UNECE’s role in the promotion of Intelligent Transport ......80 ITS for sustainable mobility T he main objective of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) is

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UNECE’s role in the promotion ofIntelligent Transport Systems

Strategic note

ITS for sustainable mobility80

The main objective of the United NationsEconomic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) is to promote economic integra-tion. It brings together 56 countries,members of the European Union (EU),

as well as non-EU Western and Eastern Europeancountries, and member countries in South-EastEurope, Central and Western Asia and North Amer-ica. The Inland Transport Committee was createdin 1946 to facilitate the international movement ofpersons and goods by inland transport modes andimprove safety, environmental protection, energyefficiency and security in the transport sector tolevels that contribute effectively to sustainable de-velopment. Furthermore, UNECE administers theUnited Nations inland transport and vehicle agree-ments that have a global outreach.Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) have been onthe agenda of the Inland Transport Committee andits subsidiary bodies for many years. Already in 2003,the UNECE Inland Transport Committee recognizedITS as both a major challenge for future transportdevelopment and an opportunity to ensure mobilityin a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly way.The first UNECE Round Table on ITS in 2004 fo-cused on technological issues and called for moretechnical harmonization. Within their mandates, UN-ECE Working Parties have been working on a num-ber of ITS-related matters: for example, the WorkingParty on Road Safety (WP.1) is engaged in debateson liability concerns and is charged with maintain-ing, as well as modernizing the UN Convention onRoad Signs and Signals and the UN Convention onRoad Traffic (Vienna Conventions)1. Furthermore,it pursues the harmonization of variable messagesigns. The Working Party on the Transport of Dan-gerous Goods (WP.15) is examining how Telematicscan be used to enhance safety and security. Mean-while, the Working Party on Inland Water Transport(SC.3) works on River Information Systems and theWorking Party on Road Transport (SC.1) deals withthe Digital tachograph and e-CMR2. In addition, theWorld Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regula-

tions (UNECE WP.29) hosts a group of experts thatprovides general guidance on how to incorporateprovisions on intelligent vehicle systems into theUN Vehicle Regulations.The second UNECE Round Table on ITS held in2010 was organised on the occasion of the Interna-tional Transport Forum in Leipzig. This Round Tableshifted the focus from technology to policy issuesand discussed the legal, institutional and policy ob-stacles blocking faster deployment of ITS solutions.In 2010, the Inland Transport Committee emphasizedthe need to take actions in support of ITS applica-tions in a harmonized way and supported the launchof a strategic review on how Intelligent Trans-

port Systems can contribute to sustainable

transport and what role UNECE should play in

promoting the use of ITS solutions. The reviewbenefited from the support of many, but in particularof the government of Italy and the government ofthe Federal Republic of Germany. The result is theITS review package that consists of:• A background paper with primary objective

to share information (including best practices)and raise awareness about the values ITS so-lutions can deliver.

• This strategic note that attempts to identifythe main gaps in and impediments to thebroader use and faster dissemination of ITS ap-plications irrespective of which organizations,institutions or bodies can or will fill the gap.

• A Road Map that outlines the areas and liststhe activities UNECE can embark upon eitheras a continuation of on-going tasks or as newinitiatives.

The draft strategic note was subject to a broad-based consultation during which we received valu-able comments from Governments, businesses,international organizations, non-governmental or-ganizations, the academia as well as from individ-uals (the web-based public consultation was com-bined with bilateral discussions). These commentsare now incorporated both in the strategic noteand in the Road Map.

1. Introduction

(1) The Vienna Conventions are designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety(2) e-CMR Protocol: a Protocol which will ease international road freight and further improve good governance in road transport by allowing the use

of electronic consignment notes. This Protocol relates to the United Nations CMR Convention (Convention on the Contract for the InternationalCarriage of Goods by Road) signed in Geneva on 19 May 1956. It refers to various legal issues concerning transportation of cargo by road

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How UNECE can meet its commit-ments on ITS is discussed in the RoadMap, which marks the critical changefrom research to implementation. Itlays down concrete actions to be per-

formed in the future. It will represent the UNECEMaster Plan for global deployment of ITS and itwill give UNECE the opportunity to become theinternational platform for bringing together andharmonizing innovations, technological develop-

ments and regulatory framework.The UNECE vision on ITS, its commitment to pro-mote the use of information technologies in trans-port and overall its strategy have been shaped byconsiderations that are elaborated on in this strate-gic note. The note briefly assesses the challengesto the development of transport, the benefits ofITS, as well as the obstacles and impediments toits use. For easy reference it also reviews the re-lated UNECE activities.

2. The UNECE TransportDivision’s vision, commitmentand Road Map for ITS

Our visionThe convergence of the transport and communicationssectors is driven by innovations in information and com-munication technologies, and particularly by IntelligentTransport Systems. However, future inland transport sy-stems should be shaped not just by technologies, but alsoand primarily by the policy makers.UNECE as the centre of inland transport legal instruments,the secretariat to the World Forum for Harmonization ofVehicle Regulations (WP.29), to the UNECE Road SafetyForum (WP.1), to the global and regional intergovernmen-tal bodies on dangerous goods transport, further moreas the centre to promote pan-European and Euro-Asiantransport linkages, will • bring ITS to the policy makers agenda; and• contribute to filling the gaps and the elimination

of obstacles to a broader use of ITS solutions.

Our commitment to promote ITS• UNECE is a partner for addressing inland

transport issues from various fields in a harmonized way.

• UNECE is the forum that unites transport partners from all over the world.

• UNECE’s ITS activities will have an added value in communicating best practices and will serveas a platform for finding innovative solutions.

• UNECE encourages an open and transparent dialogue between Government regulators, technicalexperts and the general public, in order to ensurethat best safety and

environmental practices are adopted and economic implications are taken into accountin the development of regulations.

20 Global Actions for UNECE topromote the use of ITS1. Reaching a common definition on ITS.2. Harmonizing policies.3. Forging International cooperation.4. Facilitating inter-operability and the ITS architecture.5. Ensuring data security.6. Scaling up the work on ITS in all Working Parties

of the UNECE Inland Transport Committee (ITC).7. Promoting vehicle-to-infrastructure

communication.8. Promoting vehicle-to-vehicle communication.9. Fighting the road safety crisis.10. Addressing the liability concerns.11. Harmonizing Variable Message Signs.12. Making Transport of Dangerous Goods less dangerous.13. Integrating with Rail Transport.14. Integrating with Inland Water Transport.15. Enhancing the modal integrator’s role of ITS.16. Developing Cost-benefit assessment methodologies.17. Contributing to climate change mitigation.18. Launching analytical work.19. Contributing to capacity building, education and

awareness raising, with special attention to emerging economies.

20. Organizing the United Nations Annual RoundTable on Intelligent Transport Systems.

Transport cannot grow without limits,and definitely not in the old traditionalway. Adding a new lane in densely pop-ulated areas is already a problem. Fur-thermore, the political pressure on the

sector to become “green” questions the justificationof extensive growth and calls for more public trans-port instead of individual motor vehicles on theroad. If we take a longer term perspective, the lim-its to transport growth become even more obvious.Nonetheless, in many parts of the world transportinfrastructure is under-developed and large andsmall-scale investments are warranted to ensurethat the entire population is connected to publicservices and to the rest of the world.

