IBTTA’s Annual Meeting in Austin Looks at Strategy Implications of New Technology

Dan Toohey, Vice President of Sales and E-ZPass Project Manager at Kapsch TrafficCom IVHS, leads the technology and innovation track for IBTTA’s 82^nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, September 14-17, 2014 in Austin, Texas. In this interview with Tolling Points, he points to the all-important strategic implications of rapid technology development in tolling and transportation.

TP: What are the most important industry trends in technology?

DT: Technology plays an ever-expanding role in our personal and professional lives. In our industry, technology is continuously evolving, and this year’s Annual Meeting program is jam-packed with new and fresh ideas. Some of the most visible new technologies in tolling and transportation have to do with safety, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) systems and connected vehicle programs, national interoperability, smart cities, smart phone applications, and emerging payment technologies.

TP: How are those content priorities reflected in this year's Annual Meeting program?

DT: It would have been an impossible task to try to address all the current technology trends in one technology track at the Annual Meeting. There’s so much going on, all of it moving so fast, that a whole technology conference is barely enough to tell the story.

But there’s an important difference with the Annual Meeting: it’s our best opportunity to address technology at the strategic level, to help the industry’s leaders gain the insights they need on emerging technologies, the impact they’re already having on the market, and the trends and changes we can expect in the near future.

TP: The Annual Meeting is one of the main opportunities each year for the IBTTA community to gather from around the world. How will the networking and informal conversations during the conference help advance the industry in your specific track area?

DT: We all know that we learn best when we learn from each other, and IBTTA meetings provide such opportunities. The three session organizers in the technology track have put together a series of informative, topical sessions that will engage and challenge the audience. And that will make the technology track a catalyst for the informal hallway conversations that make the Annual Meeting such a valuable experience.

View the agenda and learn more about IBTTA’s 82^nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, September 14-17, 2014 in Austin, Texas.