OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on telematics applications for transport in Europe
Date: 1995-10-25
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: data transmission, information technology, organisation of transport, telematics, transport policy













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51995IE1160

OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on telematics applications for transport in Europe  


Official Journal C 018 , 22/01/1996 P. 0032 





Opinion on the  communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on telematics  applications for transport in Europe(96/C 18/09)On 30 March 1995 the Economic and Social  Committee, acting under the third paragraph of Rule 23 of its Rules of Procedure, decided to draw  up an Opinion on the above-mentioned communication. The Section for Transport and Communications, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's  work on the subject, appointed Mr Denkhaus as Rapporteur. Following the death of Mr Denkhaus, Mr  Kielman was appointed Rapporteur. The Section adopted its Opinion on 29 September 1995. At its 329th Plenary Session (meeting of 25 October 1995), the Economic and Social Committee  unanimously adopted the following Opinion. 1. Gist of the Commission communication1.1. The Report contains a comprehensive  description of transport problems, and uses this as a basis for an analysis and discussion of the  telematics applications and services currently being considered; it also makes a number of  proposals for future Commission activities. 2. General comments2.1. Improvements in living standards, growth, employment and competitiveness  will in the future mean further expansion of passenger and freight transport services in the  European Union. By upgrading productivity, infrastructure and vehicle use, this expansion in  transport services should be kept under control. Scarce resources in terms of available surface  area, energy and potential damage to the environment make such steps necessary. Telematic  applications in transport can make a key contribution to boosting infrastructure and vehicle use  productivity. Telematics applications can likewise considerably enhance safety as a key component  of transport quality. 2.2. Mobility is not an end in itself; it is rather the means to achieve other ends and objectives.  Is the term 'sustainable mobility' therefore appropriate? On the one hand, this assumes that  mobility can be manipulated; on the other, both mobility and its feasibility are amenable to fairly  objective assessment. Using the term 'sustainable mobility' (Commission 1992 White Paper) also  raises the question of the long-term feasibility of mobility. In this connection, telematics  applications in transport will be of paramount importance in the future. 2.3. In the past, telematics in transport have been of major importance for all forms of transport  and their interfaces; this will be even more the case in the future. Road transport, rail  transport, inland waterway transport, maritime transport and air transport and, in particular,  their interfaces at airports, harbours, terminals and stations all provide extensive scope for  future telematics applications, in addition to existing systems. The intermodal impact of  cross-system telematics structures in particular has to be taken into consideration. 2.4. If properly applied, telematics applications improve infrastructure capacity utilization  factors. Highly positive effects can undoubtedly be achieved by avoiding system overloads and thus  traffic jams, by increasing road safety with concomitant lower accident rates, and by providing  route planning information on the basis of actual transport volume and traffic flow coordination. However, in the event of total capacity bottlenecks, telematics applications are no substitute for  capacity-effective investment. 2.5. Moreover, the Committee believes that telematics must not be used to force a shift from road  transport to other modes, or to curtail use of transport services, as is being called for by some  people who are unaware of the actual scope for transferring road traffic and the inadequate  capacities of more 'environmentally friendly' modes of transport. The main aims of telematics  should instead be to boost the safety and efficiency of all transport carriers. Telematics should,  moreover, help improve the compilation and quality of information on transport, for example, on  supply and on the interface between private and public suppliers of transport services. This should  help 1) create the right conditions for stepping up use of intermodal capacities, and 2) improve  the interoperability of systems. In this connection, the shipper's free choice is eventually the  shortest way to the most efficient transport system. 2.6. Telecommunications and information technology can however certainly replace the demand for  physical transport services in some areas, e.g. tele-sales or tele-working. 2.7. Europe-wide supra-systems, including telematics systems, may act as a brake on competition. In  designing potential systems, steps should be taken to avoid monopolies, be they national or  Europe-wide, or public or private. 2.8. The Commission's Communication lists a large number of objectives which can be achieved using  telematics; however no clear distinction is made between primary and secondary objectives. This may  foster over-optimistic expectations for the potential performance of telematics in transport. 