Population and trade growth create huge de-

mands for personal and cargo mobility. Witharound 7 billion people today and predictions of upto 9 billion people by 2050, the enormous growth inpopulation has created an unprecedented demandfor personal mobility. Similarly, the 540 fold increasein the value of merchandise trade since the start ofthe steamship (representing about $13,000 billionUSD today, three times more than in the early1990’s) created a formidable demand for cargo mo-bility and freight transportation. Consequently,transport infrastructure and services have grown

extensively. However, even this growth is not ade-quate to meet the demand. In addition, it is not en-vironmentally, economically or socially sustainable.

Urbanisation. The geographical distribution ofthe population, trade and transport growth will gounder major changes, as well. Looking at the UN-DESA graph, consider the fact that 95 per cent ofthe world’s population will be living on only 10 percent of the land (World Bank) and predominantlyin cities. From a transportation perspective, movingbillions of people in mega-cities and meeting theirneeds in terms of supplies and public services willcall for exceptional efficiency improvements intransport and logistics. This will not be possiblewithout fundamental transport policy changes andultra-modern traffic management. Traffic conges-tion is not only a formidable problem in mega-cities, but also elsewhere. Congestion has becomea daily concern resulting in loss of time, and nu-merous other negative externalities (pollution, de-terioration of safety etc.). Congestion pricing hasproved to be an effective means for demand man-agement - especially when combined with othermeasures and investments in favor of public trans-port - and this transport policy and managementtool is the result of modern information and com-munication technologies.

Affordability. A country’s and its businesses’ ca-pacity to participate in the global supply chains ispartly determined by the available transport infra-structure and the border crossing conditions. Land-locked least developed countries are particularlyvulnerable and can be destined to remain margin-alized as they usually suffer not only of low-qualityinfrastructure at home, but also in their transitneighbors. Investments in transport infrastructurehave been a high priority not only for them, butalso in all other countries. However, only a fractionof the required investments have been accom-plished worldwide due to a lack of of availablefunds. The extended global financial and economiccrisis coupled with “weak sovereign and banking

sector balance sheets” (International MonetaryFund, IMF) further reduces the investment capacity

ITS for sustainable mobility82

3. Transport growth reaches its limits...

1. World

Population

Prospects,

the 2010

Revision:

estimated

and projected

population

by major area,

medium

variant,

1950-2100

(billions)

1

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Af-fairs (UNDESA), Population Division (2011): World PopulationProspects: The 2010 Revision. New York

of countries and regions. In regions with high den-sities, land availability is a further limit to the ex-pansion of transport infrastructure. Better trafficmanagement assisted with Variable Message Signsand other ITS solutions can improve the through-put capacity of the existing infrastructure. In suchcases, ITS can be an alternative to capital expendi-ture. In addition, the effective implementation of“the user pays principle” through electronic tollcollection can be both a demand management tooland a way to recover part of the investment andmaintenance costs.

The vulnerability of global supply chains is aconcern all over the world. Natural disasters, ter-rorist attacks or other disruptions could severelyaffect the global supply chain at any time. After theJapanese earthquake and tsunami, the number of

cars manufactured worldwide is estimated to havedropped by up to 30 per cent. This resulted in thefurther decline of the GDP of many countries withan automotive industry, suppliers and vehicle man-ufacturers alike (IMF, World Economic Outlook:Slowing Growth, Rising Risks). The vulnerability ofthe transport portions of the global supply chainscan be reduced by improving not just the trafficflow, but also the real-time information flow and theinfrastructure and services resilience across the bor-ders. Still, ITS solutions face even more hurdles incross-border operations than in local applications.Notwithstanding the relevance and availability ofITS solutions, this issue is not yet a top priority onpolicy maker’s agendas. Therefore, it is high timeto bring ITS to the agenda of the international trans-port policy fora, as well as to the broader agendaof the economic debate.

ITS can bring solutions to many of the abovementioned transport issues. ITS can maketransport safer, cleaner, more secure, andmore reliable. ITS can improve traffic fluidity,traffic management, as well as demand man-

agement. It can be a tool to commercialize roadmanagement and bring a very different institutionalstructure to the transport sector. It can help coun-tries to leap-frog in development and reduce thevulnerability of transport infrastructure and serv-ices. ITS can offer new solutions, new opportunitiesand expand capabilities.

Leapfrogging. ITS is quite often seen as a privi-lege of the wealthy and a feasible investment onlyin high or middle income countries. Developingcountries are often considered to be at a disadvan-tage compared to more developed countries in re-gards to building basic infrastructure that providesthe foundation for economies and societies. Thisis largely due to the limited financial, technical andengineering resources that developing countrieshave access to. On the other hand, developing coun-tries do have certain advantages, including that ofbeing the “newcomer”. Nowadays, when new in-frastructure is constructed it can be combined with

highly advanced IT capabilities based on the needsof tomorrow. In other words, less developed coun-tries are not “stuck” with yesterday’s solutions.This represents a huge opportunity for installingelectronic infrastructure at the same time physicalinfrastructure is being constructed. This is far lessexpensive than retrofitting existing infrastructure. In addition, developing countries usually do nothave appropriate IT infrastructure. Consequentlythey are not trapped in outdated technology. Theycan also benefit from continuing and rapid cost de-crease in IT technologies. Building a new IT infra-structure from scratch is often less expensive thanupdating an existing system. Developing countriescan make immediate use of other systems like cel-lular telephones and the Internet, which are spread-ing rapidly in parallel. Finally, developing countriescan take advantage of IT and ITS products and ap-plications which have already been tested and de-ployed in developed countries, and which are nowmature, stable, well understood, and starting to be-come less expensive to acquire and operate.As a result, developing countries have the oppor-tunity to leapfrog directly to an ITS-enabled trans-portation infrastructure far more rapidly and farless costly than developed countries3.

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(3) World Bank, ITS Technical Note For Developing Countries

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4. ...but ITS can expand the transport sector’s limits

5. What is ITS?

ITS is not only an innovative transport tech-nology. It is a new way of living, a new busi-ness approach, and overall, a new culturefor all players. Every portion of the transportsector of the future will be a receiver and a

sender of information. Information can save lives,reduce congestion, emissions, and save energy. In-formation exchange will make life easier, safer andmore predictable for everybody. Information shar-ing will reduce the need for more investments ininfrastructure, because infrastructure will becomean “interactive object” that will transmit and receiveinformation. Therefore, the debate in a growingnumber of places, starting in mega-cities, will nolonger be about how much to expand infrastructureto serve the continuous increase in population, but

rather how to make the most use of the existinginfrastructure to better serve more people. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastruc-ture (V2I) applications will help prevent crashes,enabling vehicles to act like nodes on a networkand to communicate with the surrounding environ-ment. V2V and V2I will be the tool for enhancedconnectivity, information, entertainment and safetyfor all inland transport modes.The Figure 2 illustrates the myriad of ITS applica-tions in our daily life. Obviously, there are far moreITS applications than a figure on paper can capture.Here we have included only some of the most em-blematic appearances to show that (i) they are nu-merous, (ii) they are various, and (iii) they are notaligned along only one specific theme.Intelligent Transport Systems can be a solution forlimits to transport growth - it expands these limits,optimizes efficiency and increases the effectivenessof existing transport infrastructure. ITS, therefore,can make the following possible:• Create a secure system that relies on gathering

and sharing real-time information to improvedetection and response to emergencies of anykind.

