Highways Voices: Talking Roads and Transport Technology innovation

How do you innovate, lead, and scale in an industry where policy, procurement, and public funding often stand in the way of real progress?

We discuss this with one of our industry’s leaders, Michael Schuch, CEO of SWARCO today on Highways Voices.

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In our chat, we unpack the major roadblocks facing innovation in transport infrastructure - from rigid procurement processes to inconsistent sustainability policies. This conversation reveals how to navigate the frustrating gap between political ambition and practical deployment, and how to stay future-proof in the process.

Michael gives reasons for the industry to work together to counter anticompetitive behaviour, discusses his culture of innovation across borders, even in the face of post-pandemic workplace challenges and explains why many groundbreaking traffic technologies never scale, and what’s needed to change that. He also talks about the company's the GoGreen Initiative and how to communicate the value of smart mobility solutions to cities worldwide.

This interview is a dip into the archives, originally shared in 2024 but as relevant 15 months later.

Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.

Today on Highways Voices, we cut through carbon reduction confusion, and look at taking meaningful action.

We’re joined by Brightly to talk Carbon Literacy, which is an understanding of carbon emissions associated with everyday activities and the ability and motivation to reduce them, as well as being about being aware of the impact of our choices, both as individuals and businesses.

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Brightly has recently taken action on this, being accredited themselves as a business, and now they are using that learning to help local authorities with their targets.

Our guest is Zoe Sterling-Wall, Business Development Manager for Sustainability at Brightly, who chatted to Adrian Tatum and discussed how carbon literacy training can simplify decision-making and empower action across entire highway networks. They also discuss how organisations like Brightly are leading by example and helping local authorities embed sustainability into operations, and you'll hear her advice about practical, scalable strategies to foster collaboration and accountability across departments and supply chains.

Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.

Today on Highways Voices we return to our occasional series of Highways Business podcasts, where we look to explain the highs and lows, the profits, the losses and successes and failures of running a company in the highways and transport industry.

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With everything from the forthcoming launch of the National Highways Scheme Delivery Framework 2 worth around £14.5 billion, to numerous local authorities looking to go to tender at any one time during the year, finding an organisation that can properly support bids can be tough. So today we talk to one that can, EIB.

EIB is a client focused consultancy with a fully employed team delivering market leading bid management and writing support. Scott Brown, co-founder and CEO, and the company's Deputy Chief Executive, Caitlin Murphy join Adrian Tatum to tell the 33-year story of the business, why it was started in the first place and what potential did they see.

In today’s podcast you’ll hear details of how how they set up the business, grew it and focussed it, and to get and retain the right staff for the right work. You’ll also get details on how to win bids - why early engagement and client alignment are critical to crafting winning bids, how EIB’s fully employed consultancy model creates consistency, quality, and client trust, and the practical tools you can use to improve a bid, everything from compliance matrices and storyboarding to cross-sector strategy.

Hit play now to uncover how the EIB team achieves its rate—and what you can take from their approach to immediately improve your next bid.

Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.

Let's get around a hundred local authorities, local and national infrastructure leaders and cutting-edge transport technology companies together to redefine the future of highways on Highways Voices today.

We're back at the LCRIG Innovation and Learning Festival after last week's show to discuss maintaining roads more efficiently, introducing autonomous vehicles and securing infrastructure from cyber threats, all while under pressure to do more with less.

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This episode offers practical solutions already being trialled as you'll learn about how autonomous shuttles are moving from prototype to real-world first/last mile transport solutions, discover how Coventry City Council successfully integrated drones, AI, and V2X tech to cut incident response times and emissions and you'll understand how public-private partnerships and technology-enabled asset monitoring, and smart procurement models are driving down costs and improving infrastructure resilience.

Hit play now to explore how today’s innovations in highway technology can make your operations safer, smarter, and more cost-effective—starting with what’s already working across the UK.

Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.

A truly groundbreaking road maintenance machine makes its debut on today's Highways Voices, while we get advice on innovation and funding from a leading local authority and hear a call to action on a new way of managing data.

We're at the Innovation Festival in Warwickshire, which is an event for industry leaders and professionals dedicated to advancing highways maintenance and transport technology, with a mix of indoor and outdoor exhibitions, demonstrations, presentations and networking.

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Multevo launches its new Recycle, Rejuvenate, Repair machine on today's podcast where you hear what it does and why it could prove to be groundbreaking in more ways that one.

You'll also hear from Sam Shean from Reading Borough Council on its approach to using innovation to lower carbon, while Dorian Isaacson from start-up zone attendee Streetwise discusses data counting and its value for road safety.

On top of that, we hear about above ground detection and how the technology can replace, or work with, inductive loops, there's a roadworker safety solution demonstrated by Highway Resource Solutions and clever data management system from Nicander looking for someone to try it out.

Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.

What if your vehicle would know road hazards before you even see them, or suggest a possible safe place to overtake a cyclist on a winding rural road?

