EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 184/50

Thursday 23 April 2009

The Intelligent Transport Systems Action Plan

P6_TA(2009)0308

European Parliament resolution of 23 April 2009 on the Intelligent Transport Systems Action Plan (2008/2216(INI))

2010/C 184 E/10

The European Parliament,

having regard to the Commission Communication of 16 December 2008 entitled ‘the Action Plan for the Deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in Europe’ (COM(2008)0886),

having regard to proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council laying down the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other transport modes (COM(2008)0887),

having regard to the Commission White Paper of 12 September 2001 entitled ‘European Transport Policy for 2010: time to decide’ (COM(2001)0370),

having regard to the Commission Communication of 8 July 2008 entitled ‘Greening Transport’ (COM(2008)0433),

having regard to the Commission Communication of 8 July 2008 entitled ‘Strategy for the internalisation of external costs’ (COM(2008)0435),

having regard to the Commission Green Paper of 25 September 2007 entitled ‘Towards a new culture of urban mobility’ (COM(2007)0551),

having regard to the Commission Communication of 22 June 2006 entitled ‘Keep Europe moving – sustainable mobility for our continent: mid-term review of European Commission’s 2001 Transport White Paper’ (COM(2006)0314),

having regard to the Commission Communication of 17 September 2007 entitled ‘Towards Europe-wide safer, cleaner and efficient mobility: the first intelligent car report’ (COM(2007)0541),

having regard to the Commission Communication of 7 February 2007 entitled ‘A Competitive Automotive Regulatory Framework for the 21st Century – Commission’s position on the CARS 21 High Level Group Final Report, A contribution to the EU’s Growth and Jobs Strategy’ (COM(2007)0022),

having regard to the Commission Communication of 15 February 2006 entitled ‘On the Intelligent Car Initiative: Raising Awareness of ICT for Smarter, Safer and Cleaner Vehicles’ (COM(2006)0059),

having regard to the Commission Communication of 28 June 2006 entitled ‘Freight Transport Logistics in Europe – the Key to Sustainable Mobility’ (COM(2006)0336),

having regard to the Commission Communication of 18 October 2007 entitled ‘Freight Transport Logistics Action Plan’ (COM(2007)0607),

having regard to the Commission Communication of 11 January 2006 entitled ‘On a Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment’ (COM(2005)0718),

having regard to the proposals and guidelines of the Commission and the positions of the European Parliament on the structural funds, the cohesion fund and the 7th Research Framework Programme,

having regard to its position of 22 October 2008 on the revised proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of clean and energy efficient road transport vehicles (1),

having regard to its resolution of 20 February 2008 on the input for the 2008 Spring Council as regards the Lisbon Strategy (2),

having regard to its resolution of 11 March 2008 on sustainable European transport policy, taking into account European energy and environment policies (3),

having regard to its resolution of 15 January 2008 on CARS 21: A Competitive Automotive Regulatory Framework (4),

having regard to its resolution of 19 June 2008 on Towards Europe-wide Safer, Cleaner and Efficient Mobility: The First Intelligent Car Report (5),

having regard to its resolution of 12 July 2007 on keeping Europe moving – sustainable mobility for our continent’ (6),

having regard to its resolution of 5 September 2007 on Freight Transport Logistics in Europe – the Key to Sustainable Mobility (7),

having regard to its resolution of 18 January 2007 on European Road Safety Action Programme - mid-tem review (8),

having regard to its resolution of 26 September 2006 on the thematic strategy on the urban environment (9),

having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and to the opinion of the Committee on Regional development (A6-0227/2009),

A. whereas Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are advanced applications which use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for transport and providing innovative services on transport modes and traffic management;

B. whereas ITS have great potential for more efficient use of all modes of transport that can meet the needs and the challenges of European transport policy;

C. whereas road traffic congestion affects 10 % of the road network and yearly costs amount to 1 % of EU GDP, road fatalities still amount to 42 953 (2006), far above the intermediate target set to reduce to 25 000 by 2010 and road transport accounts for 72 % of all transport-related CO2 emissions while 40 % of Europe’s CO2 road transport emissions are due to urban traffic;

D. whereas ITS has proved essential in reducing energy consumption and greening transport;

E. whereas intelligent applications have been developed for different transport modes such as railway transport (ERTMS and TAF-TSI), maritime and inland waterway transport (LRITS, SafeSeaNet, VTMIS, RIS), air transport (SESAR) and land transport, such as livestock transport;

1. 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;

2. Stresses the positive effect on sustainable development that ITS have in improving the economic performance of all regions, including urban areas, establishing conditions for reciprocal accessibility, increasing local and inter-regional commerce, and developing the European Union’s internal market and the employment associated with the activities deriving from the implementation of ITS;

