EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 16.12.2008 
SEC(2008) 3084 
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
  
accompanying document to the 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
 
Action Plan for the Deployment of Inte lligent Transport Systems in Europe 
  
and the 
  
Proposal for a 
 
DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 
 
laying down the framework for the deploymen t of Intelligent Transport Systems in the 
field of road transport and their interfaces with other transport modes 
  
SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 
  
{COM(2008) 886 final} 
{COM(2008) 887 final} 
{SEC(2008) 3083} 
 
EN 2   EN Summary of the Impact Assessment  
1. SCOPE , PROCESS AND CONSULTATIONS  
The mid-term review of the European Co mmission’s White Paper on Transport Policy 
suggests that innovation will considerably c ontribute to making road transport more 
sustainable (i.e. safe, e fficient, clean and seamless), in par ticular by applying information and 
communication technologies: Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).  E x a m p l e s  i n  r o a d  
transport are dynamic traffic management, real -time traffic information and navigation 
devices. The present exercise focuses on road transport  and its interfaces with other modes 
of transport (co-modality). 
Stakeholder consultations  conclude that the slow uptake of ITS in Europe is mainly due to a 
lack of a Europe-wide coverage and a cons istent, harmonised deployment. ITS deployment 
should be a tool for achieving policy objectives a nd the EU should take mo re responsibility in 
coordinating ITS implementation. Among the priorities for European ITS policy-led 
deployment, a high-level coordination and ag reements on interoperability have been 
emphasised.  
2. PROBLEM DEFINITION : WHY IS THERE A NEED TO ACT ? 
2.1. Nature of the problem 
ITS solutions in road transport are being taken up slower  than expected and services are 
deployed on a fragmented basis.  This has led to a patchwork of national, regional and local 
solutions endangering the integrity of the singl e market. Consequently, ITS cannot contribute 
effectively to addressing growing challenges in road transport.  
– Road congestion  costs amount on average to 1 % of GDP in the EU. 
– Road transport accounts for 72 % of all transport-related CO 2 emissions , which have 
increased by 32 % (1990-2005). 
– Road fatalities  still amount to 42 953 (2006), which is  6 000 above the in termediate target 
set to reach 25 000 in 2010 (a 50 % reduction from 2001). 
Main problem drivers  include 
(1) (a lack of) interoperability  of applications, systems and services  
(2) (a lack of) effective cooperation  among stakeholders and an absence of vision 
(3) unsolved data privacy and liability issues  
2.2. What will happen if nothing is done? 
In an increasingly challengi ng environment it would be very difficult to achieve key 
(transport) policy objectives w ith the current low level of market take-up. Freight road 
transport will increase by 55 % until 2020 and passenger road transport by 36 %.1 Congestion 
will grow. In England, for example, it is expected  to reach 13 % of all time spent in traffic by 
2025 (about £22 billion worth of time); in the Netherlands it would increase by 30 % until 
20202. Road fatalities in the EU are likely to be at 32 500 in 2010, far above the EU target of 
                                                 
1 ASSESS study for the mid-term review of the EC Transport White Paper, “Keep Europe moving”, 
2006. 
2 European Conference of Ministers (2007): Congestion: A global challenge; CEMT/ITF(2007)6. 
 
