Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the 'Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on a Community strategy and framework for the deployment of road transport telematics in Europe and proposals for initial actions` (98/C 251/02)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on a Community strategy and framework for the deployment of road transport telematics in Europe and proposals for initial actions ();

having regard to the decisions of its Bureau of 11 June 1997 and 18 February 1998, in accordance with the fourth paragraph of Article 198c of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to draw up an opinion on the subject and to instruct Commission 3 for Transport and Communications Networks to carry out the preparatory work;

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 256/97 rev. 2) adopted by Commission 3 on 13 November 1997 (rapporteur: Mr La Forgia, replacing Mr Kurth);

having regard to the Council Resolution of 17 June 1997 on the development of telematics in road transport, in particular with respect to electronic fee collection ();

having regard to the working document of the high-level group on road transport telematics, entitled Final report on activities within the EU in the field of road transport telematics, of 7 March 1997;

having regard to the decision of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network ();

having regard to the Council Resolution of 28 September 1995 on the deployment of telematics in the road transport sector ();

having regard to the Commission Communication of 4 November 1994 on telematics applications for transport in Europe;

having regard to the Council Resolution of 24 October 1994 on telematics in the transport sector (),

at its 23rd plenary session of 13 and 14 May 1998 (meeting of 14 May) adopted the following opinion unanimously.

The Committee of the Regions

1. General comments

1.1. stresses the importance of road transport telematics in improving transport safety,

1.2. points out that by using new information and communications technologies more efficient use can be made of European transport infrastructure,

1.3. emphasizes the great importance of the use of road transport telematics for the competitiveness of European industry in the world market,

1.4. shares the view that pressure on the environment can be reduced by using telematics in road transport,

1.5. concurs with the Commission that the development of new information and telecommunications systems and services will make an important contribution to the development of the information society, the creation of new sales outlets for European industry and the promotion of employment,

1.6. agrees with the Commission's criticism that investment has so far not been properly coordinated,

1.7. believes that telematics will have the greatest effect if they are part of an integrated transport-policy strategy and a comprehensive system of transport management,

1.8. points out that the use of all transport systems must take account of specific strengths,

1.9. points out that in tackling local and regional transport problems the principle of subsidiarity must be applied,

1.10. considers the Commission Communication in principle to be a suitable basis for further measures,

1.11. points out, however, that public transport and intermodality have been neglected, resulting in delays which have impeded the development of the market,

1.12. calls on the Commission to make arrangements for the necessary technical harmonization, to promote the development of user-friendly and low-cost equipment and to guarantee the continuity of information services,

1.13. supports the principle of competition between manufacturers,

1.14. expects the Commission not only to make intermodality a political objective but also to accord it high priority in establishing the framework for implementation,

1.15. considers it important that road transport telematics should not merely remain part of the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T) but that they should also become a TEN-T funding priority,

1.16. points out, however, that the relevant budget heading is insufficient,

1.17. stresses that funding can be increased only via a transfer of resources within the EU budget,

1.18. stresses the importance of close cooperation between the private and public sectors and of the establishment of a private-public partnership in relation to the development, implementation and financing of road transport telematics projects,

1.19. considers, however, that a clear distinction is needed between public-sector responsibilities (for example in relation to transport safety, the transport of dangerous goods and environmental protection) and private-sector,

1.20. sees in the use of road transport telematics improved opportunities for the European regions to cooperate across national borders, as in the case of the Permanent Regional Cooperation (Preco) project,

1.21. considers it appropriate to introduce road transport telematics systems in accordance with a phased plan,

1.22. is glad that the Commission sets priorities for its planned actions,

1.23. is also glad that the Commission intends to take new developments into account and pinpoints other major applications which it considers necessary in the medium to long term,

1.24. considers it very important that account be taken of the already available results of trials at European, national and regional level,

2. Comments on the European Commission's priorities

2.1. Traffic information services (RDS-TMC)

2.1.1. shares the view that RDS-TMC is a European project which must be interoperable throughout Europe,

2.1.2. agrees that remaining technical harmonization shortcomings must be swiftly eliminated,

2.1.3. supports the Commission in its efforts:

- to harmonize key technical areas of RDS-TMC in order to guarantee continuity and interoperability for multi-modal travel and traffic information services,

- via organizational measures to coordinate all the parties involved and where appropriate to submit further proposals for the uniform application of the necessary technical specifications,

- to accelerate the introduction of RDS-TMC via an information campaign,

2.1.4. calls on the Commission to promote with the same intensity other innovative and forward-looking technological developments, such as digital audio broadcasting (DAB),

2.2. Electronic fee collection (EFC)

2.2.1. considers that electronic fee collection on certain roads is in principle a flexible and fair method of road pricing,

2.2.2. points out that road pricing should be part of a competition-neutral system embracing vehicle tax, oil tax, tolls and time-related user fees, and should not be considered in isolation,

2.2.3. points out that in the discussion of road pricing a distinction should be made between goods vehicles, regular bus services and passenger vehicles, and that road pricing for passenger vehicles could, particularly in the regions, have a considerable impact on the overall road network and might even cause undesirable shifts in traffic flows,