2.9. The following key objectives stand out in the light of a) current information on existing or  possible telematics transport systems and b) needs created by the challenges posed by the expansion  in transport services: - better safety; - less environmental damage; - a higher infrastructure utilization factor, inter alia preventing traffic jams; - benefits for transport users in terms of vehicle use and load factors. The above-mentioned objectives are designed to improve infrastructure and user productivity,  protect resources and upgrade quality; their overall impact on competitiveness is extremely  positive, thus helping to secure and boost employment in the European Union. As regards charging for infrastructure use, telematics offer a method to employ better the  principle 'the user pays', with the advantage that the yield will be put where the costs are  produced. This is not the case with e.g. the excise on diesel, by which the user pays, but the  yield does not always go to where it should (fuelling in the Netherlands and driving in Germany). 2.10. Effective telematics in transport involves managing and guiding transport. One consequence  will be changes in users' freedom. Social consensus must therefore be achieved on these changes,  compatible with maintaining and developing mobility. 2.11. The introduction of transport telematics as an additional condition for infrastructure use  will increase the technological-organizational risks involved. Transport operations will assume an  additional dimension, inevitably entailing technical and service risks with implications for the  transport system's compatibility with the needs of European citizens. This may well have a  detrimental impact on transport users' acceptance of telematics in particular, if, for example,  inadequately tested technology were to cause errors in automatic road tolls or disruption in  traffic flows, both of which these technologies are of course designed to prevent. By examining the objective and subjective value of the targets in this area, an assessment should  be made of whether the undoubted benefits of telematics in transport are reasonably commensurate  with this additional risk. 2.12. Acceptance of telematics in transport by transport users is, however, a major precondition  for its effectiveness. If the user acceptance ratio is low (number of users, frequency of use), the  systems will be uneconomical and ineffective. In addition to the clarification of basic questions on the aims, degree of freedom and risk, there  are other important preconditions for securing acceptance; these include the transparency of the  system, information about it and training people how to use it. 3. In view of the undoubted potentially advantageous effect of telematics applications in transport  and of the inadequately defined framework in concrete political debate, the Committee makes the  proposals set out below for further development of telematics applications in European transport. The following steps must be taken: - objectives must be clarified; - the political framework must be created; - conditions for application must be laid down; - the system must be implemented. 3.1. The main aims of telematics applications, as defined in the list of objectives set out in  point 2.9, should be clarified in discussions between all parties concerned and a consensus  reached. The aims cannot be pursued in isolation, but only by combined efforts. 3.1.1. Transport operators and users, infrastructure operators, state bodies at all levels,  including local and regional administrative bodies, telematics operators and socio-economic  interest groups especially should be involved in this discussion on objectives. 3.1.2. The main technological systems for telematics applications in transport have been developed;  now a decision has to be taken as to how they are to be used and for what purpose. 3.2. The political framework has to be established on a long-term, reliable basis. Policy should be  consistent and harmonized at all decision-making levels. 3.2.1. First of all, it should be made clear: a) which political levels are responsible for what  areas, and b) what impact the subsequent decisions will have and to what extent they will be  mandatory. 3.2.2. Another crucial element of the political environment is to clarify the degree of freedom  required for mobility and transport telematics systems. 3.2.3. The matter of weighing up the risks involved, raised in point 2.11 above, must be discussed  and settled by those concerned. 3.2.4. All participants in transport telematics should be subject to statutory codes of conduct,  which are to be drawn up by political consensus. 3.2.5. Two questions must be clarified: a) whether telematics applications in transport fall within  the purview of the public or the private sector; b) the intensity of competition on the market for  telematics service. The Committee leans towards public sector operation of telematics applications  whose main purpose is to improve traffic flows and increase safety; additional services can then be  operated by the private sector. In any case, the demarcation line between the public and private  sectors is changing, as the Commission's Communication points out. Telematics undoubtedly helps  shape this change. The Committee therefore endorses the Commission's proposal to establish  partnership arrangements between the public and private sectors in this area. 3.3. Reliable conditions for applications must be created. 