With entries for the CiTTi Awards 2025 now open, City Transport & Traffic Innovation Magazine (CiTTi Magazine) has launched an exclusive series of Q&A interviews with the expert panel of judges responsible for assessing this year’s submissions.
In the weeks ahead, the magazine will shine a spotlight on each of the judges – a diverse group of leading professionals drawn from across the sustainable urban mobility and transport technology sectors – to explore their backgrounds, industry perspectives and what they’ll be looking for in an award-winning entry.
From public sector figures to academic and technical specialists, this year’s judging panel represents a broad spectrum of knowledge, insight and experience – all of which will help identify the most innovative, impactful and forward-thinking projects, products and people shaping the future of city transport and traffic innovation.
One of the judges taking part in the 2025 edition is Chris Floyd, chair of RoSPA’s National Road Safety Committee (NRSC).
From his early days as an heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver to his leadership in transport management and road safety advocacy, Floyd has witnessed the profound impact of road safety on individuals, families, and communities.
As chair of RoSPA’s NRSC, Floyd further the committee’s legacy, fostering collaboration and driving actionable change that benefits all road users.
With a focus on balancing data-driven insights with the human stories behind the statistics, Floyd is committed to steering the NRSC toward meaningful advancements in road safety for all.
Speaking to CiTTi Magazine, Floyd focused on how even unsuccessful entries can be just as significantly impactful as a celebration of success.
Name: Chris Floyd
Job title: Chair
Organisation: RoSPA’s National Road Safety Committee
How does your professional expertise align with the CiTTi Awards’ mission to recognise and celebrate innovation in urban mobility?
I’ve worked in the parcel delivery industry for 20 years and in that time some of our biggest challenges and significant successes have come from the final mile in an urban setting. As a sector, last-mile delivery represents an organisations interaction with its end consumer, it is the culmination of every act, process or worker across the supply chain, and represents the focal point of the industry.
As a focal point we must always do what we can to make it safer, cleaner and more innovative. RoSPA understands the cost to the UK economy of preventable accidents, whether on the road, the home or in the workplace. Therefore, how we innovate in the final mile – that combination of road, workplace and home – is especially important.
What emerging trends or technologies in urban mobility and transport are you most excited about, and how do you expect them to be reflected in this year’s submissions?
Over the years we’ve set ourselves more variety in the urban delivery environment. Whilst HGV’s retain the commonality in the first-and-final mile, once the preserve of 3.5t vans, other segments are now growing, such as cycling, delivery robots, cargo bikes, boats and small, innovative electric vehicles.
We also use far more self-collect options such as shops and lockers than ever before. I’m excited to see how both our industry, and those who primarily move people rather than goods, have adapted to shifting demographics, a change towards more active travel and how, if we’ve included more of the consumers own routine in the final delivery, we’ve avoided transferring risk to them as well.
As a judge, what insights do you hope to gain from reviewing the submissions, and how might this experience shape your perspective or influence your work in the sector?
I’m very much looking forward to seeing new approaches to existing issues in addition to innovative solutions to newer concerns. Incidents on urban roads in the UK tend to be at a lower average speed and resulting from a drop in individual human performance. I’d be interested to see more work on Driver Human Performance in the urban environment.
In your opinion, how do the CiTTi Awards contribute to driving meaningful progress and innovation in urban mobility, and why is industry recognition so important?
Awards are an excellent way for the likeminded to come together and celebrate innovation. Anything new, anything involving change or development can be slow, can be difficult, and can be fractious. The CiTTi Awards give a platform for an exchange of ideas, for celebration of positive outcomes but can also inspire so many others to take their ideas to another level.
Can you share an example of an innovation or initiative that has significantly impacted urban mobility?
In the past few years more goods carriers have moved to adopt smaller, more numerous locations within urban areas. This change from large, single site bases of operations to smaller multi-site solutions has allowed for the rapid increase in electric and other alternate vehicles in the Final Mile, vehicles which in their initial production forms would have been far more difficult to operate from larger, more remote bases.
The increase in smaller, more urban sites has also allowed for more targeted types of vehicle being used. Road safety can be considered to have improved in areas where a small, light cargo bike, etc, is now operating in place of larger, more conventional, or traditional vehicles.
What advice would you give to companies and organisations looking to submit an award-winning entry?
Be bold, be ambitious, and, where possible, be specific. I’d not only welcome submissions from those with a successful project but also, from those whose efforts didn’t fully work out as planned. I hope these awards will be a celebration of innovation, just as significantly as a celebration of success.
Achievements and innovations in urban mobility will be recognised and celebrated at the fourth annual CiTTi Awards on 25 November 2025 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector!
