It was a great pleasure and honor to welcome Angelos Amditis to the 4NewMobility Leadership Talk series. Angelos is a key figure in the European and global mobility landscape — Director at ICCS/NTUA, Chairman of the ERTICO Supervisory Board, Vice President of ITS Hellas, and a Member of both the ALICE Executive Group and the ILME Board of Directors. I’ve known and worked with Angelos for many years, particularly during my time at ERTICO, and I’ve always admired his ability to synthesize complex technological, regulatory, and societal developments into a clear and strategic vision. That’s why I was truly excited to have this in-depth conversation with him — to explore the current state and future potential of autonomous vehicles and services.

Angelos offered a rich and multi-layered perspective. His conviction is clear: Level 4 automation is not a distant dream — it is around the corner. While full Level 5 autonomy remains a longer-term goal, he sees strong momentum toward Level 4, particularly in public transport and logistics. But automation, as he reminded us, doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It requires smart infrastructure, both physical and digital, as well as operational readiness. These three layers — infrastructure, connectivity, and operational frameworks — must evolve in parallel.

Crucially, Angelos emphasized that technology alone isn’t enough. We must build trust among citizens, policymakers, and industry stakeholders. Public acceptance, legal clarity, and robust data ecosystems are foundational to moving forward. He pointed out that Europe still faces fragmented national regulatory environments, which can significantly hinder cross-border testing and deployment. Harmonization is urgently needed — especially in a fully harmonized legal framework, liability frameworks, and public procurement procedures.

One of the key takeaways from our talk was Angelos’ call for deployment, deployment, deployment. Europe has long been a leader in research and innovation, but to stay globally competitive, we must now scale up real-world implementations. Demonstration projects and testbeds remain essential — not only to validate technology but to gather data, prove business models, and build public confidence. But we must also stop waiting for perfection and start rolling out the technologies that are ready today.

Angelos also underlined the critical role of cities in this transformation. As urban populations grow, space becomes scarce and efficiency becomes vital. Technologies like autonomous shuttles and last-mile delivery services offer real opportunities to improve accessibility and sustainability. His message to city leaders was clear: embrace smart mobility as a key enabler of inclusion, safety, and environmental responsibility — not as a threat to manage.

In the domain of logistics, we discussed the vast potential of automation — from autonomous trucks on highways to robots in warehouses and smart ports. Logistics, he noted, will likely be one of the first sectors to see widespread deployment of autonomous systems, driven by cost pressure, labor shortages, and the growing complexity of supply chains.

Looking ahead, Angelos sees a need to prioritize connectivity, infrastructure modernization, and data management, all supported by public-private partnerships. Investment is essential, but so is regulatory reform and capacity-building within cities and regions. He also stressed that the benefits of automation must be shared equally across all EU member states, not just the larger or more developed ones.

In closing, I would like to echo Angelos’ key message: we need to be bold now. It’s time to act. We must move beyond pilots to large-scale deployment, integrate new mobility solutions into urban and regional planning, and create an environment in which innovation, safety, and societal benefit can all thrive together.

Call to Action
Let’s continue to build strong, cross-sector partnerships. Let’s push for regulatory harmonization and invest in smart infrastructure. Let’s engage cities, empower users, and prioritize deployment. The future of connected, automated, and sustainable mobility is within reach — but only if we work together to make it real.

Let’s implement. Let’s scale. Let’s lead.