With a new year beginning, January is a natural moment to look ahead. For ITS UK, the Christmas break also offered a valuable opportunity to analyse the results of our inaugural State of the Industry survey, providing fascinating insight into how the sector views the twelve months to come.

Between October and December, we asked more than 200 transport technology professionals about the future prospects of the industry: whether they expect growth, where they see the biggest opportunities and barriers, and even the one thing that is keeping them up at night.

Here’s what they told us.

A sector that is cautiously optimistic

The results point to a sector that is cautiously optimistic about the year ahead. Overall, 62% of respondents said they were either “really” or “quite” confident about growth over the coming year – the two highest confidence categories. By contrast, just 12% reported that they were not confident about growth.

Confidence levels varied depending on the type of organisation responding. Private sector respondents were more optimistic than those in the public sector, with 23% of businesses saying they were “really confident” compared to just 10% of public bodies. Size also played a role: larger organisations were slightly more confident, with 69% selecting the top two categories, compared with 62% of small and micro businesses.

Funding and the economy remain major barriers

Despite this optimism, funding and wider economic conditions were identified as the biggest barrier to growth, cited by 43% of respondents. Regulation and policy uncertainty came a distant second, at 22%.

This concern was consistent across the board. Regardless of whether respondents were from the public or private sector, or from large or small organisations, funding and economic pressures were the primary challenge.

Digitalisation, AI and integration lead on opportunity

Looking to future opportunities, three themes stood out almost equally: AI and automation (24%), digitalisation (24%) and integrating different modes of transport (20%). These were clearly seen as the most significant opportunities for the sector.

Here, differences emerged between the public and private sectors. Public sector respondents identified integration as their top priority, while private sector organisations placed AI and automation first. With the Government’s Integrated National Transport Strategy on the horizon, it is clear that local and transport authorities are already considering the potential implications for integrated transport.

The role of ITS UK

The survey provides valuable insight into the state of the industry, but it is also an important tool for ITS UK as the membership body for transport technology. It will directly inform our priorities and activities over the year ahead.

Last year was a strong one for the organisation. We delivered more than 50 events, welcoming over 2,000 attendees; increased our awareness among policy makers by 10%; and saw member satisfaction rise to 83%, with more than 55% of members now reporting they are “very happy” – our highest category to date. We moved offices, offering a new location for members, and won an award for the transformation of the association in 2023/24.

So what does 2026 hold? We have ambitious plans for the year ahead. Here’s a preview of what’s to come:

• A new Forum programme: We’ll be launching a more streamlined and effective Forum programme, centred on five key events across the year. There will also be new opportunities for members to get involved and put themselves forward for leadership roles.
• Stronger regional and local engagement: We’ll be increasing our engagement with policy makers in the devolved nations ahead of elections this year, including in Wales and Scotland. Alongside this, we’ll be expanding our work with local councillors and decision-makers.
• Welcoming more public sector organisations: We’ll be introducing a new Partner Membership aimed at local authorities that may not have the means to pay a full subscription. In 2026, we will establish a ‘lite’ Partner membership to support public sector organisations that have previously been unable to engage with our work.
• Representing the sector internationally: Building on our successful delegation to Latvia, Estonia and Finland in November, we’ll be supporting seven companies as part of a shared Pavilion with ERTICO at Intertraffic. We are also exploring another overseas delegation later in the year and – of course – supporting the ITS World Congress in Birmingham, now only a year away.
• A full programme of events: We’ll continue to deliver our flagship events, including our Annual Conference at Interchange, the Summer Parliamentary Reception, the President’s Dinner in the autumn, and our programme of Executive Dinners, updates and Forum sessions.

2026 promises to be another busy year bringing the sector together. We do hope you’ll join us and get involved!