Newsroom

IRU has wrapped up a successful week at Busworld Europe 2025 in Brussels, driving policy dialogue and industry collaboration on key issues shaping the future of passenger road transport.

Four leading European associations representing the road transport, freight forwarding, shipper and cold chain sectors have jointly called on the European Commission to avoid introducing mandatory zero-emission truck demand targets, warning that such measures risk disrupting Europe’s green transition if enabling conditions are not yet in place.

The European Parliament’s vote on the Eurovignette amendment is a clear step in the right direction. However, further work is needed on the new proposal to ensure a fair and effective path to decarbonisation.

The transition is underway. But regulatory uncertainty and restrictions are undermining it. What needs to change? We asked one of the leading global providers of clean fuel solutions.

IRU acknowledges the Commission’s new proposal on EU tolling rules but underlines that fair and balanced implementation is vital to ensure decarbonisation goals do not come at the expense of road transport operators’ competitiveness and Europe’s supply chains.

With over 1,000 delegates at Kazakhstan's major transport and logistics event this week, IRU highlighted road freight’s transformative role in Central Asia and Eurasia in recent decades, and the need to now focus on the “three Ds” in addition to the overarching “D”, development.

The world’s biggest business-to-business exhibition dedicated exclusively to bus and coach returns to Brussels and IRU is at the heart of it. As a partner of the Busworld Europe Congress 2025, IRU will lead key panel discussions.

The latest Industry Development reports presented during the IRU Presidential Executive meeting in September are now available to members.

CEVA Logistics is racing towards net-zero. How are they doing it? How are they helping their customers? And what about infrastructure?

How can commercial road transport transition to zero-emission vehicles while keeping costs under control? This was the question at the heart of the latest Green Compact Roundtable, hosted by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).

Improving laws, governance, compliance, skills certification and operating conditions to drive safer, cleaner and more efficient commercial road transport is the aim of a new sector reform guide from the World Bank and IRU.

IRU was back in Togo recently at a major international seminar on transport and research in Sub-Saharan Africa presenting, with the World Bank, how countries can reform their road transport sector to transform mobility and trade.

Decarbonisation isn’t just about future tech – it’s today’s smarter driving Do not overlook efficiency measures. They can cut the road transport industry’s emissions by half. So where should fleet operators start?

IRU welcomes the European Parliament’s vote to fast-track an extension of toll exemptions for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) under the Eurovignette Directive. The measure, if confirmed, will prolong the current exemption from 31 December 2025 to 30 June 2031, providing critical financial certainty for operators investing in clean vehicle technology.

One of the most complex transformations facing modern businesses is the management of corporate fleets. From decarbonisation and digitalisation to chipping away at the informal economy, Edenred’s unique insights chart a practical path forward for Europe and Latin America.

A new IRU survey has, for the first time, assessed the current decarbonisation status and future investment plans of commercial road transport operators globally.

In a letter to EU Member States, IRU has urged swift agreement on the Council’s general approach to the revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive.

Did you know that buses make up only 0.3% of all EU passenger vehicles yet carry nearly 9% of total inland passenger traffic? That the Italian fleet accounts for over 20% of all EU bus transport? Or that the number of electric buses in the EU grew by 4,600% between 2015 and 2024? We take a comprehensive look at bus and coach operations in the EU in our passenger transport Intelligence Briefing.

Since 1 July 2025, public transport in Flanders, Belgium, has become significantly greener, thanks to the private bus sector.

At today’s high-level dialogue on accelerating the transition to zero-emission corporate fleets in the EU, IRU’s President stressed the importance of removing real-world barriers, rather than imposing damaging, counterproductive mandates.

One year after the adoption of the Rhodes Declaration, Europe’s leading tourism and travel organisations are in Gothenburg to renew and strengthen their shared commitment to sustainability and climate resilience.

A fully electric truck fleet in Germany would require a quarter of the electricity available for consumption today.

With the Bioceanic Corridor and COP30 on the agenda, Brazil is setting ambitious goals to expand trade and make its crucial road freight sector more sustainable. IRU was in Brazil last week, with its member NTC&Logística, for high-level meetings on TIR and decarbonisation.

The European Commission’s proposal to extend toll exemptions for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles is a welcome step but broader Eurovignette reforms are still urgently needed.

Strengthening Brazil’s logistics, accelerating decarbonisation, and implementing the TIR system were at the heart of a high-level meeting between IRU, NTC&Logística and Brazil’s Vice President, Geraldo Alckmin.

Organised by Reuters Events, Road Transport USA brought together transport leaders, retailers and technology innovators to equip fleet operators with the tools and insights needed to navigate the path to carbon neutrality and maintain a competitive edge in a fast-evolving market.

The Netherlands is a European leader in taxi decarbonisation: one in four taxis are zero-emission vehicles. But as the country pushes forward, a critical question emerges: how effective are the increasingly ambitious greening targets if the conditions needed to achieve them are not yet in place?

IRU spoke to UPS about the real-world challenges of decarbonising logistics fleets. Without urgent investment in grid capacity, depot charging and energy storage, even the most advanced electric vehicles risk standing idle.

IRU joined key EU stakeholders at a high-level Implementation Dialogue on the rollout of the Emissions Trading System 2 (ETS2) and the Social Climate Fund (SCF), cornerstones of the EU’s climate strategy.

In a groundbreaking pilot, CEVA Logistics has run an electric heavy-duty truck, crossing China from Shenzhen, near Hong Kong, to Alashankou on the Kazakh border.

The EU’s road transport sector is already decarbonising. But scaling up progress requires smart regulation, targeted investment and coordinated action. This was the central message from IRU’s recent high-level conference in Brussels.

Road transport operators are beginning to invest in new vehicles. But for the decarbonisation transition to succeed, the sector needs clear, coordinated support. EU policymakers and road transport industry leaders are coming together to debate practical and scalable solutions to deliver environmental and economic benefits at IRU’s high-level event tomorrow in Brussels.

IRU was at the heart of last week’s International Transport Forum (ITF) summit in Leipzig, championing pragmatic solutions to make road transport not only greener, but also more resilient and competitive in the face of global challenges.

The Secretary General of IRU, the world road transport organisation, outlined a pragmatic decarbonisation vision at a special closed-door ministers’ roundtable yesterday in Leipzig. Today, he charted the key to a resilient workforce primed for emergency preparedness.

Border delays, permit digitalisation, and visa hurdles dominated discussions at BSEC-URTA’s General Assembly last week, as regional leaders tackled urgent threats to road transport and trade in the Black Sea region.