What role for digitalization in order to achieve an intermodal level playing field?.
Date: 2016-04-11
Institutions: European University Institute
Subjects: combined transport, digital technology, digitisation, information technology, innovation, intelligent transport system, mode of transport, transport policy

I

March
2016

What role for digitalization in order to 
achieve an intermodal level playing field? 

Editors: Matthias Finger, Nadia Bert, David Kupfer

Highlights

Digitalisation is transforming all aspects of society and the economy - 
including transport. A series of innovations are fundamentally changing 
the operation and distribution of transport services.

On the occasion of the 4th Florence Intermodal Forum, stakeholders 
from industry, regulators and new businesses discussed the intermodal 
dimension  of  this  transformation:  as  digitalisation  is  changing  some 
transport  modes  faster  and  more  profoundly  than  others,  the  Forum 
discussed the role of digitalisation in order to achieve an intermodal 
level playing field.

Among other things, it emerged that a new vision of mobility has to 
be formulated: self-driving vehicles will soon be a reality as will be the 
prevalence  of  the  “platform  economy”  or  “servicisation”  of  transport. 
The  availability  of  these  new  means  can  change  transport  patterns 
(and the modal share) in various directions. As yet, it is unclear how. 
It needs to be ensured that innovations can develop in a beneficial way 
in all the transport modes and that undesired effects are identified and 
prevented early on.

ISSN:2467-0405  
ISBN:978-92-9084-367-2 
doi:10.2870/336932

fsr.eui.euOBSERVERREGULATIONEUROPEAN TRANSPORTFLORENCESCHOOL OF REGULATION 
In the era of digitalization and in 
order to achieve an intermodal level 
playing field, do we need to regulate?  

A comment by MATTHIAS FINGER | FSR-Transport Director

There is currently clearly no level playing field in the competition between 
the  different  transport  modes:  railways  complain  that  the  road  sector  – 
the  private  cars  and  the  trucks  –  does  not  pay  for  all  their  costs,  whereas 
the  road  sector  complains  that  rail  is  subsidized.  Both  complain  that  air 
transport  is  too  cheap,  and  air  transport,  in  turn,  complains  that  it  has  to 
comply with costly security regulations which do not apply to rail and road  

But  even  between  operators  in  the  same  transport  mode  there  is  no  level 
playing field:

truck owners and drivers in Western Europe are complaining about dumping 
prices from Eastern and from outside Europe. Rail operators are complaining 
about distorting subsidies in the different countries. Not to mention research 
and development subsidies which are distributed selectively. 

Therefore, even without and before considering the digital dimension, there 
is a clear need for an intermodal level playing field. And this in particular in 
two areas: on the one hand, in terms of interoperability and interoperability 
regulation  inside  the  different  transport  modes,  something  which  is 
significantly impeding the creation of European modal transport markets; on 
the other hand, in terms of consistency of financing of the different transport 
modes.

The above two issues a level playing field among the different transport modes 
would probably have continued for many more years. However, the disruptive 
effects of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) now give 
rise  to  a  new  intermodal  reality.  Indeed,  thanks  to  the  ICTs,  mobility  now 
transforms  into  a  service.  In  other  words,    the  mobility  needs  of  the  users 
can ever more easily be satisfied by the combination of cross-modal services 
offered  by  different  providers  and  even  by  new  market  entrants.  Also,  and 
because  of  the  ICTs,  customers  are  now  changing  the  way  they  deal  with 
their own mobility needs, from travel planning to payments.  This so-called 
“digitalization of transport” gives rise to “mobility platforms”, i.e., companies 
that collect the various data of the different transport operators accross the 
different modes, analyze and package them and sell as more or less integrated 
and  comprehensive  mobility  services  at  local,  regional,  national  or  even 
European levels.