• Reduce the number and severity of accidents,saving thousands of lives.

• Contribute to safer vehicles and roads, withfewer and less severe crashes.

• Reduce congestion, which will save energy re-sources each year, and realize proportionategains in reducing emissions.

• Achieve “managed” transport networks andmore sustainable mobility.

• Facilitate remote access to reservation sys-tems and electronic payments.

• Facilitate the mobility of people and goods

2. What ITS

can do for

you?

2

Source: UNECE

ITS for sustainable mobility

Reaching equity. Do we all have access to mobilityin the same way? Definitely, not. In many countries,transport systems are still under-developed. Oncethey start to be built, the primary goal is usually toserve motorists, while little or no space is left forpedestrians. At the same time, public transport serv-ices are limited due to severe under-investment. Inaddition, in most places of the world, access-freepublic transport and infrastructure remains a dream.We know transport or personal mobility offers access

to work, education, health, culture, in sum, it offersaccess to opportunities. However, little attentiongoes to the 3 per cent of the world’s population thatis severely disabled in their mobility. This means thatunless the special mobility needs are addressed, theiraccess to work, and to a better life is limited. ITScould offer solutions leading to more equity amongindividuals. Furthermore, in most cases, the intro-duction of these technological changes could be vi-able even without subsidies.

e-TollsTraffic

Management

WeatherInformation

Variable MessageSigns

AdvancedIntersection

safety

DigitalTachograph

CongestionManagement

ERTMS

Advanced driversAssistance system

Advance emergencyBreaking system

E-call in roadcrash

Cargo Info

Lane departureWarning systems

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6. ITS can contribute to thesolution of global issues6.1 ITS and Environment protection

6.2 ITS and public transport

Local pollution. Despite success in arrestingthe negative trends of air pollution, the chal-lenge remains huge, especially with regard

to noise pollution. In Europe, for example, a quarterof the population lives less than 500 meters from aroad carrying more than 3 million vehicles per year.Consequently, nearly 4 million life-years are losteach year due to pollution4. Climate change mitigation. Although transport isnot the primary global polluter, it is a considerablesource of Green House Gases (GHG) and withinthis of CO2 emissions. With the current rates ofemissions, CO2 concentrations will likely doubletheir pre-industrial level by the end of the 21st cen-tury. Clearly, any transport policy considerationsshould address climate change. Furthermore, trans-port decision makers need to be able to measuretraffic-induced Green House Gases. ITS solutionscan be instrumental in this regard, as well. For thisto happen, a lead agency or cooperation amongthe key stakeholders is warranted.The Ministerial Conference on Global Environ-ment and Energy in Transport (MEET), held in

Tokyo (Japan) in January 2009, as well as MEET2010, held in Rome (Italy) in November 2010,shared the long-term vision of the World Harmo-nization Forum of Vehicle Regulations (UNECEWP.29) in achieving low-carbon and low-pollutiontransport systems, which also ensure sustainabledevelopment. The ministerial declaration encour-aged countries to broaden the diffusion and trans-fer of existing technologies and encourage re-search, development and the deployment ofinnovative technologies and measures such asITS.More broadly, the draft decision of the CopenhagenAccord 2009, as well as the Cancun Agreement2010 within the framework of the United NationsClimate Change Conference (UNFCCC), recom-mend various approaches to climate change, in-cluding opportunities to use markets, enhance thecost-effectiveness, and promote mitigation actions.Imagine that the transportation sector succeeds inrenewing its technological base and managing itsgrowth in a climate-neutral way, while meeting themobility demand.

Making public transport available, afford-able and attractive is among the keytransport policy goals. ITS, with its ca-

pacity to bring real-time information to travelers,can be an important player in achieving this goal.

(4) UNECE publication: Transport for sustainable development in the UNECE region

that are crossing borders or can improve doorto door services.

• Enhance personal and cargo security on roadsor railway lines and at ports, and identify theexact location of freight as it moves from shipto rail or to truck on its way from manufac-turer to retailer.

• “Make” vehicles alert their drivers about pos-sible dangerous driving situations using in-ve-hicle technologies.

• Create access to mobility for those who findit hard today to move around.

• Accelerate economic development and caneven help leapfrogging, etc.

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Fuelled by the rapid advancement ofcomputer and information technologyand consumers’ demand for innovationand efficiency, ITS technologies willcontinue to improve and evolve at a

phenomenal rate, providing more services to thetransport industry. This new information andknowledge-driven economy is a reality and not justa fad. The benefits of deploying ITS technologiescould be significant, if a focused, systematic andincremental approach is taken.Governments have started turning to emerging andevolving technologies for solutions to help themmeet the many challenges and demands placed ontransportation systems.There are several (although still not a sufficientnumber of) examples where Governments startedlarge scale investments in ITS systems. In addition,even in this information age, these examples areoften isolated. A good example, although relativelyunknown internationally, is the project of the localWelsh Government (UK), which has awarded a fouryear contract for the management of 'intelligenttransport systems’, including telecommunicationsand tunnel systems for the entire motorway andtrunk road network in Wales. (30 June 2011, The

Guardian).

It is clear that innovative solutions are warrantedto solve many of the biggest problems of the trans-port sector and that ITS can be a solution or a cat-alyst for solutions. However, we also see that ITShas not attracted the interest of policy makers. Thequestion is why. In general, the main reasons whyITS is still not on the policy makers’ agenda can besummarized by the following: • ITS is still considered an innovative technol-

ogy, rather than an economic developmenttool.

• Few studies and analysis are available thatdemonstrate the return on ITS investment.Such studies and analysis are difficult to pro-duce, since the benefits of ITS differ from caseto case.

