcements in the weeks ahead.

Recent news articles have announced significant milestones in autonomous vehicle testing in Arizona:

• Take a ride in one of Waymo’s fully driverless minivans with this 360-degree video
• Uber’s Self-Driving Trucks Hit the Highway, but Not Local Roads
• Uber’s Self-Driving-Truck Scheme Hinges on Logistics, Not Tech

In addition, as discussed in this Medium post, Waymo, in conjunction with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the National Safety Council, the Foundation for Blind Children, the Foundation for Senior Living and the East Valley Partnership have launched the world’s first public education campaign for fully self-driving cars in Arizona:  Let’s Talk Self-Driving

On March 22nd, ITS Arizona and Arizona ITE will be hosting a joint luncheon from Noon-1pm at the Valley Metro Operations & Maintenance Facility.

Kyle Kotchou, Deputy Aviation Director for Design and Construction at Sky Harbor International Airport, and Mark Pilwallis, Vice President with Gannett Fleming, will talk about Sky Train Stage 2: Completing the Connection Between Terminal 3 and the Rental Car Center.  Sky Harbor International Airport has millions of passengers traveling through the facility each year and a large number of them make use of either the Sky Train or a rental car, so this is a major upgrade that will finalize the Sky Train system and provide increased access for passengers.

The presentation will be followed by an optional 30-minute tour of Valley Metro’s Operations & Maintenance Facility from 1-1:30pm.

Go online for more details and to register