3. Considers that ITSs can improve the living conditions of Europe’s citizens, particularly those living in urban areas, and will also contribute to improved road safety, reduce harmful emissions and environmental pollution, increase traffic efficiency, improve access in outlying areas and pursue the priority of reducing traffic;

4. Deplores the delay in setting up a common framework for the implementation of ITSs in the EU and the lack of coordinated deployment of ITS with specific targets due mainly to barriers to interoperability, a lack of efficient cooperation among all actors, and unsolved data privacy and liability issues;

5. Welcomes the Commission Action Plan on ITS(‘the action plan’) as a common framework of actions and programmes with clear deadlines for the delivery of results;

6. Strongly believes that it is necessary to set up an instrument fostering the use of ITS in transport policy; supports a legislative instrument for laying down the framework for the deployment of ITS and requests that the Commission provide better information on the current situation with regard to 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;

7. Is aware of the limited Community financial aid granted (in 2008) to the EasyWay action, which is a project for Europe-wide ITS deployment on the main Trans-European road network (TERN) corridors in 21 EU Member States led by national road authorities and operators with associated partners from public and private stakeholders;

Horizontal issues

8. Points out that ITS should be deployed across all transport modes and for all travellers in Europe, in a coordinated approach with Galileo applications; strongly supports 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;

9. Urges the Commission and Members States to address the issue of liability which constitutes a major barrier to the smooth and coherent development of ITS in Europe;

10. Considers that interoperability in the development of ITS is paramount for coherent and effective ITS deployment in Europe; stresses that in case of TERN investment (construction or maintenance), efforts should be made to comply with the necessary deployment of ITS services;

11. As there is already a significant supply on the European ITS market, requests that the Commission defines 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;

12. Considers 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;

13. Stresses 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;

Optimal use of road, traffic and travel data (action no 1)

14. Stresses the need to provide the critical mass of data and information in the following five basic areas as a minimum for effective ITS deployment: real-time traffic and travel information; road network data; public data for digital maps; data for minimum universal traffic information services and multimodal door-to-door journey planners;

15. Calls for minimum universal traffic information services to cover Trans-European network (TEN-T);

16. Stresses that the large-scale adoption and implementation of ITS necessitates adherence to transport service information and timetables for the various modes of transport;

17. Stresses the importance of providing real time information to travellers and for the infrastructure and of making this more accurate, reliable and uniform while respecting Europe’s specificities (geographical, cultural and linguistic) and ensuring geographical continuity;

18. Considers it essential for the development of ITS to guarantee the private sector access to road, traffic and travel data while respecting privacy and addressing the issue of intellectual property rights;

Continuity of traffic and freight management ITS services on European transport corridors and conurbations (action no 2)

19. Believes that it is essential to ensure harmonised, interoperable and reliable ITS whilst preserving users’ freedom choice on ITS;

20. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to coordinate and link ITS with EU urban mobility initiatives for more efficient transport mobility and management fluidity and reducing congestion from roads, TEN-T corridors, freight corridors and conurbations;

21. Considers that cross-border cooperation and the development of programmes for the effective deployment and implementation of ITS, such as the EasyWay project, is necessary;

22. Calls on the Commission to indentify priority information, transport equipment and vehicle standards for advancing ITS deployment and measures promoting more harmonised highway infrastructure;

23. Considers it essential that the assessment of the economic cost per vehicle and for the infrastructure deriving from ITS deployment be based on a cost-benefit analysis covering all associated costs (economic, societal and environmental);

ITS for urban mobility (action no 2a)

24. Advocates the development of user information procedures and systems regarding available urban transport services and the state of the networks, making use of GSM technology for example;

25. Calls for research into integrated fare structures coordinated by the authorities of a given region and especially the technical aspects thereof;

26. Urges the development of intermodal technologies providing better access to transport and urban mobility for persons with reduced mobility;

Road safety and security (action no 3)

27. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to prepare for the harmonised deployment and integration of the eCall application in all EU countries by 2010, as soon as the standardisation tests are completed;

28. Considers that ITS applications and deployment should: — promote the Advance Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) with sufficient potential to improve road safety, such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as well as eCall which alone could save up to 6 500 lives per year in the EU if fully deployed; — enhance road safety by preventing speeding, drink driving and driving without a seatbelt; — improve the health and safety conditions by supporting the use of dignified and secure parking places by supplying appropriate services to the lorry drivers by using the truckinform portal (10) and — improve the security of drivers and loadings in freight transport against theft, robbery and hijacking thus fighting organised crime, especially in cross-border areas and in international freight transport involving third countries;