• The most well-known ITS applications tend tobe ones that are expensive and produce largelyqualitative results e.g. real time informationthat benefits a group of travellers. Given thefact that the results are predominantly quali-tative in nature often makes it difficult to jus-tify investments. Indirect benefits, such as sav-ings from non-expansion of infrastructure,decreased demand for hospital services andenergy savings with fewer emissions, shouldalso be taken into account when calculating

ITS for sustainable mobility86

6.3 ITS and the Global road safety crisis

Following the declaration of the First GlobalMinisterial Conference on Road Safety heldin Moscow in November 2009, the United

Nations General Assembly declared 2011-2020 asthe “Decade of Action for Road Safety”, with thegoal to stabilize and then reduce the forecast levelof global road deaths by 2020. Since the first motor vehicle was put into operation,around 30 million lives have been lost in road trafficaccidents. Globally, 1.3 million people are killedon roads and 50 million more injured every year.Traffic accidents are often seen as personal andfamily tragedies, but in fact they are also tragic forsociety as a whole. Taking into account the direct

economic costs of road crashes alone, the costsare estimated to be around US$ 518 billion globallyevery year. At the same time, we should be realistic:with every day there are more people on the planetand they travel more. To address the global road traffic safety crisis,many more Governments are committed to takeactions than ever before in history. They will -hopefully - take a system approach and imple-ment the most appropriate policies and measures.To successfully combat the road safety crisis, itis imperative to put all resources to their maxi-mum use, including the mainstreaming of ITS so-lutions.

7. Why is ITS not adequatelyaddressed on the policy agenda?

3. Gaps and

stumbling

blocks in ITS

deployment

the overall benefits of ITS applications.• Lack of funding, especially in low-income

countries where ITS applications are consid-ered a luxurious investment creates formida-ble barriers.

• The lack of qualified staff with relevant skillsand knowledge creates constraints becausemore funds are needed to hire specialized staff.

• The lack of national and regional strategiesmeans no detailed path forward can be refer-enced.

Further on, we will explore the institutional divide,particularly the slow reaction and adaptation ca-

pacity of the public sector compared to the privatesector or businesses. For all the above mentionedreasons, ITS, despite all its values, is still un-

der-utilized. Convincing studies and analyses will make it pos-sible to show evidence of the worthiness of ITSand will help include ITS on the policy maker’sagenda. Facilitation work is needed to harmonize the sys-tems, analyse the benefits and the return on invest-ment and help Governments create their own na-tional or even regional strategies for ITS applicationand transport development.

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All ITS applications have one thing incommon - they change our way ofwork. They have an impact on organi-sational and institutional responsibili-ties and operations. Achieving appro-

priate governance of ITS is therefore a major factorfor its wide-scale deployment and is vital for securingthe full benefits of ITS and maximising returns oninvestment. While good governance is essential andits shortcomings create an overarching web of im-pediments, there are also several distinctive and veryspecific obstacles. ITS does not only fail to attractthe attention of politicians and transport policymakers in general, but it faces a number of obsta-cles to penetrate the transportation system. As awhole, we have attempted to collect and brieflyanalyze the different gaps and stumbling blocks inITS deployment, summarized in the Fig 3.

8.1 Lukewarm political will and limited publicunderstanding of ITS benefits

To meet the mobility demands of citizens andof businesses in a sustainable way is no longerpossible through traditional means, particu-

larly in the context of a one dimensional transportapproach. All economic, social and environmental

aspects must be considered and demands met in abalanced way, even as they continuously evolveover time and distance. This also requires a com-prehensive view of transport policies, as well as po-litical will and leadership. By focusing exclusively

8. Gaps and stumblingblocks in ITS deployment

3

Source: UNECE

Lukewarmpolitical will and limited

publicunderstanding

Lack of orlimited ITS

training

Lack of infrastructure

Questionof liability

Protectionof Private

data

Unresolvedfrequencyallocation

VMS notharmonized

Lack ofharmonized

policies

No commonlyagreed

definition

Differentspeed of thepublic and

privatesectors

Gaps andstumbling

blocks in ITSdeploymentInter-operability

Fragmentationof technicalstandards

on one aspect of sustainability, other dimensionsmay be worsened. Taking all effects into accountand realizing the importance of transport for all di-mensions of sustainable development can induceproperly designed policies5. It is critical to under-stand the benefits ITS can produce. Countries withhigh scores in the Global Innovation Index6 are usu-ally the high-income countries where ITS applicationis wide-spread. On the other hand, low income coun-tries struggling with basic infrastructure deliveryare delayed and further handicapped by lack of in-novations, as well as the limited or sporadic use ofITS. Therefore, it is important that ITS is no longertreated as a topic for “technical experts” only. Bothpoliticians and senior policy makers committed tothe sustainable development of their transport sec-tor and determined to assist their country to leapfrogin development, need to become familiar with strate-gic values of ITS solutions.In regards to transport, infrastructure developmentgets the most political attention. The reality, how-ever, is that transport funds are scarce and priori-tization is needed, as well as quick win solutionsthat cost the least and ideally produce the largest

returns. Effective prioritization requires soundknowledge about the impact of projects. The benefits and challenges of Intelligent

Transport Systems must also be understood by

the broader public in order to achieve a bal-

anced culture of innovation. This must be ac-companied by an enabling legal environment, com-bined with far-reaching strategies that couldsupport solutions on a political level. Cost-benefit assessment methodologies. Referringto cost-benefit analyses, much information is avail-able through the International Benefits, Evaluationand Costs (IBEC) Working Group7 of the UK andthe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) of North America. It is evident that moreknowledge in this area is needed and that cost-benefit analyses will have a major impact on thefuture of sustainable transport planning. Appraisalmethodologies for projects with ITS components,however, are relatively limited, despite being es-sential tools both for prioritization and for con-vincing policy options. Such methodologies wouldbe of special interest for Governments and policy-makers.

ITS for sustainable mobility

(5) UNECE Study: Transport for sustainable development in the UNECE region, 2011(6) See the Global Innovation Index INSEAD, as well as the Global Innovation Index by the Boston Consulting Group(7) See: http://www.ibec-its.co.uk

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8.2 Protection of private data

In many countries, privacy and security concernsare real or latent barriers to ITS deployment.All participants must have confidence that data

about their travel is kept safe from corruption, ac-cess to that data is suitably controlled, and in caseof abuse - e.g. in the form of “over-charging” for theuse of infrastructure - there is a reliable system toremedy the situation. Data security can be achievedthrough new, targeted legislation. New institutionsmay even be warranted. But above all, it is confi-dence that is required. The public’s confidence inboth society and the country’s general political sys-tem are pre-conditions for overall confidence indata security of ITS applications. The transportcommunity has the responsibility to share informa-tion about best practices in data security within thesector. However, political support and the role ofthe politicians are far from negligible. The protection of private data and securing thehighest security and reliability of ITS applications

is of major importance. It could be a potential showstopper because of potential high profile losses ofsupposedly secure data. The risk of identity theftfrom personal data loss has the potential for re-stricting the implementation of ITS. This is an areaalready under consideration by the European Com-mission as part of the ITS Directive and ITS ActionPlan. However, not much has happened at a pan-European level and even less at a global level.Regulations are required to also improve the humaninteraction with many in-vehicle information sys-tems. The rise in the use of smart phones as thedelivery and communications platform of choicepromotes even more unsafe driving practices, sincenomadic navigation devices are widely used with-out regulation or restriction. Given the fact thatsmart phones are also outside the attention of au-tomotive ergonomic experts, we can see new safetychallenges, e.g. through driver distraction, whichcould lead to road traffic crashes.