EN 3   EN 25 000.3 CO 2 emissions from transport will grow a further 15 % until 2020.4 Fragmented 
solutions will result in a slow market deve lopment for ITS, missing the opportunity to 
strengthen the sector's competitiveness. 
2.3. EU right to act and principle of subsidiarity 
According to Common Tran sport and Trans-European Networks Policies ( Articles 71(1), 
80(1), 154 and 155 of the EC Treaty ) the EU has the right to act. The proposed policy 
options respect the principle of subsidiarity,  as trans-national de ployment to achieve 
European and harmonised cross-border services fo r traffic and travel information and traffic 
management cannot be satisfactorily achieved by  Member States. With no further EU action, 
Member States would continue to develop individual solutions, causing a fragmented 
technological spectrum that endangers harmonisa tion and standardisatio n, or would lead to 
lengthy processes for interoperability. Action at  Community level would have benefits in 
terms of effects (e.g. of comm on rules on liability or data security) and sc ale (e.g. cost 
reductions for ITS applications due to common specifications). 
3. OBJECTIVES  
The general objective  of this initiative is to put in place  the necessary mechanisms to foster 
the uptake of ITS services for road transport and their inte rconnections with other modes of 
transport . 
Specific objectives include: 
• to increase interoperability , ensuring seamless access and fostering continuity of services 
• to set up an efficient cooperation  mechanism between al l ITS stakeholders  
• to solve privacy and liability  issues 
4. POLICY OPTIONS  
Policy Option A (baseline scenar io): no additional new action 
This option takes into account ongoing Commissi on actions, e.g. specific research, Intelligent 
Car Initiative (research, technical harmonisa tion and awareness), support to deployment 
(EasyWay, CIVITAS), isolated standardisat ion and consultation of stakeholders. The 
Commission’s services will continue to use financial support for research and deployment, voluntary agreements, specific standardisation mandates and (limited) regulative work - but 
there is little coordi nation between the public and private sector and between Member States. 
Policy Option B: Concentration on enabling actions and coordination 
Policy option B addresses the objectiv es through the following horizontal priority actions:  
(1) definition of a functional  open in-vehicle platform  allowing a multiple use of key 
components  
(2) setting up of a High Level Group as a forum for ITS stakeholders (information 
exchange, vision, guidelines)  
(3) definition of a framework for optimised use of road and traffic data  
                                                 
3 COM(2006)74, European Road Safety Action Programme Mid-Term Review. 
4 European Environment Agency: Climate for a transport change. TERM 2007. EEA Report 1/2008. 
 
EN 4   EN (4) ensuring continuity of ITS services   
(5) addressing data security , privacy  and liability issues  
Policy option B+: Option B extende d with a comitology procedure  
Option B+ builds on the same measures as in troduced under option B but formalises the 
coordination aspect. The High Le vel Group will be replaced by: 
(1) a European  ITS Committee (EIC) , constituted of Member States’ representatives to 
assist the Commission in adop ting specific measures in well-defined areas (i.e. the 
basic enabling measures of Option B) via a comitology procedure, and  
(2) a European ITS Advisory Group  constituted of representatives from e.g. industry, 
transport operators, users and other rele vant fora and associations, advising the 
Commission on business and technical aspects. 
The Commission, assisted by the EIC would: 
• exchange information with Member St ates and develop an  overall vision  
• monitor the development of guidelines and procedures 
• within its mandate and when necessary decide on specific actions for: 
(1) the establishment of techni cal requirements and specifica tions, in particular in 
the priority areas identified 
(2) type-approval of ITS terminals, network equipment and software 
applications. 
5. ANALYSIS OF IMPACT  
5.1. Methodological Considerations 
The analysis is based on qualitative eviden ce, supplemented by quantitative elements. All 
options have been compared agains t the reference scenario A. The evaluation criteria  take 
into account both the direct  and indirect impacts: 
 
EN 5   EN Direct impacts : 
• enhancing interoperability and continuity of service 
• strengthening coopera tion and cooperation 
• removing uncertainties regard ing privacy and liability 
Indirect economic, social and environmental impacts : 
• economic : road congestion, competitiveness, consumers, growth 
• social : road safety, employment, security 
• environmental : climate change, air quality and noise, energy efficiency, co-modality 
This impact assessment has been conducted for a broad and policy-defining Action Plan. 
Therefore it is not possible to carry out a full co st-benefit analysis of the concrete measures at 
this stage.  
The transport model TRANSTOOLS5 has been used to generate additional quantitative input 
on possible indirect impacts, a lthough not able to assess the di rect relationship between the 
proposed actions and ITS deployment. 
5.2. Impact of Policy Option A — No additi onal new actions (baseline scenario) 
Interoperability and continuity of services : Operational deployment of ITS will continue to 
struggle with difficult access to re levant traffic and travel data , especially across borders and 
modes. Europe-wide deployment and harmonisati on will be undermined by local initiatives 
and the absence of Europe-wide cooperation. As a result, consumers will be confronted with a 
discontinuity of services. 
Cooperation and coordination : Markets will continue to su ffer from a lack of vision and 
cooperation among key stakeholde rs, which will not be conducive to reductions in costs and 
risks. 
Privacy and liability issues  will differ according to the service provider, operator or Member 
State where the service is provided. 
TRANSTOOLS simulations indicate that: 
• road traffic congestion, expre ssed as congested vs. total dr iving time, w ill increase 
from 24.3 % (2007) to 24.9 % (2012) and 28.6 % in 2020 for EU-27 
• fuel consumption and emission of CO 2 will increase by 15 % by 2020 (EU-25) 
• total external costs  (congestion, accidents, noise, air pollution and climate costs) 
will rise from €161.8 billion in 2007 to €193.3 billion by 2020. 
                                                 