But,  rather  than  creating  a  level  playing  field,  these  integrated  mobility 
platforms – such as MaaS.fi or smile-einfachmobil.at, just to mention a few – 
are exacerbating the distortions among the different transport modes, or, at 

2 ■  FSR Transport ■ Issue 2016/01 ■ March 2016

the least, they are bringing the existing distortions into the open. Thus the 
question: is there a need for regulation? And if there is a need, what exactly 
needs  to  be  regulated?  The  traditional  transport  modes?  Intermodality 
itself? Or digitalization as related to mobility? The 4th Florence Intermodal 
Forum tried to bring some clarity to these questions. 

From  our  discussions,  it  emerged  clearly  that  the  main  contribution  to 
creating  an  intermodal  level  playing  field  will  indeed  result  from  the 
intelligent regulation of the digital dimension. The following aspects need to 
be seriously considered, since, without them, the benefits of digitalization for 
a more efficient and more customer-friendly European wide (intermodal) 
mobility may well never see the light of the day. However, it is not clear yet, 
whether the regulatory initiative should always come from the EU.

1. First and foremost, data need to be harmonized: the different owners 
and infrastructure operators (railways, roads, ports, airports, waterways) 
all have data, yet in different formats which make them useless for mobility 
platform operators and consumers. Many of these data need to be made 
available in formats that allows others to analyze and use them. 

2. This type of (data harmonization-) regulation comes indeed before the 
whole issue of data accessibility and openness of data (but of course data 
harmonization and data accessibility are not unrelated). Such is the second 
big regulatory issue, which however is of different nature, as this pertains 
to  data  ownership  and  firm  strategy. This  will  be  a  big  challenge  for  the 
European Commission as the different (even public) owners and operators 
will strongly object to giving access to real-time data. Such regulation will 
therefore  have  to  be  proportionate  to  the  benefits  and  it  will  only  make 
sense if it can actually be enforced. If not, it will distort the mobility market 
even further.

3. The regulation of privacy and data security remains an ongoing issue 
and is not specific to the transport and to the different transport modes, 
as it concerns the entire digital economy, including banking, health care, 
electricity, etc. Once general principles of data protection and privacy are 
agreed upon at the EU level, their application to the transport sector should 
not cause controversy.

4. There remains the question as to whether emerging integrated mobility 
platforms need to be regulated, and if yes how? Two regulatory issues will 
become  particularly  acute,  namely  first  the  issue  of  competition among 
these  mobility  platform  operators,  along  with  corresponding  market 
distortion resulting from privileged access to or exclusive contracts with 
transport  operators.  The  second  issue  will  be  consumer  protection  and 
liability, as the European Commission will have to clarify who exactly is 
responsible for the service and for the transaction: is the liability with the 
platform operator or the transport service provider?

3 ■ What role for digitalization in order to achieve an intermodal level playing field?

Innovation and digitalisation in transport
FRANCESCO DIONORI, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Attention  is  often  focused  on  how  to  improve  modal 
split  and  encourage  the  use  of  more  sustainable  modes 
of transport through the use of appropriate policies and 
regulations  but  rarely  this  is  done  through  the  use  of 
technology and innovation. 

Innovation  is  the  key  to  ensure  transport  meets  the 
needs  of  a  changing  marketplace  but  also  to  changing 
customer requirements. However, according to the BCG 
Global  Innovators  Survey  of  2014,  only  the  automotive 
sector  of  the  inland  transport  community  features 
within  the  Top  50  most  innovative  companies,  taking 
10  of  the  50  slots  available1.    Furthermore  there  seems 
to be a tendency for transport innovation projects to fail 
more  than  other  innovations.  At  the  recent  Workshop 
“Intermodality  leads  to  Sustainability”  at  the  Working 
Party on Intermodal Transport and Logistics (WP.24) at 
the  United  Nations  Economic  Commission  for  Europe 
(UNECE),  innovation  was  a  key  topic  of  discussion.  In 
particular,  the  level  of  success  in  transport  innovation 
was  discussed  with  a  large  number  of  (non-automotive 
related)  projects  failing  even  though  the  concepts  had 
significant  potential  (including,  for  example,  the  first 
prototype of the foldable container). Also, the well know 
principle  of  the  “First  mover  advantage”  in  transport 
often became the “First mover disadvantage” with those 
companies or transport authorities seeking to implement 
an innovation often coming up against the extremely risk 
averse  nature  of  the  local  regulators  who  ask  for  more 
stringent safety and regulatory requirements than are, in 
some cases, necessary.