One of the biggest challenges is the differencebetween the speed of innovation andchanges in the public and private sectors.

While it is natural that the private sector leads theway in technological innovations, particularly inITS, the growing divide between the public and pri-vate sectors is becoming a serious stumbling blockfor future ITS deployment. The first issue is that roads and highways are usu-ally managed as part of the public sector. Virtuallyall countries suffer from under-investment to vari-ous degrees and in most middle-income countriesand in almost all low-income countries there is ahuge maintenance backlog. Given these burdens,it is understandable that ITS is not the top issue ontheir priority list. Further handicaps, such as non-competitive salaries and remuneration for staff canadd to de-motivation, bureaucratic delays and aver-sion to risk, which further impedes innovation. Luckily, even against this institutional backdrop,we have seen a growing number of best practices,especially in urban areas where public adminis-trations have demonstrated support for ITS appli-cations. We also see that one such best practicedovetails many more new experiments in intro-ducing ITS solutions. Nonetheless, the infrastruc-ture sector at large continues to lag behind whatis actually feasible through ITS, due to its very na-ture. At the same time, many ITS solutions requirecommunication not only between the vehicles, butalso between the infrastructure and the vehicles.Therefore, it is time to revisit the institutional de-velopment scenarios for road and highway man-agement and consider ways to improve their adap-tive and innovation capacity.Secondly, there are several concrete examplesdemonstrating that, at times, the automotive tech-nology offers more than what consumers can usedue to the lack of supporting services from the pub-lic sector. For example, consider the case of ECall.

ECall has been heralded as an innovative way todramatically improve road traffic safety. While theoverall aim is to prevent road traffic crashes, it isalso important to mitigate their impact, once theyhappen. How quickly an ambulance can be de-ployed and the effectiveness of the emergency med-ical service’s response is critical following a seriousaccident. The in-vehicle system can already be in-stalled. However, it is not enough to have vehicleswith this automatic calling device. The calls mustbe received, processed and the emergency servicesmust be mobilized. In other words, a whole set ofinstitutional and legislative steps have to be taken.In this regard, we could commend the bell-raisinginitiative of the European Commission with its rec-ommendation for ECall in September 2011. In thisrecommendation, it urges its member States to en-sure that the in-vehicle system is in place and de-signed to dial Europe’s single emergency number112 in case of a serious road traffic crash and com-municate the vehicle’s location to the emergencyservices. The Commission’s aim is for a fully functional ECallservice to be in place all over the European Union(as well as Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Switzer-land) by 2015. Once achieved, it will definitely marka huge step forward in mitigating the impact ofroad crashes. At the same time, it will not be aneasy task to launch the ECall system and ensureits smooth functioning. For this, many nitty-grittytechnical, institutional and financial details willhave to be worked out. To address privacy con-cerns, the ECall system does not allow the trackingof vehicles, so it ‘sleeps’ and does not send anysignals until it is activated by a crash. Currently,only 0.7 per cent of all passenger vehicles in theEU are equipped with automatic emergency callsystems, with numbers barely rising. These propri-etary systems do not offer EU-wide interoperabilityor continuity.

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8.3 Different speeds of the public and private sectors

Intelligent Transport Systems integrate informa-tion and communication technology betweenvehicles, transport infrastructure and the user.

But ITS is more than just technology. ITS is the“heartbeat” of future enhanced mobility, bringingin a new culture for doing business and new toolsthat will enable Governments to accomplish ob-jectives to build more sustainable, efficient andhigher quality transport services.Today, a clear, globally-shared definition of ITS ismissing. One of the latest opinions that emergedamong experts is that devices such as electronicstability control systems, anti-braking-systems,airbags and even lane departure warning systemscannot be considered ITS technologies but ratherIntelligent Vehicle Systems (IVS), because they areconfined to vehicles. ITS should be seen at the topof the technological hierarchy in an integrated ar-chitecture, able to channel the performances ofIVS and achieve the best results in terms of safetyand pollution reduction. See more definitions inthe following Box.

Information and Communication Technologies(ICT), which are often internationally referred toas ITS with regard to road transport, represent awide range of organizational and technology-basedsystems that are designed to facilitate the processof evolution toward more efficient and seamlesstransport systems with fewer bottlenecks, randomqueuing and optimized pathways. Some examplesof efficient ITS applications are road pricing, eco-driving or variable message signs. However, whatdoes ITS actually mean?Although it is widely shared among transport policythinkers that the future is inter-modal transport andthat ICT application is a general integrator of modes,what we see is that the different modes of transportdevelop their own ICT applications embedded indifferent technological and technical bases, namethem differently (e.g. river information systems, railtraffic management systems, ITS etc) and leave theirintermodal connections totally out of their horizon.This creates compatibility and inter-operability prob-lems not only within, but also across the modes.

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8.4 Lack of a commonly agreed definition for ITS

Different definitions for ITS

• Applying ICT to transport (EU).• To add ITC technology to transport infrastructure

and vehicles (Wikipedia).• A system that integrates information and

communication technology with transport infrastructure, vehicles and the user (ERTICO).

• A combination of Information Technology and telecommunications, allowing the provision of on-lineinformation in all areas of public and privateadministration (ITS United Kingdom).

• Utilizes synergistic technologies and systems engineering concepts to develop and improve transportation systems (Intelligent Transportation Systems Society).

• Includes telematics and all types of communications in vehicles, between vehicles, and between vehiclesand fixed locations / Not restricted to Road Transport(The European Telecommunications Standards Institute - ETSI).

• A system that capitalizes on leading-edge IT to support the comfortable and efficient transportation of people and goods. Its aim is to achieve a quantumleap (safety, efficiency, comfort) (ITS Japan).

• The application of advanced and emerging technologies (computers, sensors, control, communications, and electronic devices) in transportation to save lives, time, money, energyand the environment (ITS Canada).

Granted, ITS usage is very low compared toits potentials, there are already many dif-ferent applications around the world like

adaptive traffic management systems, traffic con-trol centers, variable message signs, radio commu-nication, the digital tachograph, advanced driverassist systems, toll charging and so on. However,systems in use across different parts of the worldremain incompatible and fragmented. This be-comes problematic since vehicles travel across re-gions and national borders and therefore interop-erability becomes essential not only within nationalfrontiers, but also across regional trade blocks andinternationally, at large. Road infrastructure is predominantly in the handsof public administrations, therefore, this part ofthe sector is largely not exposed to market con-ditions. As demonstrated ealier, it is not obligatoryto innovate and to apply ITS solutions to offer abetter service for road users. However, the trendto commercialize road management, especiallywith electronic pricing, is changing the game tode-monopolization. While this could lead to betterinformation, services and seamless transport, aparallel running and disconnected road manage-ment landscape would undermine the desired ben-efits of ITS. In the United States of America, theITS architecture was designed before beginningITS deployment. The US Federal Highway Admin-istration introduced a principle requiring any newservices developed and marketed to be compati-ble with the architecture. A different approachwas pursued by the European Union, which fo-cused on the facilitation of the ITS business as awhole. It is only recently that an architectural

