Parking as an Integral Part of Intelligent Transport Systems at the 2027 ITS World Congress

From automated parking and digital payments to smart charging and urban space management, parking is becoming an increasingly connected part of the wider mobility ecosystem. For operators, cities and technology providers, this opens new opportunities while creating a growing need for collaboration across traditional sector boundaries.

The ITS World Congress, taking place in Birmingham from 25–29 October 2027, will bring these communities together under the theme “Connect Ideas. Transform Transport.” For the parking industry, it provides an international platform to showcase solutions, build partnerships and connect with the public and private organisations shaping the future of urban mobility.

Where parking meets the wider mobility ecosystem

The evolution of parking increasingly intersects with some of the fastest-moving areas of Intelligent Transport Systems. Automated and connected vehicles are changing how vehicles interact with parking infrastructure. Digital payment and access solutions are making the parking journey more seamless. Parking and kerbside data are becoming valuable inputs for urban mobility management, while EV charging is transforming car parks into an important interface between transport and energy.

Cities, meanwhile, are exploring how limited urban space can accommodate parking alongside charging, deliveries, shared mobility, active travel and passenger pick-up and drop-off. These developments are reflected across the four ITS Congress topics: Trustworthy and Resilient Systems, Next-Generation ITS, Connected and Integrated Services, and Deploying ITS at Scale.

For the parking sector, the final topic is particularly relevant. The challenge is increasingly not whether technologies such as automated parking, smart charging, digital payments or dynamic kerb management are possible, but how successful solutions can be integrated and deployed at scale.

Showcase parking innovation in Birmingham

With exhibition and commercial partnership opportunities now available, the ITS World Congress 2027 in Birmingham offers parking technology and solution providers a platform to showcase their innovations to an international mobility audience.

The Congress will bring together cities and public authorities, policymakers, transport operators, automotive and technology companies, infrastructure providers, researchers and mobility professionals from around the world – creating opportunities for parking companies to reach customers and partners beyond the traditional boundaries of the industry.

For providers working in areas such as automated parking, parking management, digital payments, EV charging, access control, sensors, data platforms, enforcement, kerbside management and smart-city solutions, exhibiting offers an opportunity to demonstrate how these technologies fit into the wider connected transport ecosystem.

Commercial partnerships offer another way to boost visibility and position organisations alongside the conversations shaping the future of ITS and urban mobility, with opportunities to build brand presence and engagement before and during the Congress.

For parking operators and cities, the exhibition also offers an opportunity to explore solutions from across the wider mobility market and exchange experience with organisations facing similar questions about technology deployment, urban space, integration and user experience.

Connecting solutions with real-world deployment

Birmingham and the West Midlands provide a real-world environment where ideas, technology and expertise can meet practical transport challenges.

The region has positioned itself as a major environment for transport innovation, with a strong track record of testing and deploying new mobility solutions in real-world settings. For an industry increasingly concerned with how technology moves from pilots into commercially viable, scalable deployment, this real-world perspective matters.

It also reflects the Congress’s broader purpose: connecting ideas and technologies with the organisations that can put them into practice.

As parking becomes more closely integrated with smart cities, urban mobility, automated and connected transport, digital services and energy infrastructure, those connections will become increasingly important.

Bringing parking expertise into the Technical Programme

This is an ideal opportunity for the parking industry to showcase its expertise and help shape the conversations across the Technical Programme.

The Call for Contributions for the Technical Programme opens on 22 October 2026, inviting experts and organisations to share knowledge, research, use cases and real-world deployment experience.
Topics such as automated parking, smart charging, parking and kerbside data, interoperability, AI, digital payments, urban mobility management and the integration of parking into connected mobility services all clearly link to the Birmingham programme.

For parking operators, city representatives, solution providers, associations and researchers, this provides an opportunity to bring the sector's experience directly into the international ITS conversation.

Parking is no longer simply where a journey ends. It is increasingly connected to how cities manage space, how vehicles interact with infrastructure, how people pay for mobility, how EVs connect to the energy network and how transport systems exchange data.

The ITS World Congress 2027 is an opportunity for the parking industry to showcase the solutions enabling that transition, build new cross-sector partnerships and help shape how the next generation of urban mobility is deployed.

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