The  main  areas  that  are  identified  as  leading  to  a 
failure  in  transport  innovation  are  not  strictly  related 
to the  availability  of  funds  or  financial  contributions to 
innovation, but are more closely related to the alignment 
of  incentives  both  within  companies  and  between 
companies in the transport chain. For example: a miss-
match  between  supply  and  demand;  actors  within  the 
sector  having  a  lower  propensity  to  pursue  innovative 
solutions  (often  because  of  the  size  of  individual 
businesses  who  struggle  to  see  how  the  benefits  of 
innovation  outweigh  the  initial  costs)  and  internal 
management  policies  not  always  favouring  resource 
investment in innovation. Furthermore, if an innovation 
is pushed through financial incentives, it won’t “take off ” 
if this innovation is not considered to be competitive in 
fine (that is after the financial incentives have been phased 
out). All these failures are perpetuated when there is no 
reliable data at the core of the project from which to build 
success.

1.  www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/innovation_

Positive  results  can  be  achieved  in  this  area  with  better 
coordination  of  activities  in  innovation.  For  example, 
the  likelihood  of  success  increases  when  a  terminal 
operator’s  incentives  are  aligned  with  infrastructure 
needs in all phases of the project (initiation, development 
and implementation)2.  The solutions that are developed 
need to have the buy-in of all the key players seeking to 
ensure active collaboration between all parties.

Innovation is being driven by digitalisation and significant 
work  has  been  done  across  transport  modes  on  this 
with  the  automotive  industry  leading  the  way.  There  is 
concern, however, about the consequences of unchecked 
digitalisation in terms of cyber security, data protection 
and  the  use  of  big  data  and  it  is  the  industry  itself  that 
has  asked  UNECE  to  step  in  and  provide  framework 
regulations  for  the  sector.  The  informal  character  of 
“digitalization” may create difficulties as this digitalization 
is  often  not  institutionalized.  Its  informal  character 
implies  a  heterogeneous  approach  to  development  (e.g. 
smartphone  apps),  while  institutions  would  need  to 
deliver a stable and sustainable transport system including 
digitalization  and  their  corresponding  innovations. The 
challenge  of  policy  makers  is  to  integrate  digitalization 
in  the  transport  system  with  the  aim  of  ensuring  that 
the  benefits  of  these  new  technologies  can  be  captured 
without  compromising  safety,  privacy,  security  and 
interoperability  (which  are,  in  part,  “pre-digitalization” 
achievements of the transport system).

Discussions in this area will also need to balance the needs 
of the producers of the data (usually the end consumer 
using a smartphone or driving a car) with the desires of 
the information community to make the most of the data 
available. For example a recent study undertaken by the 
FIA showed that while 76% of people are interested in the 
connectivity of their car, 90% said that it was their data 
and 91% said that they wanted the ability to turn off the 
data stream when they wanted3. 

Innovation and digitalisation are therefore fundamental 
to  ensuring  a  sustainable  future  for  transport.  The 
transport  industry  needs  to  ensure  that  it  is  efficiently 
pushing those innovations with the highest success rate 
whilst ensuring that these innovations and efforts towards 
digitalisation are of the highest benefit to the freight and 
passenger transport users.

2. 

