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Monday , 25 March 2024

Leading the Way with Intelligent Transport Systems

ITS will push the development of electromobility, by connecting the user to the infrastructure, help find, reserve and deal with payments for charging points; predict energy needs and adjust route according to range capabilities. Different levels of “smartness”: from delayed charging to avoiding peak-hours, to vehicle-to-home energy transfer, and ultimately vehicle-to-grid concepts will emerge and ITS plus electromobility will improve energy efficiency of transport systems, thus reducing the transport environmental footprint.

From Cooperative Systems to Integrated Mobility Services –

Reporter: Paul Kompfner, ERTICO ITS Europe, Belgium

Cooperative technologies are (almost) mature with newer products entering the arena on a regular basis. The automotive sector expects cooperative systems to deliver safe, efficient & green driving with commercial vehicle services being the first to market. Cooperative mobility services are not yet a top priority for road operators. Mobile network operators are growing machine-to-machine services towards cooperative services and will offer smart, ubiquitous user services via mobile internet & smartphones. As the situation matures, new mobility service providers may emerge along with the existing actors. eCall deployment could be an early springboard for integrated cooperative mobility services although there is no consensus on “integrated services” and deployment will start with any application or service that brings net value to its provider and the user.

From Smart Concepts to Successful Implementation –

Reporter: Laurent Jacques, Volvo Technology, France

ITS is an enabler for cleaner, safer and more efficient transport systems. But issues that need to be addressed include legal frameworks, multi-stakeholder cooperation and more connected users and systems. Consolidated business cases which identify benefits for all stakeholders and support policy objectives are needed. Interoperability, standardisation and regulation are key aspects for implementation.

Information and Communication: Providers and Users –

Reporter: Kees Wevers, NAVTEQ, The Netherlands

Roadside information comes into the car and the car becomes a sensor informing on network conditions. Real-time and historic dynamic information is becoming more important and harmonisation, exchange and timely availability need serious attention. The ITS Directive points the way for pan-European deployment of communication technologies for vehicle safety, efficiency and mobility. Historically the public sector had a predominant stake in traffic information provision but this is changing and business models need serious attention. The ADASIS Forum has enabled to take a major step forward by developing the V2 protocol.

ITS for Adaptive and Resilient Cities –

Reporter: Michael Sena, Michael L Sena Consulting, Sweden

“It is clear that Regional Transportation planning must be performed on a regional basis as local solutions to traffic disturbances may simply move the problem to a neighbouring community. We face a complex situation and the long-term relationships between transportation, commerce and living need to be considered. Governments should provide the pre-conditions for environmentally clean and safe travel, while citizens must be able to use any mode of travel in a safe and secure manner. Walking and cycling should be part of all transportation policy initiatives and all modes of transport must be optimised to develop real multi-modal transport. Everyone should have equal access to transportation and individuals should not be disadvantaged because of age, income or working circumstances.”

Key trends emerging from the Congress

The policy drivers and issues from the Congress driving ITS responses included economic recovery and the need to do more with less in view of the falling traditional investment in infrastructure; increasing need for efficient mobility enabled by ITS deployment to respond to transport needs; the continuing challenges of environmental performance, urbanisation and the impact of the United Nations decade of action on road safety.

Specifically for the ITS industry, this translated into a number of items. Cost reduction and improved reliability are the key drivers. There is a mounting pressure on transport to improve environmental performance through multi modal and intermodal cooperation. The implementation of demand management (Road user charging) is slowly materialising. Modernisation of ticketing services, operations & management systems is needed. Rapid changes in information based services are already underway and will require new organisational and institutional governance. Deployment models and total cost of operations are key issues for investors. The European Commission ITS Action Plan and Directive are setting the ITS and transportation agenda. Cooperative vehicle infrastructure systems and Galileo based services are set to revolutionise mobile data collection. The rise of Machine to Machine connectivity is accelerating and will lead to new services for freight and distribution networks. Economic competitiveness and cost efficiency will lead to more use of shared services and cloud computing. Asset sharing and freight efficiency are becoming increasingly important and are set to revolutionise the industry.

The Congress exhibition was really interesting. Its key themes included:

The Strategic Platform for Intelligent Traffic Systems (SPITS): The Dutch programme which provides an open, scalable, real-time, distributed, sustainable, secure and affordable platform for cooperative ITS applications, evolving from existing infotainment systems.

Electric Vehicles: Charge point interactive Management System is an innovative solution that supports the infrastructure for intelligent charging points for electric vehicles.

Sustainability – City of the future: Sustainable City brings together innovative solutions to fulfill the growing demand for products and services in balance with our planet’s resources.

Independent monitoring services for electronic toll collection: Demonstrating aspects of the auditor and technical consultant services for the national free-flow tolling schemes.

Empowered Personal Travel Itinerary Monitoring Service: A service that allows someone to plan their multi-modal public transport journey and have it monitored and to receive alerts should any disruptions occur that might affect their journey.

Mobility Management: A service used by MTR (the Stockholm underground rail service) staff which provides high quality real-time information using advanced mobile technology to manage context-aware workforce services.

Environmental driving: A driver behaviour monitoring solution aimed at reducing vehicular emissions through improved driving behaviour. It feeds back on driving style and helps to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon.

Intelligent Freight Transport: Provides advanced, real-time information about the exact location and status of goods while they are on the move. It not only takes care of cargo containers but also of the goods inside them.

Intelligent Auto Insurance: Pay-as-you-drive intelligent vehicle insurance based on real-time distance, time and speed travelled.

It was a fantastic week in Lyon, excellent conference and congress, great networking with key decision makers and ITS leaders. The Congress, through its one plenary session, eight executive sessions, 42 special sessions, 40 technical sessions and six interactive sessions, really reinforced the need for coordinated ITS deployment. With 950 delegates and 1820 attendees (in the congress and exhibition) it was probably the best ITS in Europe Congress so far.

 

 

rich.harris@logica.com
(Richard Harris, internationally recognised leading expert in Intelligent Transport, is a member of the ERTICO Strategy Committee and the ITS World Congress Board of Directors & International Programme Committee. He is also the International Director of ITS UK. He becomes TrafficInfraTech’s contributor from Europe from this issue).

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