International Road Transport Union

The International Road Transport Union (IRU) is the world road transport organisation, which upholds the interests of bus, coach, taxi and truck operators to ensure economic growth and prosperity via the sustainable mobility of people and goods by road worldwide.

The International Road Transport Union (IRU) was founded in Geneva on 23 March 1948, one year after the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), to expedite the reconstruction of war-torn Europe through facilitated international trade by road transport.

The IRU started as a group of national road transport associations from eight western European countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

A global industry federation of national Member Associations and Associate Members in 73 countries on the 5 continents, the IRU today represents the interests of bus, coach, taxi and truck operators worldwide, from large fleets to individual owner-operators. It aims to research and offer solutions to road transport issues and to aid in the synthesis and simplification of transportation regulations and practice.

The IRU is involved in activities which include:

IRU started the TIR System Transports (Internationaux Routiers) in the late 1940s, helping a war-torn Europe to rebuild devastated trade and commercial links.

By 1959, the successful system led to the United Nations TIR Convention, still in place today with almost 70 contracting parties – nations and multinational bodies – on four continents, and overseen by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

With the continued expansion of TIR, and the benefits it has brought across the Eurasian landmass, many countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America are now joining the system.

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