Road transport: framework for the deployment of intelligent transport systems and for interfaces with other transport modes

The Commission presented a report on the implementation of Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other modes of transport.

This report is the second report on the progress made for the implementation of Directive 2010/40/EU (the ITS Directive), providing for an analysis of the functioning and implementation of the Directive since the first progress report.

Overall implementation of the report

An updated Commission working programme

The first working programme of the ITS Directive covered the period 2011-2015, and focused on the preparation of specifications related to the six priority actions. While the need to further progress on the specifications for these priority actions remained valid beyond this period, the need to address other actions from the Directive required an update to this working programme. Commission Decision (2018) 8264, adopted on 11 December 2018 and covering the period 2018-2022, updates the working programme.

Delegated acts on specifications

The power to adopt specifications with technical, functional, organisational and service provisions was conferred on the Commission until 27 August 2017. As stated in the first progress report, an extension of this deadline was needed to adopt specifications, for those actions listed in Annex I of the ITS Directive that are not priority actions. It shall extend the power conferred on the Commission to adopt delegated acts for a period of five years, tacitly renewable, from 27 August 2017.

As described in the first progress report, the development of the specifications was informed by a wide range of preparatory work (studies, workshops etc), analyses (cost-benefit, gap- requirements- and approaches analyses) and consultations (public consultations, consultations with experts nominated by Member States and the European Data Protection Supervisor, information and invitation of Council and Parliament experts).

A more comprehensive approach was deemed necessary in order to address the various issues (funding, standardisation, greater coordination of stakeholders, governance linked to deployment etc.) that go beyond the scope of mere specifications, in particular for Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS).

A stakeholder platform (the C-ITS platform) was therefore created in November 2014 as a Commission expert group, gathering public and private stakeholders and representing all of the key stakeholders along the value chain including public authorities, vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, telecommunications companies etc. It brought them together to contribute towards a shared vision on the interoperable deployment of C-ITS in the EU and support the development of EU specifications.

Achievement of the six priority actions

The six priority actions for the development and use of specifications and standards set out in the ITS Directive have been fully addressed. The report noted that the elaboration of the relevant specifications for the priority actions related to real-time traffic information and multimodal travel information services was more challenging, due to the very  broad scope of these specifications specified in Annex I to the ITS Directive, and the need to build a shared understanding on that scope with experts.

Other actions

Work has recently been completed on C-ITS. Another domain for adoption of specifications related to open access for ITS services (open in-vehicle platform) through access to in-vehicle data and resources. This domain has been the subject of several preparatory studies and intense discussions between stakeholders during the first phase the C-ITS platform.

The Commission announced that it would consider the need for specifications under the ITS Directive for access to (personal and/or non-personal) vehicle data for public authorities' needs, in particular traffic management. This work should also make use of input from a new Commission expert group on business-to-government data sharing.

This was confirmed in the updated working programme of the ITS Directive adopted on 11 December 2018, which lists also additional activities for 2018-2022. These may lead to new delegated acts under the ITS Directive covering:

- the possible geographical extension of existing specifications on EU-wide real-time traffic information services including possible additional data types (e.g. urban access restrictions, recharging/refuelling points);

- the possible extension of eCall to other vehicle categories (such as heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches, powered two-wheelers, and agricultural tractors);

- interoperable multimodal payment / ticketing; and

- the continuity of traffic and freight management services. As stated in the updated working programme, these activities will start with a mapping exercise with Member States experts, to further clarify the scope of the activities.

Financial resources

Compared to the 2014 report, there is more information available on the financial resources used and needed, as all priority actions have been addressed and the deployment of services and of the national access point infrastructure has progressed significantly. It should be noted that costs related to implementing the specifications are very often difficult to isolate from the general costs of the deployment and operation of ITS services and of ITS physical infrastructures themselves, which may prove to be much higher.

Conclusion

The Commission report concluded that the six priority actions of the ITS Directive have been fully addressed. Most Member States are actively implementing the specifications which underpin the deployment of ITS services. National access points have been or are in the process of being deployed, with the concomitant development of operational tools supporting the accessibility of ITS data. This work would certainly benefit from better coordination, involving all Member States and covering all specifications, to federate all these efforts towards a harmonised ITS digital infrastructure across the EU.

New ITS themes and challenges are emerging, as expressed in the Member States reports on the implementation of the Directive, such as connected and automated mobility and Mobility as a Service (MaaS). Taking this evolution into account, the question of the availability of data on the whole road transport network may become more significant, in particular for key data types corresponding to the rules for the usage of the physical infrastructure. This issue should be further studied to assess the need for further action.

Taking also into account the findings of the evaluation of the ITS Directive, a possible future revision of the ITS Directive should include all these aspects in a comprehensive approach.