5 www.inro.tno.nl/transtools/index.html 
 
EN 6   EN 5.3. Impact of Policy Option B: Concentratio n on enabling actions and coordination  
(1) Definition of a functional open platform  for (in-vehicle) ITS Services 
A modular approach to ITS deployment, including an interoperable telematics on-
board platform with open functionalities a nd conceived for plug -in integration of 
nomadic devices will enhance synergies and cost reductions .  
(2) Enhancing cooperation and coordination by setting up a High Level Group  
An ITS HLG with representatives from all sectors would help generate a clear vision 
as to the role of ITS in European (trans port) policies, while a road map for Europe-
wide deployment would reduce curren t uncertainties (exploitation, market 
prospects). Coordinated investments by the pu blic sector will trigger private sector 
initiatives and developments. Such a vol untary coordination mechanism presents 
some risks: the inability to control pr ocesses and uncertainty as to how far 
recommendations would effectively be implemented.  
(3) A framework for optimised collection, exchange and integration of road and 
traffic  data  
will extend functionalities of existing services and improve their level of quality 
(accuracy, coverage, completeness).  
(4) Ensuring continuity of services  across borders and modes 
will enhance co-modality and foster the greening of freight corridors, since real-time 
access to data, and agreed formats for data  exchange and data integration, are a 
prerequisite for provision of seamle ss support to travelle rs and hauliers. 
(5) Addressing privacy and liability issues  
should boost a series of ITS applications  (e.g. Lane Departure Warning, Collision 
Avoidance and Emergency Braking Systems)  whose broader market take-up will 
lead to a significant reduction of accidents. 
Option B will generate the following indirect impacts: 
(a) A single platform with a unique, certified and safely-positioned interface 
should reduce driver distraction and tri gger important cost reductions due to 
synergies, resulting in safety-enhancing applications  penetrating the market 
more rapidly. eCall, which aims to  reduce the number of fatalities by 
accelerating post-crash medical assistan ce, would profit from such add-on 
deployment, leading to important decreases in fatalities (by 5-15 %6) and in 
severe injuries (by 10- 15 %) across EU-27 by 2020.  
(b) Traffic management  strategies will be more easily extended to 
interconnecting networks, e.g. urban/ interurban road networks, across 
complementary transport modes.  
(c) More reliable real-time travel and traffic information  will enhance efficient 
and flexible route planning, time sa vings and pollution control on sensitive 
parts of the road network.  
(d) A widespread applicatio n of typical ITS-linked e-freight  measures is expected 
to result in time savings of 10 % a nd financial savings of 8 %, while 
                                                 
6 eCall SEISS Study (2006). 
 