framework at the EU-level is under discussion. Looking at the UNECE region, which includescountries in North America, Europe and CentralAsia, harmonization of ITS requirements is war-ranted across the borders, particularly in the con-text of the Euro-Asian transport linkages. Failingto do so would result in the promotion of ITS ap-plications without internationally agreed-upon stan-dards. This in fact could prove to be an obstacleto further development. It could also become a toolfor neo-protectionism. Therefore, perhaps thebiggest challenge today is to avoid the myriad ofincompatible applications. Many of us may recallthat in the early nineties the road transport industrycried out for improving the conditions at bordercrossings. At that time, long waiting times at theborders and the desperate attempt to raise politicalawareness gave birth to the slogan that the iron-curtain had been replaced by a paper-curtain. Sim-ilarly, unless there are standards and/or appropriateITS architecture, we are soon going to enter theage of the “electronic curtain”. The threat posedby a lack of inter-operability and compatibility inITS may be several times greater than the problemswe can see today in the railways where hundredsof technical issues have yet to be harmonized. The development of standards and agreements be-tween neighbouring countries on common archi-tecture are both difficult and time-consuming ex-ercises. While waiting for them, there is still ampletime for harmonizing ITS policies and for the ex-change of experiences and best practices, sincewe know that harmonization and regulation arekey to enabling interoperability in order to unleashthe potentials of ITS.

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8.5 Inter-operability continues to be an issue

Agrowing number of the UNECE memberStates are intensively developing and imple-menting innovative technologies in various

transport fields. Given that the design and industrialdevelopment cycle of innovative technologies isshorter than the policy cycle for such innovation,regulatory authorities should speed-up their effortsto maximise the potential offered by implementa-tion. Some of these efforts remain in the domainof national legislations thereby missing institutionalcoordination among other countries. Accordingly,this implies a lack of coordinated cost benefit analy-sis, which hampers the deployment of those inno-

vative solutions having the highest benefits for abroad community. Ultimately this results in addi-tional costs for customers.The use of ITS architecture, like in North Americaand Canada, is a strategic way to integrate ITStechnologies and bring key stakeholders together.It serves as a critical framework or tool to addressmany of the complex transportation challenges, in-cluding congestion and road fatalities. The use ofITS architecture should be seen as a planning tooland its benefits must be better understood. TheEuropean Union is taking its first steps in this di-rection through its ITS Directive8.

In spite of the significant work that has beendone so far to accommodate ITS related appli-cations in a common frequency band in several

regions around the world. Further discussions areneeded to reach global agreement under the aegisof the International Telecommunications Union. Inorder for ITS applications to have the widest pos-sible coverage, experts suggest a special frequency

band should used as a global platform, includingespecially a dedicated channel for safety-relatedapplications once these become available. Coun-tries/regions that have not yet agreed on which fre-quency band should be used for ITS applicationsare encouraged to harmonize towards 5.9 GHz.This seems to be the most feasible solution formost of the stakeholders.

ITS for sustainable mobility

(8) Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the framework for the deployment of intelligent TransportSystems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other modes of transport (OJ L 207, 6.8.2010)

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In the field of railways, the fragmentation oftechnical standards increases the cost of doingbusiness because potential economies of scale

in the manufacturing of rail vehicles and rail oper-ations cannot be fully captured. At this point wehave not yet seen the intermodal connections. Similarly, most nations still have their own uniqueautomotive safety and environmental regulations. Asa result of this regulatory diversity, a hot-selling carin one market simply cannot be sold in other markets;and a car certified as having met all regulations inthe United States cannot obtain approval for sale inother nations without incurring substantial additional

costs. Looking ahead, technical changes in the auto-motive industry will occur at a dizzying pace as a re-sult of consumer preferences for new vehicles (en-ergy efficient and safer) and stricter environmentalstandards, among other things (e.g. climate changemitigation). Manufacturers want to sell common plat-form vehicles globally, and will expect to do so effi-ciently (e.g. avoiding having to achieve compliancewith different standards or regulations market bymarket). A workable, inclusive process for estab-lishing standards must keep pace with the new tech-nologies that the industry’s emphasis on differenti-ating technology will most likely create.

8.6 Fragmentation of technical standards

8.7 Lack of harmonized policies

8.8 Frequency allocation

While driver assistance systems contributeto intelligent and efficient transport, as wellas cleaner and safer mobility, they also in-

troduce new questions. For example, if an assistancesystem fails and a crash occurs, who is legally liable?In many countries, the law clearly states that the li-ability of driving remains exclusively with the driver.Does the existence of such laws indicate we are al-ready operating on thin ice with driver assistancesystems that handle parts of the driver’s responsi-bilities? Further research and clarification also needsto be made with respect to international law. It appears there is the need to reflect technologicalchanges in legal instruments, such as the 1968 Vi-enna Convention9. For the time being it may bepremature to change the Vienna Convention, be-cause at this stage technology is not replacing thedriver, but rather assisting the driver. However, as

future driver assistance systems advance, more im-plications for liability will emerge with the morewidespread implementation of intelligent systems.This aspect strongly demonstrates the connectionbetween technology and society. With innovativetransport technologies we can achieve major break-throughs in road safety which will have a direct ef-fect on society. Therefore, the policy level - com-bining all relevant sectors and disciplines in agovernment - must find answers to many emergingissues, like for example the liability questions. Justimagine future driver assistance systems that au-tomatically stop the vehicle when approaching astop sign and their amazing impact on road safety.But also imagine the many implications that areconveyed with this intelligent system.Technology can increase safety, but who is liable ifit fails.

(9) The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety bystandardising the uniform traffic rules among the contracting parties. The Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals is an internationaltreaty designed to increase road safety and aid international road traffic by standardising the signing system for road traffic (road signs, trafficlights and road markings) in use internationally

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8.9 Question of Liability

Investment in infrastructure can introduce un-usually high returns because it increases peo-ple’s choices: of where to live and work, what

to consume, what sort of economic activities tocarry out, and which other people to communicatewith. Some parts of a country’s infrastructure maybe a natural monopoly, such as water pipes. Others,such as traffic lights, may be public goods. Somemay have a network effect, such as telephone ca-bles. Each of these factors has encouraged Gov-ernment provision of infrastructure.As an example, despite the increasing capabilitiesof electric vehicles, the lack of a cohesive recharg-ing network has continued to impede their accept-ance into the mass consumer market, creating a“chicken and egg” scenario. Electric vehicles at themoment do not have a long 'range' and a majoroverhaul of power supply infrastructure will be re-quired to make electric cars convenient for con-sumers. The effective implementation of unifiedrecharging networks and global harmonized initia-tives, coupled with the latest developments incharging technology, will make the transition tolow-carbon vehicles a reality. Likewise allocationof funding for fueling hydrogen powered-vehiclesand fuel cell technology should be provided.High-speed rail networks could provide a carbon-

friendly substitute to more traditional rail trafficand provided the added incentive of relieving roadtraffic. Yet railways are still highly concentratedon only a few networks and many of them need tobe electrified. Most railway traffic (freight and pas-senger) can be found on only six networks: NorthAmerica (freight oriented), China, India, Russia,Japan (passengers) and the European Union. Road operators have many decades of experiencein road management, so they definitely representa body that is to be on the front line when safetyis the issue at stake. Moreover, in the last 10-15years of ITS expansion, road operators have im-plemented a wide variety of technological ele-ments, contributing to the creation of “intelligentinfrastructures”. This allows road operators tohave constant real-time data on traffic and roadconditions. This data, processed and analysed invarious manners, proves to be fundamental fordetermining specific improvements for roadsafety from the infrastructural point of view. Inaddition, roads are constantly monitored throughITS tools that enhance the data and providetimely support in case of an incident.To improve the existing intelligent infrastructures,road operators are also looking at cooperative sys-tems to create communication capabilities that