2.2.4. calls on the Commission to take account of transport problems in the regions, particularly in urban population centres, in all its proposals, as the impact of road pricing on transport, economy and environment is particularly marked here,

2.2.5. supports the Commission in its strategy of resorting to legal steps only when all other avenues have been explored,

2.2.6. suggests that, on grounds of cost, the transport and environmental-policy objective of traffic guidance could be achieved more quickly and efficiently if other pricing and tax measures were used,

2.3. Transport data exchange and information management

2.3.1. feels that the emphasis should be placed on the following aspects:

- formulation of principles for the exchange of data between public and private-sector suppliers and users, with particular attention being paid to the results of EU projects such as Enterprice,

- clarification of the question as to which parts of the information market should be public and which private, and where the interfaces for public-private partnership are located,

- creation of the conditions for the privatization of certain tasks,

- interlinking of databases,

2.3.2. points out that any EU rules should, for reasons of subsidiarity, be restricted to establishing a framework for questions of technical harmonization and the creation of interfaces,

2.3.3. calls on the Commission to create the conditions for large-scale cooperation between the regions,

2.4. Human-machine interface (HMI)

2.4.1. supports the Commission in its endeavour to attach absolute priority to safety in relation to in-vehicle telematic devices such as information displays and vehicle control systems, and calls on the Commission to work for binding minimum standards,

2.4.2. points out that harmonization measures must not compromise safety requirements,

2.4.3. calls on the Commission to work for multilingualism in the development of systems,

2.5. System architecture

2.5.1. supports the Commission in its intention to give preference to an open system architecture, which specifies only the outline technical framework needed to guarantee long-term inter-operability of different systems, but which at the same time leaves scope for innovation and technological progress,

2.5.2. points out that an open system architecture is also required for effective regional cooperation between public and private sectors, geared to specific regional characteristics,

3. Comments on further applications planned by the European Commission

3.1. Pre-trip and on-trip information and guidance

3.1.1. stresses the central importance of dynamic intermodal travel information systems for better use of transport capacity, optimization of traffic flows and improvement of transport safety,

3.1.2. shares the view that a uniform information architecture, such as a digital card, and the maintenance of data protection are essential,

3.1.3. emphasizes the high importance of pre-trip and on-trip information for public transport, particularly in equipping buses used for regular passenger services,

3.1.4. stresses that, particularly through pre-trip information, traffic can be reduced in urban areas and densely populated regions and transfer to more environment-friendly forms of transport facilitated,

3.1.5. calls on the Commission to guarantee interoperability and continuity of the various transport systems throughout Europe,

3.2. Inter-urban and urban traffic management, operation and control

3.2.1. is glad that the Commission is planning the development of additional multi-corridor and network-management projects and the introduction of uniform emergency systems,

3.2.2. stresses the need for large-scale joint ventures between the regions and calls on the Commission to support cooperation between the regions,

3.2.3. opposes, for reasons of subsidiarity, any measures by the Commission for the allocation of access at regional and local level,

3.3. Other urban transport telematics services

3.3.1. makes it clear that telematics applications like electronic payment and booking systems do not require regulation or support by the EU,

3.4. Collective transport

3.4.1. is glad that the Commission is to promote public databases,

3.4.2. opposes, for reasons of subsidiarity and competence, any commitment by the Commission in other areas such as reservation systems and value-added services,

3.5. Advanced vehicle safety/control systems

3.5.1. welcomes developments which make a substantial contribution to transport safety and traffic flows,

3.5.2. opposes any action by the EU which would prejudice high standards of safety in the interests of standardization,

3.6. Commercial vehicle operations (logistic chains)

3.6.1. considers that in the field of goods transport telematics can make a major contribution to raising efficiency and reducing traffic,

3.6.2. points out that goods transport telematics are as a rule a matter for the private sector, but that in certain areas, such as the transport of dangerous goods, the responsibilities of the Member States and regions need to be considered,

4. Conclusions

4.1. wholeheartedly welcomes the Commission's initiatives for developing the use of transport telematics in Europe,

4.2. considers deadlines for the implementation of these initiatives to be important,

4.3. calls on the Commission,

- to concentrate on areas where the need for action is greatest and which clearly fall within the Commission's remit,

- to assign more weight in future to intermodality,

- to pay more attention than hitherto to local public passenger transport,

- to make further applications such as pre-trip information a priority for immediate action rather than a medium- to long-term objective,

- to bear in mind that road transport telematics are part of overall transport management strategies at regional level, and that large-scale cooperation between regions is therefore needed, which should be supported by the Commission,

4.4. makes it clear that only if these requirements are met will telematics live up to their great potential for tackling transport problems, protecting the environment and promoting the European Union as a location for business and technology.

Brussels, 14 May 1998.

The Chairman of the Committee of the Regions

Manfred DAMMEYER

() COM(97) 223 final.

() OJ C 194, 25.6.1997, p. 5.

() OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1.

() OJ C 264, 11.10.1995, p. 1.

() OJ C 309, 5.11.1994, p. 1.