EN 7   EN productivity rates should increase by 3- 10 % and freight logi stics costs would 
decrease by 2-3 %.7 
(e) Other public sector applications  can be implemented easier, e.g. compliance 
with social regulations (rest times), trans port of live animals,  internalisation of 
external costs, dangerous goods monito ring, electronic fee collection, digital 
tachographs and eCall. 
TRANSTOOLS simulations predict that road congestion would decrease by about 2.5 % and 
accident costs by 7 % while enhanced cooperation and synergies would result in an additional 
reduction of 1 % of ove rall external costs. 
5.4. Impact of Policy Option B+: Option B extended with a comitology procedure 
Under the policy Option B+ Member States’ delegates would be invited to agree with their 
peers on a shared vision and on  priorities for Europe-wid e deployment of ITS, on 
harmonisation of services and their minimum re quirements (voluntary approach), on priorities 
for legislative work, standardisation and possi ble EC funding. The main gain would come 
from better cooperation, faster decision-making procedures and shorter times for processing 
legislative work. 
ITS applications will be deploye d faster, leading to quicker sa vings on travel times, accidents 
and emissions. Option B+ would also reduce the risks  associated with working with a High 
Level Group recommending purely voluntary actions. 
Industry would benefit from a clear policy and vision and could build value-added services 
onto the (mandatory) in troduction of specific ITS measures  of public interest. Consumers 
would benefit from a wider availa bility of services related to driving safety and comfort, and 
lower prices thanks to  economies of scale. 
Since Option B+ would accelerate the implementa tion and deployment of ITS applications, it 
can be assumed that the accumulated benefits will be higher by 2020. 
5.5. Administrative costs  
Administrative costs for the European Commissi on include the setting up of a more intense 
cooperation among stakeholders; co ordinating financial support fo r research, real-life testing 
and European-wide deployment; defining func tional requirements a nd organising their 
standardisation; conducting legisl ative work and monitoring pr ogress. Costs might be higher 
for Option B+ (€70 000 p.a.) compared to Option B. A faster reduction of external costs, 
though, would immediately result in macro-ec onomic savings of billions of Euro.  
6. COMPARISON OF POLICY OPTIONS  
Impacts on… Interoperability Cooperation Privacy & liability
Option A 
no additional new action reference reference reference 
Option B 
enabling actions and coordination ++ + + 
Option B+ 
extended with comitology procedure ++ ++ + 
                                                 
7 COM(2007) 607 Freight Transport Logistics Action Plan. 
 
EN 8   EN Comparison of direct impacts  
Option B and B+  represent major improvements compared to Option A. Option B+  scores 
higher on the issue of cooperation and provides an optimal basis to move on rapidly. By 
giving the Commission the possibility to propose  legislation via com itology after intensive 
stakeholder consultations, the risk of not deliv ering the expected results within the given 
timeframe is largely minimised. 
 Economy  Society  Environment  
Impacts on… 
Congestion 
Reduction
Competitiveness 
Consumers Growth 
Road Safety 
Employment  
Security 
Climate Change  
Air Quality / Noise 
Energy Efficiency 
Option A 
no additional new action            
Option B 
enabling actions and coordination  + + + + + + + + + + 
Option B+ 
extended with comitology procedure  ++ ++ + + ++ + ++ + + + 
Comparison of indirect impacts  
The analysis confirms that compared to th e baseline scenario both Options B and B+ will 
deliver a positive overall impact towards all of the policy objectives. In Option B+ the 
expected positive impacts on congestion, road sa fety and emissions will be reached earlier, 
showing this option to be more  effective by saving more lives and more time otherwise spent 
in traffic, and by lowering CO 2 emissions. 
Considering both the direct impact (boosting upta ke of ITS) and indirect impact (support for 
economic, social and environmental policies) the preferred option is Option B+ , because 
better and faster results will be obtained th rough the strong cooperation aspect and the 
potential to speed up agreements on particular  issues hampering deployment of ITS across 
Europe. 
The proposed legal instrument to set up this framework w ould be a Directive, which 
recognises the different levels of  ITS use and deployment, while at the same time leaving the 
power and responsibility to the Commission to de fine, with the European ITS Committee, the 
technical details in support of th e implementation of the Directive. 
7. MONITORING AND EVALUATION  
It is necessary to monitor and evaluate any ne w policy on ITS. The full version of the impact 
assessment provides a list of possible indicators to measur e progress on th e general and 
specific objectives. It is proposed that a progress report be produced by 2012.