On April 13, a delegation from the Intelligent Transportation Society of Taiwan (ITS Taiwan), including its President and CECI Chairman Mr. Shih Yi-Fang, FETC General Manager Mr. Y.C. Chang, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Ltd. Executive Vice President Mr. Philip Tseng, ITS Taiwan Secretary General Mr. Nelson Fan, Deputy Secretary General Ms. Wei-Ling Lee, Chief of Secretariat Mr. Tzu-Cherng Chang and GIS Group Assistant Vice President Ms. Amber Chen visited Taipei City Government to meet with Mayor Mr. Ko Wen-je and Deputy Mayor Ms. Vivian Huang and exchange ideas on the best ways to bolster Taiwan capital’s bid to host the 2026 ITS World Congress in 2026 – a coveted opportunity for any city looking to take its digital infrastructure to the next level.
ITS World Congress is a joint initiative of smart transportation organizations across Europe, North and South Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Its annual conferences and trade shows are the largest international events in the field of smart transportation and a great chance to promote ITS technologies globally and to showcase achievements. The 2021 World Congress in Hamburg, Germany, for example, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, attracted over 13,000 participants from 65 countries and regions.
At the 24th ITS World Congress in Montreal, Canada in 2017, Taipei City was honored with the Local Government Award for its efforts in promoting Smart City and Intelligent Transport technologies. Taiwan has long been one of Asia’s leaders in ITS and this has been widely noticed by the international community. A successful bid to host the 2026 ITS World Congress would be another major milestone for the city, as well as another boost for its international business tourism sector and the promotion of its transportation technologies across the entire island.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je expressed his full support for the city’s aspiration to host the 2026 ITS World Congress and for ITS Taiwan’s efforts towards a successful bid. He noted that this would allow the world to see Taipei City’s many accomplishments in this field. ITS Taiwan President and CECI Chairman Mr. Shih Yi-Fang expressed his gratitude for the city’s support in this important endeavor and pointed out that Taiwan is facing some strong competition from other cities, such as South Korea’s Gangneung.
Along with Taipei City, ITS Taiwan is seeking support from other city governments – particularly New Taipei and Taoyuan – as well as various central administration agencies in Taiwan, so as to be fully prepared for the hosting of the 2026 ITS World Congress. Taiwan has worked hard on building the high-quality infrastructure and smart city capabilities it enjoys today, and being home to the 2026 ITS World Congress would be a wonderful opportunity to share this precious experience with the entire world.