29. Urges the Commission to continue the process of reducing communication costs so that the communication and information equipment based on telecommunication could be used in a more comprehensive way;

30. Welcomes the suggested ‘eFreight’ initiative and urges the Commission to introduce the principle of ‘Intelligent Cargo’ with a view to achieving a multimodal ITS services approach for freight, focusing on dangerous goods;

31. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to pay the same attention to both passengers and freight, in order to avoid discriminating against passenger traffic, which is particularly damaging for the mobility of persons;

32. Advocates an appropriate regulatory framework on the human machine interface (HMI) and other ITS protocols and stresses the need to address liability issues;

33. Calls on the Commission to address the issue of vulnerable transport users, including people with reduced mobility and to extend the actions on fostering ADAS deployment and others such as ITS and HMI to two-wheelers under the sub-actions proposed in the action plan;

34. Urges the Commission to use TIS potential to the full for the purposes of preventive action against smog and high ozone concentrations and the reduction of noise levels and particle, NOx and CO2 emissions;

Integration of the vehicle into the transport infrastructure (action no 4)

35. Stresses the importance of defining a common platform architecture for standardised interfaces and protocols that would facilitate the use of ITS, cooperative systems and specifications for infrastructure-to-infrastructure (I2I), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V);

36. Calls on the Commission to implement a road map on ITS with common platforms on ITS applications and deployment and with the participation of the private and public sector and to establish the appropriate framework for solving ITS liability issues;

37. Notes that training on ITS applications should be encouraged to enhance users’ capacity on transport and facilitate human-machine interaction;

38. Calls on the Commission and Member States to provide an open forum for exchanging information and addressing ITS issues;

Data security, protection and liability issues (action no 5)

39. Emphasises the need to respect privacy and considers that privacy and data security and protection issues from the early phases of the ITS design development should be considered when defining architecture and implementation measures (‘Privacy by design’);

40. Invites all parties involved in ITS applications to comply with the EC directives on the protection of personal data and privacy on communications (Directives 95/46/EC (11) and 2002/58/EC (12)) and calls on the Commission to ensure the appropriate use of data under ITS applications and deployment;

41. Believes that the use of anonymous data on ITS applications is necessary for the unimpeded deployment of ITS while ensuring privacy and compliance with the EC legal framework on data protection;

European ITS cooperation and coordination (action no 6)

42. Calls upon the Commission and the Member States to develop strong leadership and genuine governance towards the deployment of ITS in Europe;

43. Encourages the promotion of the development of national and European multimodal door-to-door journey planners, taking due account of public transport alternatives, and their interconnection across Europe;

44. Urges the Commission to better use the EU capabilities from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) programmes EGNOS and Galileo and enhance multimodal interconnectivity;

45. Stresses, that these technologies should be applied in such a way as to avoid incompatibility between transport modes, and that there should be freedom of choice to use any of these technologies;

46. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to bear in mind that ITS should actively involve local and regional authorities and interested parties operating on European territory in the planning process and the implementation process;

47. Stresses the importance of public-private partnerships (PPP) in implementing ITS and calls on the Commission and the Member States to take active steps to promote and facilitate their use;

48. Calls on the Commission to provide a full explanation of the funding of the action plan and its programming and on the Council to secure sufficient funding;

49. Urges the Member States, in carrying out the mid-term review of structural fund utilisation, to assess and include among the priorities for 2010 - 2013 urban mobility and reduced traffic congestion to be achieved by means of ITS;

50. Points out the need for the significant potential of urban areas to be better defined and exploited, and highlights the role that rural and outlying areas can play in achieving balanced development and medium- and long-term objectives;

51. Considers that it is of vital importance to implement intelligent transport networks in areas with high tourist potential with a view to easing traffic flows, reducing accidents and increasing safety; considers that ITS contribute to the economic development of the regions including outlying regions;

52. Stresses the importance of inter-regional, cross-border and trans-national cooperation in developing and implementing ITS and urges the Commission to develop a system for exchange of good practice widely available in all EU languages, but urges the Member States to ensure that best practices are shared and exchanged among the regions themselves, with the dual objective of securing the transfer of ITS know-how and avoiding internal fragmentation within the system;

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53. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

(1) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0509.

(2) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0057.

(3) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0087.

(4) OJ C 41 E, 19.2.2009, p. 1.

(5) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0311.

(6) OJ C 175 E, 10.7.2008, p. 556.

(7) OJ C 187 E, 24.7.2008, p. 154.

(8) OJ C 244 E, 18.10.2007, p. 220.

(9) OJ C 306 E, 15.12.2006, p. 182.

(10) www.truckinform.eu

(11) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31.

(12) OJ L 201, 31.7.2002, p. 37.