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 Vicky Edmonds, CEO of EVA England.
Edmonds is a leading expert in the electric vehicle (EV) and net-zero landscape, with nearly two decades of experience shaping UK government transport decarbonisation policy.
As former head of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (now OZEV), she spearheaded the UK’s 2030 phase-out of new petrol and diesel cars and led transformative projects like the £950m Rapid Charging Fund.
An experienced policy maker, Edmonds has also been a passionate EV driver for six years, giving her first-hand insight into the evolving EV market.
Her expertise also extends to legislation, including the 2018 Automated Electric Vehicles Act, and to wider energy system decarbonisation strategies through her work with the Energy Systems Catapult.
Speaking to CiTTi Magazine, Edmonds is seeking to bring her previous expertise drafting legislation to the fore, championing projects that consider their long-term effects in addition to providing an instant impact.
Name: Vicky Edmonds
Job title: CEO
Organisation: EVA England
How does your professional expertise align with the CiTTi Awards’ mission to recognise and celebrate innovation in urban mobility?
As the leader of an EV consumer body, and as a EV policy expert, I welcome the chance to look at how organisations are rising to the challenge of future proofing our cities for the time when all road transport will be electric – and will need to be affordable and convenient for all users. With the government recently confirming the end of sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, then that point is not far off. These awards are a timely opportunity to consider and celebrate new products that help us all achieve that goal.
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?
With costs to the consumer rising, and the climate emergency facing us, the need to support cheaper and cleaner ways of travel is paramount. Shifting users towards active travel and onto public transport is vital, but so is acknowledging that for many, they still need to use a car for work, commuting or personal reasons.
And so for me, one of the biggest challenges facing us in urban areas is how to support the switch to electric driving by providing adequate community or on street residential charging. Significant progress has and is still being made but if you don’t have a driveway, and you need to use your car for commuting, work or personal reasons, how can you access charging when you need it, and how can you access the cheaper electric vehicle charging rates that those with driveways can?
We have seen a number of new technologies emerging to try and tackle this challenge, and it presents a real opportunity to improve how we tie together city infrastructure, planning, data and smarter ways of parking. I hope that entries to this year’s awards will reflect on this as a sector and community-wide chance for improvement and change.
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?
Understanding how new technologies coming to market will help the consumer in their journey towards cleaner transport is always incredibly important. It is consumer choice that ultimately drives change and improvement.
I’m looking forward to being able to get under the skin of these innovations and projects – to ask questions and provide feedback around their usability and deliverability to the end user, and to take away insights on the opportunities they will bring to improving our experience as consumers in urban areas.
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?
When any new innovation or project is brought to market, consumer and customer need trust in it. The recognition of an industry body such as CiTTi provides that valuable reassurance and backing.
Can you share an example of an innovation or initiative that has significantly impacted urban mobility?
I’ve spoken about the challenge of on street residential charging and the strides many are making to try and turn the challenge into an opportunity. However, as transport user and passenger, the biggest innovation for me was the introduction of real time travel information. The ability for users to more efficiently plan and adapt their journeys and to better understand waiting and travel times, was revolutionary as a commuter. And it demonstrates the value that proper collection and use of real time data brings. Now we just need to see that across the electric vehicle charging landscape!
What advice would you give to companies and organisations looking to submit an award-winning entry?
Don’t forget the consumer! Think about who your customers and end users are and how your project will improve their experience.
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!