Presentation by Christa Sys of the University of Antwerp at the 
UNECE  session  of  WP.24:  www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/
trans/doc/2015/wp24/ECE-TRANS-WP24-2015-Pres04.pptx

growth_digital_economy_innovation_in_2014/

3.  www.mycarmydata.eu/

4 ■  FSR Transport ■ Issue 2016/01 ■ March 2016

4th Florence 
Intermodal Forum 
Summary of 
discussions 

in  the 
•  The  different  pace  of  digitalisation 
different 
impact 
transport  modes  has  an 
on  the  competitive  position  of  each  mode 
the  other  modes.
of 

transport  vis-à-vis 

Discussions  at  the  4th  Florence  Intermodal  Forum 
looked  at  several  aspects  of  digitalisation  in  the 
different transport modes and discussed them in the 
context of the goal of an intermodal level playing field. 
In particular, the focus was on ground transportation.  

The  Forum  addressed  four  discussion  questions:

•  How  does  digitalization  affect  transport  and 
transport  modes

the  competition  between 

is 

•  Automation 

the  different 
transforming 
transport  modes  at  a  different  pace:  how 
level  playing  field?
does 

this  affect 

the 

•  What 

is 

Models 
affect 

in 

the  potential  of  new  Business 
they 
competition?

transport: 
intermodal 

how  will 

•  Supporting 
distorting 
regulation?  which 

innovation 
competition:  which 
for 

effectively  without 
for 
EU?

role 
the 

role 

How does digitalization affect transport and 
competition between the modes? 

The  first  discussion  round  looked  at  the  general 
situation  of  digitalization  of  the  transport  sector  as 
well  as  at  some  concrete  examples  of  the  effect  of 
digitalization on the various transport modes, and put 
these cases in the context of intermodal competition.

The  effect  of  digitalisation  on  the  railway  sector 
has  many  facets,  which  have  also  been  discussed 
at  previous  Florence  Forums.  Digitalization 
is, 
however,  changing  the  entire  transport  system  and 
three  aspects  of  this  change  can  be  distinguished:

•  Generally speaking, a “digital layer” is added to the 
otherwise constant  physical  chain  of  production 
and distribution. This digital replication of physical 
activity is used to improve the overall efficiency.

•  At 

the 

same 

with 

the 

time,  user  habits  change 
tools.

digital 

of 

availability 

As the overall characteristics of the transport system 
are called into question by rapidly evolving technology 
it becomes necessary to develop an overall vision of 
the desired future mobility system in order to be able 
to steer technological development in this direction. 

Without  a  framework,  some  initiatives  might  have 
some  unforeseen  effects  in  the  long  term.  If,  for 
instance,  all  mobility  needs  of  a  city  are  largely 
covered  by  a  large  number  of  self-driving  taxis, 
ordered and paid for by smartphone apps, this would 
completely  change  the  role  of  public  transport. 
An  example  of  an  undesired  effect  was  made:  with 
existing  regulation,  automated  trucks  have  the 
potential  to  make  road  transport  even  more  cost-
efficient than rail transport, exacerbating the negative 
environmental  impact  of  road  freight  transport.

Tackling  the  issue  in  a  wider  perspective,  it  was 
stressed  that  common  standards  are  hard  to  attain 
on the global level. UNECE is currently fighting for 
the digitalization of customs procedures: this would 
allow  shippers  to  clear  customs  before  arriving 
at  a  border  and  massively  reduce  waiting  time. 

Besides long-term visions, the first panel also looked 
at some concrete initiatives that are already in place.  

Currently  digitalisation  can  help  to  improve  public 
transport:  some  of  the  most  interesting  examples 
referred  to  the  possibilities  of  improving  the  user 
experience with the use of smartphone apps to collect 
instant  customer  feedback.  These  new  means  of 
service evaluation do not, however, always meet the 
unconditional support of the public transport operators.  

Gamification  may  become 
a  more  widely 
known  concept  in  transport  policy:  an  app  was 
presented  that  collects  data  about  urban  cycling 

5 ■ What role for digitalization in order to achieve an intermodal level playing field?

