Debate: Intelligent Road Transport Systems
Date: MONDAY, 2 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Nicolas Schmit
Language: EN

The revision of the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Directive is a key instrument in advancing the digitalisation of transport. My gratitude goes to the rapporteur, Madam Plumb, and her shadow rapporteurs for making the agreement possible.  One of the main challenges are the twin transitions. The Union has responded with the European Green Deal and the sustainable and smart mobility strategy.  One of the quickest ways to reduce emissions is to enable passengers and freight to use the most efficient combination of transport modes to complete their journey. For this to happen, we need a well-coordinated transport system, and information must be available to all consumers and businesses. And in that sense, the digital revolution is already helping us in this endeavour.  But, to reach our digital aims, there is one thing that we need more than anything else, and that is data. Data is not always available, however, or it is of poor quality. And while the situation has improved over the last years, we still have a long way to go.  This is precisely the challenge we want to address with this important piece of legislation. We want to accelerate the availability of data. To be able to make transport smarter today and support automated vehicles tomorrow, the revision of the ITS Directive will require the mandatory collection of crucial data. Concerning the cost, the benefits to businesses and end consumers far outweigh these costs and EU funding is already available to support data collection efforts.  The directive will also accelerate the deployment of cooperative ITS (C-ITS). 2019 saw the first European vehicles equipped with C-ITS as standard. This is a huge milestone.  The Commission will continue to play its part, notably in the single trust domain that allows everybody in the Union to safely exchange messages and make transport safer for all.  Digitalisation is happening and we should make sure to reap all of its potential and remain among the global leaders in the field of transport. Thanks to the revision of the ITS Directive, our joint efforts will immediately make a difference for all our citizens.  Making more data available will inevitably improve the quality of services to transport users and provide everybody with more accurate information to guide all of us safely on our journeys. I am thinking about speed limits, access restrictions, but also roadworks and any other events that could present a dangerous situation to drivers. We have not forgotten safe and secure car parks, which are critical to improving resting conditions for professional drivers and to protecting them from violence and cargo crime.  I am particularly pleased we have managed to include all access nodes for all scheduled modes on the entire transport network of the EU. That is a precondition and a key enabler for advancing multimodal transport.  To be smarter, we need to share more. We should share our visions, our ambitions, but, above all, share our data, share services and, of course, share rides and vehicles.  Parliament’s vote on the new ITS directive tomorrow is therefore of real importance.