They’re just two of the things we talk about on today's Highways Voices with Remco Timmer, he’s VP Product Management, Head of Automotive Solutions at HERE Technologies.

You’ll likely discover a lot you didn’t know about mapping and locations as we explore how mapping and sensor integration are transforming assisted and autonomous driving, solving real-world challenges around driver awareness and safe navigation in complex traffic environments.

He talks about how a vehicle's on-board sensors work with intelligent mapping, and gives his thoughts about why legislation clarity is crucial to accelerating the adoption of autonomous vehicle features across urban and rural networks. He also explains how dynamic maps are helping drivers not just navigate traffic, but also to understand when, where, they could drive hands-free with confidence.

If you think mapping is just about directions, this conversation will change your perspective.

Do you want to hear how you can keep innovating in your highways network when your budget barely covers the basics? Well you’ve come to the right place on this Highways Voices!

With funding under pressure and increasingly complex transport demands, councils and suppliers alike are searching for smarter, scalable solutions. If you’re navigating the challenges of integrating new technology, sweating aging assets, and justifying ROI to stakeholders, this episode unpacks how industry leaders are doing just that — with realism, creativity, and collaboration.

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We're at the SWARCO User Group, where Highways News was invited to host a panel discussion to discuss driving innovation with budgets under pressure, and heard the council view from Sean Bulmer of the City of York, Rob Whiteside from Kirklees and Cambridgeshire's Richard Ling alongside John Pickworth and Andrea Newman from SWARCO.

In this episode you will learn how modular system design is helping authorities build tech gradually, even with tight funds, and how collaboration across departments, and budgets unlocks new opportunities, while you'll also hear real-world insights into the shift from traditional loop detection to smarter, above-ground solutions and how they stack up in practice.

Listen now to hear directly from local authority leaders and SWARCO experts on how they’re making innovation possible—even when every pound counts.

Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.

Why aren’t we more outraged that 1,700 people still die on UK roads each year?

Today on Highways Voices we talk road safety because, despite having some of the safest roads globally, road deaths in the UK have plateaued, and efforts to reduce them, through enforcement, awareness, and education, aren’t achieving meaningful impact.

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Sussex Police Chief Constable Jo Shiner, who’s head of Britain’s roads policing, is our guest and gives us a real insight into her thoughts on keeping our roads safe, and indeed making them safer.

She explains why a National Road Safety Board and collision investigation system could revolutionise how we tackle fatalities, gives her views on how emerging enforcement technologies like AI-powered cameras and in-vehicle sensors could eliminate risky behaviour before it becomes fatal, and discusses the cultural and legislative shifts needed to elevate road safety from afterthought to national priority.

If you're worried about road safety, this is a must listen episode for you!

Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.

Are shared transport solutions the missing piece in solving our congestion, infrastructure, and sustainability puzzle?

As our industry constantly grapples with how to reduce car dependency, meet environmental goals, and deliver equitable, cost-effective mobility, we look at one solution today with Richard Dilks, CEO of CoMoUK – the national charity for shared transport.

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In this Highways Voices podcast he explains why shared transport, ranging from car clubs and e-scooters to digital demand-responsive transit, is not just a trend but a strategic tool for modern transport planning, explaining how this approach intersects with public policy, urban design, and real-world user behaviour, aiming to deliver healthier, more connected communities.

You'll hear how shared mobility schemes are reshaping the transport ecosystem, but that even in London, there are still many gaps. He talks about e-bikes and e-scooters, their place in the puzzle and how safety issues are being addressed, and he and host Paul Hutton talk mobility hubs too, and how they could make it easier to take hassle-free, quick and convenient car-free journeys.

Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.

We're back in Seville at the 2025 ITS European Congress for a bonus Highways Voices today, hearing how UK-based SMEs made a global impact by working with the Department for Transport on the UK Pavilion.

As we hear content we didn't have time to share last week, you'll also learn from SWARCO how cutting-edge VR tools are reducing the need for on-site technical deployment and enabling collaborative problem-solving across borders.

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We talk to Acusensus about the real-world impact of AI safety tech, and from ERTICO on enhancing data sharing between vehicles and authorities to earn higher Euro NCAP ratings. You'll also hear about two future World Congresses, in the American city of Atlanta and when the UK hosts it in Birmingham in just over two years' time.

Tap play now to find out how your organisation can adopt these breakthrough technologies and prepare for these game-changing events.

In case you missed them, we brought you a huge amount of important details of the high level summit, press conference and a visit to a cutting-edge Amazon facility, innovating companies on the UK Pavilion in our "pitwalk", and a panel discussion from keynote-quality speakers on borderless travel and international standards.

The UK Pavilion’s participants were (in alphabetical order): AECOM, AGD Systems, Agilysis, AIM, ANGOKA, Immense, MAV, Nicander, Now Wireless, Teragence, VESOS and WJ.

Highways Voices is brought to you with our partners the Transport Technology Forum, LCRIG, ADEPT and ITS UK.