8.10 Lack of infrastructure

would not only be from the infrastructure to thedrivers (e.g. VMS), but also from the drivers withinthe vehicle (vehicle/driver to infrastructure). Fur-ther communication capabilities will be neededconcerning refuelling/recharging facilities, secure

parking places, inter-modal connections, as wellas real-time information about potential delays etc.This would further enhance the way ITS con-tributes to safety, allowing seamless communica-tion between vehicles and the road operators.

ITS for sustainable mobility

(10) UN Regulation No. 83, Emission of pollutants according to engine fuel requirements, for passenger cars (vehicle category M1) and light dutyvehicles (vehicle category N1)UN Regulation No. 49, Emission of pollutants, for all other vehicle categoriesUN GTR No. 2, Measurement procedure for two-wheeled motorcycles equipped with a positive or compression ignition engine with regard to

the emission of gaseous pollutants, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption

UN GTR No. 4, Test procedure for compression-ignition (C.I.) engines and positive-ignition (P.I.) engines fuelled with natural gas (NG) or

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8.11 Lack of or limited ITS training

There is a lack of skills and training of labourin the transport sector. Limited cooperationand communication between science, uni-

versities, Governments and industry leads to un-necessary blockages and stagnation. These gapsneed to be overcome through holistic approachesand more engaged cooperation. Education is the key to innovation. Today’s worldhas demonstrated an extremely fast innovation

speed, and universities, science and Governmentsneed to provide the basis for education in innova-tion. At the same time, the public should be betterinvolved, for example, through campaigns such asthe eco-driving initiative. There is a need to inform the public on what thefuture of transport will look like in order to fosterthis new culture - to keep the public abreast, toplant understanding and to gain acceptance.

8.12 Non-harmonised Variable Message Signsdecrease safety on the roads

Road signs and signals are important elementsof traffic management, regulation, informa-tion and warning. Their harmonised use is

based on the 1968 UN Convention on Road Signsand Signals and the UN Convention on Traffic Signsand Signals. With new technologies, and particularlywith the development of ITS, advanced traffic man-agement systems increasingly use variable messagesigns (VMS), both to provide information and toadapt traffic management to actual demand. Similarly to conventional road signs and signals,VMS need to be understood by all road users whomay be locals and foreigners. In addition, thereneeds to be continuity and consistency in road op-erations from one country to another. Mobility im-plies timely and reliable communication of unex-pected hindrances, information about adverse

weather conditions and potential alternative routes.Therefore, the delivered message must be clear,universal and easily understood in an internationalcontext.Drivers receive information via variable messagesigns in cities and on motorways. Since technologyadvances much faster than public services and reg-ulations, it often happens today that the same mes-sage is communicated in different forms; or evenworse, conflicting messages could be communi-cated (such as one message instructing drivers toproceed ahead, while another message urges thedriver to exercise caution). These inconsistenciescould create distractions, raising the level of riskassociated with driving, resulting in more trafficaccidents. What can prevent these occurrences isan increased effort on international harmonization.

liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with regard to the emission of pollutants

UN GTR No. 5, Technical requirements for on-board diagnostic systems (OBD) for road vehicles(11) UN GTR No. 8, Electronic stability control

UN Regulation No. 13, Heavy vehicle breaking

UN Regulation No. 13 H, Brakes of M1 and N1 vehicles

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The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehi-cle Regulations (WP. 29) is a key player andhas a unique role in the development and

updating of worldwide harmonized regulations forthe construction of road vehicles and brings themto the level of technical progress. These regulationsare aimed at: (a) Protecting the environment. (b) Promoting energy efficiency. (c) Improving the safety of new vehicles. (d) Providing uniform conditions for the periodi-

cal technical inspections of vehicles in use.By developing performance requirements for in-novative vehicle technologies and conditions fortheir mutual recognition, the World Forum con-tributes to a rapid introduction of innovative vehi-cle technologies into the global market.The World Forum has adopted a number of Regula-tions to limit the emission of harmful pollutants (CO,HC, NOx and particulates). Thanks to on-board di-agnostic systems (OBD) in vehicles, real time datahelp in the rapid identification and remedial actions

for the vehicle during its whole life cycle. Timely up-dates of the relevant UNECE Regulations10 have re-sulted in 95-97 per cent lowering of the emission lim-its for CO, HC and NOx for new private passengercars, as compared to the limits established in the1970s. This means that the latest UNECE emissionlimits for these pollutants are more than 20 timeslower today than those established 40 years ago. UNECE promotes other intelligent technologies,such as tyre pressure monitoring systems and cruisecontrol, is involved in Regulations on “zero emissionvehicles” and in 2010 adopted the first internationalregulation on safety for fully electric and hybridcars. This landmark decision facilitates the earlyintroduction of safe and clean electric cars on roadsworldwide. UNECE has also made considerablecontributions to safer vehicles. Current researchshows that electronic stability control systems11

that have been incorporated in UNECE legal instru-ments since 2008 are a mature technology that couldhave the most significant life-saving potential sincethe advent of the seat belt.

9.1 In-vehicle

The main objective of the UNECE Trans-port Division is to facilitate the interna-tional movement of persons and goodsby inland transport modes. It aims to im-prove competitiveness, safety, energy ef-

ficiency and security in the transport sector. At thesame time, it focuses on measures to reduce the ad-verse effects of transport activities on the environ-ment and contributes effectively to sustainable de-velopment. For more than six decades, the UNECEInland Transport Committee (ITC) has provided amajor intergovernmental platform for cooperationto facilitate and develop international transportand improve its safety and environmental perform-ance. The main result of this critical work is re-flected in more than 50 international agreementsand conventions, which provide a legal frameworkfor the development of road, rail, inland water andintermodal transport, as well as dangerous goodstransport and vehicle construction. UNECE collaborates closely with other stakehold-ers, such as the European Commission, the Inter-

national Transport Forum, ITS Europe (ERTICO)and others with whom it shares a common goal toimprove transport efficiency and road safety. Already in 2003, the ITC felt that the use of ITS mightbecome an issue that could pose a major challengein the future, or possibly change the direction of itswork. This led to the organization of the first RoundTable on ITS under the aegis of the World Forum forHarmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) in 2004.This event represented the first step in the develop-ment of the UNECE strategy on legislative aspectsand practical implementation of ITS. While ITS is notexplicitly part of the Forum’s remit, ITS technologiesare increasingly considered in relevant areas. Exam-ples include on-board diagnostics, anti-lock brakingsystems, adaptive lighting and electronic control sys-tems among others. A number of other subsidiarybodies of the UNECE Inland Transport Committee(Working Parties, Expert Groups, etc.) have beenworking on different aspects of ITS implementation.A brief summary is given below just to highlight pastachievements and on-going activities.