 
 
by  challenging  commuting  cyclists  to  compete  with  each  other  over 
mileage  travelled  by  bike.  This  has  proven  to  be  a  success  in  many 
aspects. Among other things, the collected data may improve cycling 
infrastructure  in  the  future.  It  can  be  quite  surprising  for  urban 
planners  to  compare  a  map  illustrating  the  actual  paths  cyclists 
take  with  those  foreseen  during  the  planning  of  urban  cycling  lanes.

Looking  at  a  concrete  example  of  intermodal  transport,  namely 
combined  rail  freight,  there  are  hopes  that  digital  tools  can  help  the 
sector to catch up with the competitive advantages of road transport. 
For  instance,  digital  consignment  notes  could  make  the  operations 
more  efficient.  Especially  intermodal  terminals  can  improve  their 
efficiency with the help of digital tools. The crucial element is, however, 
access to data and interoperable data standards. Combined Transport 
(CT)  operators  lack  access  to  data  to  improve  their  operations. 
While  Railway  operators  and  Infrastructure  Managers  exchange  data 
with  each  other,  the  CT  operators  have  no  means  of,  for  instance, 
receiving  prior  information  about  train  delays  and  plan  accordingly.

Trains  in  Japan  have  an  outstanding  reputation  for  their  quality  of 
service  and  punctuality;  however,  even  there  concern  is  growing 
that  there  is  currently  a  lack    of  digital  applications  to  improve 
the  travellers’  experience.  So  far  this  has  not  undermined  the 
competitive  advantage  of  high  speed  rail  over  other  forms  of  long 
distance  travel  but  the  trains  are  lagging  behind  when  it  comes 
to  digital  tickets,  wifi  on  board,  and  customized  marketing.

Automation is transforming the different transport modes at a 
different pace: how does this affect the level playing field?

The  discussion  generally  considered  automation  as  a  subset 
of  digitalisation  and 
issues  at 
the  same  time.  Looking  at  the  state  of  play  of  automation  in 
interesting  points  emerged.
road  and 

sometimes  addressed  both 

in  rail  transport  some 

Automation  in  road  transportation  is  advancing  more  rapidly  than 
in  railways  and  is  gaining  far  more  public  attention.  This  is  well 
known but also puzzling as the controlled environment of rail would 
make  automatization  far  less  challenging  for  this  transport  mode. 
The  discussion  showed,  however,  that  automation  is  actually  on 
the rise also in rail transport - as long as one focuses on metro lines. 
Numbers  presented  showed  that  there  is  a  strong  trend  especially 
where new metro infrastructure is built, to choose automated systems. 

6 ■  FSR Transport ■ Issue 2016/01 ■ March 2016

 
But  automation  is  also  increasing  in  other  areas  of  railways  (outside 
the  driver’s  cabin),  most  importantly  in  the  area  of  train  control.

In  Switzerland  self-driving  busses  are  actually  already  in  operation. 
In spite of their small size and low speeds these “Büssli” still have the 
potential  to  frighten  some  citizens;  public  acceptance  of  self-driving 
vehicles is more of an issue for road transportation than it is for railways. 
Driverless  metro  lines  are  well  accepted  where  they  are  in  place. 

As automation is progressing in both private and public transport on 
the  road  and  on  rail  the  next  big  conflict  is  emerging  quite  clearly: 
both automated train operations and intelligent transport solutions for 
road transport depend on the allocation of powerful radio frequencies; 
these  are  now  turning  into  a  precious  commodity.  From  the  public 
transport  side  an  imbalance  was  pointed  out:  despite  benefitting  far 
fewer  travellers,  ITS  has  far  more  effective  lobbying  for  frequencies 
than public transport operators due to their stronger financial situation.

What is the potential of new business models in transport and 
how will they affect intermodal competition?

Besides  the  more  “physical”  aspect  of  driverless  vehicle  operation, 
digitalisation  gives  rise  to  various  new  business  models.  On  the 
one  hand,  new  players  on  the  transport  market  shake  up  the 
industry;  on  the  other  hand,  established  transport  operators  are 
looking  at  new  business  models  to  make  use  of  digitalisation.

Since the vision of “Mobility as a Service” was presented at the previous 
Florence Intermodal Forum, several business models that were already 
taking  this  direction  have  made  significant  advances.  In  Berlin  an 
application combines 15 different operators from taxis to bike sharers and 
lets the user book and pay the transport services through the app. Ideally 
such mobility platforms will work cross regionally and internationally 
in the future. It was pointed out that new business opportunities are 
not  open  just  for  new  entrants:  in  fact,  business  travellers  would  be 
willing  to  use  public  transport  more  often  and  even  pay  an  above 
average fare if they had easy access to travel times and tickets. There 
were  controversial  views  as  to  whether  additional  services  and  price 
differentiation could be a real possibility for public transport operators.

In  spite  of  the  potentials,  some  possible  negative  side  effects  of 
digitalisation  and  automation  were  identified.  Namely  “rebound 
effects” that could occur were frequently discussed: driverless cars can 
actually lead to more vehicles on the road intensifying the negative side 

7 ■ What role for digitalization in order to achieve an intermodal level playing field?

 
principle) needs to be enforced. Digitalisation should 
increase  the  possibilities  of  applying  this  principle.

In  private  cars  the  innovation  is  already  quite 
advanced  but  to  reap  the  full  benefits  an  effort 
by  regulators  is  needed:  allowing  some  degree  of 
automation is easily feasible from a regulatory point of 
view. However, even if not automated, cars will ideally 
be  able  to  communicate  with  other  cars  and  their 
environment in the future. In order for this vision of 
connected  cars  to  become  a  reality  a  higher  degree 
of standardization ideally on a global level is needed.

The  case  for  deregulation  was  also  raised.  Some 
basic steps require first of all the removal of at least 
some  rules.  Most  fundamentally  perhaps,  in  order 
for  driverless  cars  to  become  a  reality  the  rule 
that  cars  need  to  have  a  driver,  as  established  by 
the  Vienna  Convention  ,  would  need  to  be  lifted.

On  several  occasions  parallels  and  comparisons  to 
other sectors were drawn. For instance, in Spain AirBnB 
is cooperating with regulators to develop a system to 
correctly tax those users that use the platform to run 
a professional commercial operation. New economic 
actors  and  those  that  develop  innovative  products 
and  services  are  not  against  regulation.  But  it  is 
important for regulators to acknowledge the different 
environment they’re dealing with in the digital world. 

effects  of  road  traffic.  New  business  models  like 
Uber  and  other  ride  sharing  apps  might  deprive 
the  public  transport  system  of  its  passengers 
forcing  an  adjustment  of  capacity  and  fare  prices.  

Supporting innovation without distorting 
competition: which role for regulation? which 
role for the EU?

The  final  panel  discussed  opportunities  and 
challenges  as  well  as  the  role  of  regulation  for 
innovation.  According  to  the  arguments  raised, 
there  could  be  two  main  purposes  for  regulation 
in  the  field  of  digital  innovation  in  transport: 
firstly,  to  ensure  that  innovation  actually  unfolds 
(by  funding  research  and  creating  the 
legal 
requirements  for  their  practical  application),  and, 
secondly,  to  counter  any  negative  side  effects.

technological 

On  the  one  hand,  too  early  regulation  can  be 
harmful for further innovation. On the other hand, 
if standards come too late, interoperability cannot 
be  ensured  and 
fragmentation 
further  efficiency  gains.  A 
would  prevent 
prominent  example  for  this  problem 
is  the 
electronic collection of road fares: there are various 
technological solutions for road charges collection 
in  place,  but  no  common  European  system  exists 
even  though  most  freight  transport  operations 
are  cross-borders.  In  this  case  letting  national 
forerunners develop their own systems has led to a 
fragmented European system that is delivering far 
fewer  benefits  than  it  could  if  it  was  harmonized.

It  was  pointed  out 
that  similar  problems 
are  also  emerging  for  new  technologies:  for 
instance,  there  is  already  a  different  standard 
for  connected  cars  in  the  US  and  in  the  EU.

The regulatory answer to the challenge of possibly 
increasing  road  traffic  is  not  really  a  new  one: 
the  principle  of  internalisation  of  external  cost 
(or,  more  concretely,  polluter  pays  and  user  pays 

8 ■  FSR Transport ■ Issue 2016/01 ■ March 2016

Further readings

Florence  School  of  Regulation  Transport  Area,  2016,  4th  Florence 
Intermodal Forum Summary of presentations

This  document  offers  summaries  of  the  presentations  given  by  the 
participants  of  the  4th  Florence  Intermodal  Forum  “What  role  for 
digitalization in order to achieve an intermodal level playing field?”. 

The workshop built on the discussion we had at the 11th Florence Rail 
Forum (Digital Single European Railway Area), widening the scope in 
an  intermodal  perspective.  The  following  questions  have  guided  the 
representatives of the European institutions, local authorities, operators, 
manufacturers, regulators present at the Forum:   

•  How does digitalization affect transport and the competition 

between transport modes?

•  Automation is transforming the different transport modes at 
a different pace: how does this affect the level playing field?

•  What is the potential of new Business Models in transport? 

How will they affect intermodal competition?

•  Effectively 

distorting 
competition: which role for regulation? which role for the EU? 

innovation  without 

support 

Florence  School  of  Regulation  Transport  Area,  2015,  “Digital  single 
European  railway  area:  how  do  we  get  there?”,  European  Transport 
Regulation Observer, n. 2015/04 

This issue of the European Transport Regulation Observer reflects upon 
the issues discussed at the 11th Florence Rail Forum dedicated to the 
Digital  Single  European  Railway  Area.  In  this  document,  thoughts 
expressed  by  regulators,  operators,  associations  and  academics  are 
analysed  and  reported  as  to  define  the  current  state  of  play  and 
challenges  of  the  digitalization  of  railways.  What  emerges  is  that  the 
digital transformation offers more opportunities than challenges for the 
sector and alters the role of regulation. Both companies and regulators 
urgently  need  rules  for  the  treatment  of  data  and  for  the  functioning 
of  an  ever  more  “digital”  transport  sector.  However,  where  regulation 
cannot keep pace with innovation, it risks being an obstacle for it.

9 ■ What role for digitalization in order to achieve an intermodal level playing field?

Florence  School  of  Regulation  Transport  Area,  2015,  “Mobility-
as-a-service: 
to  a  European 
the  Helsinki  experiment 
model?”,  European  Transport  Regulation  Observer,  n.  2015/01  

from 

The 3rd Florence Intermodal Forum brought together decision makers and 
stakeholders from the European Commission, national authorities, and 
operators to discuss the new mobility paradigm of Mobility-as-a-Service. 
It did so by discussing the concept, and what it could develop into in the 
context of congestion problems and changing mobility patterns. Existing 
obstacles to intermodality as well as past experiences with intermodal 
offers  by  operators  have  been  discussed.  Given  the  new  trends  and 
possibilities of a more connected society it appears that regulation has to 
pave the way for these trends to translate into a smarter mobility system. 

Pillath, Susanne, 2016, “Automated vehicles in the EU”, Briefing of the 
European Parliamentary Research Service

Automation,  and  in  particular  digitalisation,  of  driving  will  change 
road transport in a way which is viewed as a revolution in the field of 
mobility: first and foremost, driving which is automatically controlled 
by a computer is expected to make future road transport safer and more 
secure;  furthermore,  it  has  the  potential  to  be  more  environmentally 
friendly, efficient and accessible. 

Worldwide, automobile manufacturers and technology firms are working 
on  driving  system  innovation.  Agreement  by  all  stakeholders  on  the 
desired deployment of the new technologies will provide developers with 
the certainty they need for investments. For an effective communication 
between  the  technological  and  political  spheres,  categorisation  and 
terminology are being developed which define different levels of vehicle 
automation. 

The  technical  requirements  as  well  as  international  traffic  rules  are 
agreed at United Nations level and are currently in the process of being 
assessed  with  a  view  to  the  increasing  automation  of  vehicles.  The 
European  Union  and  its  Member  States  participate  in  international 
working  groups  which  are  revising  the  regulations  as  prerequisites 
for the deployment of automated vehicles. Furthermore the European 
Union is funding research on automated road transport as a priority in 
the Horizon 2020 Transport Research programme. Some key elements 
of the discussions on political and technical aspects are the questions 
of how data protection and cyber security can be secured and liability 
issues can be solved.

10 ■  FSR Transport ■ Issue 2016/01 ■ March 2016

 
acatech 
of  Automated  Road  Traffic”, 

(Ed.),  2015,  “New  autoMobility.  The  Future  World 
acatech  POSITION  PAPER 

Owing to developments in the field of assistance systems and automated 
driving,  vehicles  are  taking  over  more  and  more  elements  of  the 
driving tasks hitherto incumbent on the driver. Thus, automation and 
connectivity are under way of revolutionising the road transport system. 
In  the  present  position  paper,  the  project  group  “New  autoMobility”, 
a  joint  initiative  by  the  German  Federal  Ministry  of  Transport  and 
Digital  Infrastructure  and  acatech,  develops  a  target  scenario  of  a 
world of automated road traffic in a future beyond 2030. It provides a 
set of usage scenarios addressing the challenges of our present mobility 
system.  On  the  basis  of  these  scenarios,  the  project  group  worked 
out  specific  policy  recommendations  for  implementation  in  politics 
and society. They describe what steps must be taken to set the course 
towards  automated  road  traffic  and  how  best  to  take  advantage  of  its 
ecological,  economic  and  social  benefits  to  promote  public  welfare. 

European Parliament, 2016, Research for the TRAN Comittee – The 
World is changing. Transport, too. 

The (more and more urban) European population is growing and ageing. 
Mobile  information  and  communication  technologies  are  developing 
rapidly.  Global  competition  and  the  fight  against  climate  change  are 
pressing. These developments all have an impact on transport as a whole. 
As this paper shows, mobility needs and patterns evolve; new transport 
services/systems  emerge;  transportation  technologies  aim  to  become 
more  ‘environmentally-efficient’.  This  transformation  challenges  the 
existing transport sector’s structure and governance and calls for major 
changes in the regulatory framework.

Part  III  of  this  report  provides  an  in-depth  analysis  of  the  role  of 
regulation in preparing transport for the future. It notably underlines 
the regulatory implications of the current challenges affecting different 
transport modes and the mobility system as a whole.

11 ■ What role for digitalization in order to achieve an intermodal level playing field?

 
QM-AU-16-001-EN-N 
ISSN:2467-0405  
ISBN:978-92-9084-367-2 
doi:10.2870/336932 

Florence School of Regulation,
Transport Area 

European University Institute
Convento di San Domenico, 
Via delle Fontanelle 19
San Domenico di Fiesole (FI)
50014 · Italy

Contact FSR-Transport:
 fsr.transport@eui.eu

FSR-Transport 

The Florence School of Regulation (FSR) is a project within the European University Institute (EUI) focusing 
on regulatory topics. It works closely with the European Commission, and is a growing point of reference for 
regulatory theory and practice. It covers four areas: Communications and Media, Energy (Electricity and Gas), 
Transport and Water.

The FSR-Transport Area’s main activities are the Florence Transport Forums, which address policy and regulatory 
topics in different transport sectors (Rail, Air, Urban, Maritime, Intermodal transport and Postal and delivery 
services).  They  bring  relevant  stakeholders  together  to  analyse  and  reflect  upon  the  latest  developments  and 
important regulatory issues in the European transport sector. These Forums inspire the comments gathered in 
this European Transport Regulation Observer.

Complete information on our activities can be found online at:  fsr.eui.eu

Content © Authors, 2016© European University Institute