As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in Europe’s transport systems, ensuring that regulation reflects operational realities is essential for the future of safe, resilient and intelligent mobility. Under the umbrella of ERTICO's Innovation Platforms, Traffic Management 2.0 (TM2.0) has issued an Open Letter to the European AI Office, calling for structured engagement with the road traffic management sector in the development of the upcoming Implementation Guidelines for High-Risk AI Systems under the EU AI Act.
An important dialogue in bringing Artificial Intelligence into Traffic Management Systems
For ERTICO and the TM2.0 community, this dialogue is critical. Traffic management systems operate at the intersection of public safety, mobility efficiency and digital innovation. AI-enabled tools are already supporting traffic prediction, incident management and operational decision-making across Europe’s road networks. Clear, proportionate and practical guidance is therefore essential to ensure innovation can continue responsibly while maintaining public trust and legal certainty.
Representing leading public and private stakeholders in the field, TM2.0 stresses that the future guidance should be practical, proportionate and aligned with how traffic management systems operate in practice. As the sector is directly linked to safety-critical infrastructure, public service delivery and AI-supported operational decision-making, clear and workable guidance is essential to support innovation while ensuring legal certainty, reliability and public trust.
The Open Letter highlights that the upcoming guidelines will significantly influence how AI can be deployed within Europe’s transport infrastructure ecosystem. TM2.0 stresses that, without dedicated sector consultation, the final framework risks overlooking the complexity and operational challenges of day-to-day traffic management activities.
Practical Foundations by the TM2.0 AI Task Force Assessment
Through its AI Task Force, TM2.0 has already conducted an extensive assessment of traffic management services across Europe against the core principles of the AI Act. This work provides a practical and evidence-based foundation that can support the development of implementation approaches which are responsible, realistic and proportionate.
The letter identifies three priority areas where dialogue with the sector would be particularly valuable:
- Practical guidance for the safe and compliant deployment of AI in traffic management.
- Consistent classification of high-risk AI applications based on intended use and operational context.
- A proportionate interpretation of risk, particularly when distinguishing between advisory tools and autonomous systems with safety-critical implications.
TM2.0 emphasises that a cooperative approach would strengthen legal certainty for both public and private stakeholders, support responsible AI innovation in European mobility, and contribute to the effective implementation of the AI Act without imposing disproportionate burdens on traffic management actors.