The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted an own-initiative report drawn-up by Anne E. JENSEN (ALDE, UK) on the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Action Plan.
The report welcomes the Commission Action Plan on ITS and stresses that ITS is a key instrument for using existing infrastructure effectively and for making transport more efficient, safer and secure and environmentally cleaner, thus contributing to the development of sustainable mobility for citizens and the economy.
MEPs deplore the delay in setting up a common framework for the implementation of ITS in the EU and the lack of coordinated deployment of ITS with specific targets. They strongly believe that it is necessary to set up an instrument fostering the use of ITS in transport policy and support a legislative instrument for laying down the framework for the deployment of ITS. The Commission is called upon to provide better information on the current situation of actions, funding and programming of the action plan in order to ensure that a clear set of actions with deadlines is established in the Directive laying down the framework for the deployment of ITS.
From a horizontal point of view, MEPs point out that ITS should be deployed across all transport modes and for all travellers in Europe, in a coordinated approach with Galileo applications. They strongly support its immediate deployment in order to enhance intermodality between the public and private sector and within public transport through the improvement of overall information and increased capacity management.
In this context, the Commission and the Member States are called upon to address the issue of liability which constitutes a major barrier to the smooth and coherent development of ITS in Europe.
Given that there is already a significant supply on the European ITS market, MEPs call on the Commission to define specifications for the minimum level of ITS applications and services that is achievable by all Member States and necessary for the efficient deployment, implementation and operation of ITS.
MEPs also consider it important to prepare a market demand assessment evaluating the real need beyond the defined minimum level of ITS applications and services and to strengthen internal market aspects of ITS through standardisation and an appropriate regulatory framework. Lastly, they stress the importance of cross-border cooperation both at the technical and administrative level at the EU external borders, which is crucial for the effective implementation of ITS in the EU.
The committee makes a number of recommendations in relation to the following actions: