IBTTA Global Tolling Summit in Athens, Greece, has begun with an emphasis on sustainability, green mobility and equity.
In the opening session, Josef Fiala, chief financial officer of Asfinag and president of European toll association Asecap, said: "Equal access to mobility should be a right for citizens. It should be accessible and affordable."
Fiala's presence highlighted an atmosphere of cooperation at IBTTA's summit: Anouar Benazzouz, director general of Autoroutes du Maroc and president of the International Road Federation (IRF Geneva), and Nazir Alli, president of the World Road Association (Piarc) also spoke in a session called The Future of Mobility.
Benazzouz called for more communication between different organisations, particularly in relation to the climate crisis: "We are fragmented - but we do agree on everything," he said.
"But when we talk on our own, the message is not clear and not loud enough."
It was important to share best practice, he added.
There was also a live video address to the conference from Mustafa-Masi Nayyem, head of the Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development in Ukraine.
He said that 25,000km of roads in the country had been destroyed since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Plans had been drawn up to deploy Ukraine's first tolling system - but the war effectively ended that, at least for the time being.
Nonetheless, Nayyem called for investors "to join us in the restoration of roads, bridges and infrastructure".
"We are interested in attracting investment - everyone is welcome to help us!" he said. "We need partners that can help us implement a toll system in Ukraine. We are ready to move on."
IBTTA Global Tolling Summit continues until 14 November.