3.3.1. The systems' architecture must cater for Community-wide standards for transmission  technologies, as well as interoperability and flexibility with regard to future requirements. 3.3.2. A comprehensive legal system with binding standards requires a uniform European legal basis  recognized and applied at all levels (Member State, regional, etc.). Politics should create  conditions whereby uncertainties are removed as far as possible in order to give more certainty to  consumers and producers. 3.3.3. Steps must be taken to determine responsibility (allocation of roles) for developing and  operating the telematics supra-structure, for opening up the transport infrastructure for  telematics systems and for involving transport users. In particular, links must be forged between  transport infrastructure and telematics infrastructure. 3.3.4. A list of possible participants (infrastructure operators, transport users, interface  organizations) must be drawn up. It has to be decided whether for example pedestrians and cyclists,  private aircraft and leisure craft are to be included or not in road transport, air transport and  waterway transport respectively. 3.3.5. The operating conditions of telematics systems operators must be sufficiently flexible and  interfere as little as possible with competition, without impairing the efficiency of the system as  a whole. 3.3.6. Sophisticated telematics systems enable systems operators to glean information on the  movements of transport users. For this reason, measures to protect the rights of the individual and  personal data are extremely important. 3.3.7. The effects of electromagnetic fields and other forms of interference on health are not  fully understood. Particular vigilance is therefore necessary here. 3.4. The potential benefits of telematics applications in transport are so great that those reaping  the benefits should also provide them. Consequently, implementation of the systems must be left  primarily to the private sector. Where general social interests are involved, public investment in  telematics applications is certainly also desirable. Implementation of telematics applications by commercial or private transport operators can at the  most be promoted by the State through start-up funding. 3.4.1. Training people to use the systems is a most important aspect of implementation. Transport  qualifications (driving tests) should cover the use of telematics systems as soon as possible.  Telematics systems should be designed in a user-friendly manner, so that all transport users know  how to use them. 3.4.2. Paying attention to SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) seems a good thing, but the  transport sector is dominated by small enterprises. What is considered as a SME in other  industries, tends to be a gigantic concern in the transport industry. At the moment, little  attention is paid to SMEs. There is a wide range of possibilities in this field, but relatively  very few enterprises take advantage of them. 3.4.3. For users and users' groups, added value services in transport telematics should be left  entirely to the market, i.e. to the free play of supply and demand. Public debate in line with  points 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 is not regarded as necessary. 3.4.4. Market information on supply and demand for freight transport services is certainly  difficult to ascertain on the basis of telematics applications in transport. Suppliers fear that  their market segmentation strategies will be jeopardized and that demand will not be properly met  in either quantitative or qualitative terms. Operators themselves are therefore highly sceptical  about such market information where it is compiled in isolation. 4. Concluding comments4.1. Existing telecommunications technologies with Europe-wide standards  have already proved excellent for specific telematics applications in transport. To improve safety,  reduce pollution, avoid congestion and improve vehicle utilization, we should act forthwith to  create the political framework and develop the Europe-wide preconditions necessary for the  implementation of the system, which can then be left as far as possible to the private sector. 4.2. Sectoral cost/benefit considerations are conducive to private-sector initiatives by both  systems providers and users in the transport telematics sphere. Macroeconomic cost/benefit  considerations must accommodate political and social imponderables; nevertheless, the discussion on  objectives, means and effects must be conducted as honestly and objectively as possible, taking  into consideration the opinions of all those concerned. 4.3. The development of trans-European transport networks provides a good opportunity to clarify  goals and establish a political framework and the conditions necessary for using telematics in  transport. We should avail ourselves of this opportunity. 4.4. Telematics applications in transport are undoubtedly an important investment for the future of  Europe. It is high time that we consolidated and built upon our technological advances through  practical application. Done at Brussels, 25 October 1995. The Presidentof the Economic and Social CommitteeCarlos FERRER