9. UNECE’s support for ITS

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)represent important improvements in vehiclesafety. To optimize their potential, the World

Forum established an ITS Informal Group in 2002to consider the necessity of the regulatory frame-work of ADAS, which are becoming more commonin vehicles. Among those improvements is an ex-

change of data between vehicles through wirelesstechnology, vehicles with the “brake in case of emer-gency” feature, advanced cruise control systems,etc. These important new features aim to improveroad safety, mobility and efficiency of traffic. Thenew regulation on Advanced Emergency BrakingSystem is also expected to be adopted.

ITS for sustainable mobility

(12) The Digital Tachograph monitors the driving and rest periods of professional drivers engaged in international transport under the ContractingParties to the European Agreement Concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport (AETR) and relevant EURegulations

(13) AETR = European Agreement Concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles Engaged in International Road Transport

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9.2 Vehicle to vehicle

The development of provisions for ADAS, suchas lane departure warning systems, are ex-pected to be finalized in the form of new UN-

ECE Regulation. Impact assessments made by theEuropean Union show that the mandatory introduc-tion of these devices could save around 5,000 lives

and prevent 35,000 serious injuries per year acrossits 27 member States. Furthermore, many other ITSsystems for vehicles, such as cruise-control, on-boarddiagnostics, adaptive front-lighting system and cor-nering lamps have already been introduced in vehicleregulations developed by the World Forum.

9.3 Vehicle to infrastructure

UNECE is also promoting the use of ITSthrough its Working Party on Road TrafficSafety (WP.1), which develops and harmo-

nizes traffic regulations and rules for road signsand signals.UNECE is determined to be a frontrunner for in-novative policies to ensure road safety and sus-tainability in all aspects. In the context of offeringbest practices and solutions for a safe and seamlessmobility, the UNECE Working Parties are mandatedto seek multiple synergies to maximize the benefitsof legal instruments. The UNECE Road Safety Fo-rum (WP.1) has established an informal group ofexperts on Variable Message Signs to ensure theharmonization process is accelerated. It works withthe expert group of the pan–European project Easy-way, whose studies and operative deployment of

VMS have paved the way for potentially updatingthe relevant legal instruments, the Vienna Conven-tions or alternatively, making amendments to theConsolidated Resolution on Road Signs and Signals(RE.2). The Expert Group works on the definition,use and operative criteria to harmonize and setcommon standards to keep cohesion between theposted (non-variable) and electronic (variable)signs.The Working Party is also following and guidingthe introduction of the digital tachograph12 devicethat became mandatory for non-EU AETR13 Con-tracting Parties, i.e. at the pan-European level, in2010. The sole aim of the tachograph is to improvethe working conditions of the driver and enhanceroad safety through better enforcement of drivingand rest periods.

9.4 Road Safety and Road Transport

In the area of transport of dangerous goods, UN-ECE has started to consider how ITS applica-tions such as telematics could be used to facil-

itate transport of dangerous goods and improvesafety and security by using monitoring and track-ing systems linking consignors, transport operators,emergency responders, enforcement and controlauthorities and regulators. The objective is to determine which systems couldbe standardized for multimodal applications in thetransport of dangerous goods and to proposeamendments to the relevant legal instruments to

regulate the use of telematics and to require nec-essary equipment in transport units used for thecarriage of dangerous goods.A final document indicating how telematics couldbe used for the purpose of the implementation ofthe various requirements contained in the inlandtransport of dangerous goods was adopted in 2010.In further steps, experts will debate how informa-tion can be provided by telematics, decide on nec-essary parameters, procedures, responsibilities,control of access to data and interfaces; and carryout a cost/safety benefit analysis.

(14) UNECE White Paper on efficient and sustainable inland water transport in Europe (ECE/TRANS/SC.3/189), paras. , New York and Geneva2011, page 55-56

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9.5 Transport of Dangerous Goods

The Working Party on Intermodal Transportand Logistics (WP.24 and its predecessors)has provided a forum for the exchange of

technical, legal and policy information, best prac-tices in combined and intermodal transport at the

pan-European level since 1951. ITS is supposed tobe the general integrator of modes in addition tothe many other benefits it brings. Therefore, WP.24has dedicated the year of 2012 to ITS and to identi-fying areas of actions in its support.

9.6 Intermodal Transport

Inland water transport often offers superiorsafety, good reliability, low costs, energy effi-ciency, a smaller carbon footprint, low noise

levels, and low infrastructure costs. It also offersincreasingly more efficient opportunities for su-pervision through tracking and tracing systemsmade possible by the use of River Information Serv-ices (RIS) - an intelligent transport system for in-land water transport14.River Information Services represent a harmo-nized information service aimed at facilitating in-formation exchange between parties in inlandnavigation (boatmasters, lock/bridge operators,waterway authorities, terminal operators, opera-tors in emergency centres, fleet managers, cargoshippers, consignors, consignees, freight brokersand supply forwarders) using a variety of avail-able technological solutions (VHF radio, mobiledata communication services, Global navigationsatellite system, internet, etc.). This facilitatedexchange of traffic-related information con-tributes to the safety and efficiency of Interna-

tional Warehousing and Transport operations.To ensure the introduction of RIS services in a har-monized way at the pan-European level, UNECEResolution on “Guidelines and Recommendations

for River Information Services” sets up the princi-ples and general requirements for planning, imple-menting and operating RIS and related systems. TheGuidelines are revised regularly to take into accountthe progress in developing and implementing RISand information technologies in general. River In-formation Services Guidelines are used in conjunc-tion with other, more specialized UNECE resolutionson the different components of RIS, such as Elec-tronic Chart Display and Information System for In-land Navigation, Standard for Notices to Skippersand for Electronic Ship Reporting in Inland Naviga-tion, Guidelines and Criteria for Vessel Traffic Serv-ices on Inland Waterways and International Standardfor Tracking and Tracing on Inland Waterways usingthe Automatic Identification System.The UNECE “White Paper on efficient and sus-

tainable inland water transport in Europe” calls

9.7 Inland Water Transport

on Governments, river navigation commissions, in-ternational organisations and the inland navigationindustry to “promote the use of River Information

Service and other information communication

technologies (ICT)”, proposes a series of UNECEactions in this area, and encourages other uses ofICT for facilitating IWT operations and inspectionsof inland navigation vessels.

ITS for sustainable mobility

(15) United Nations Development Account (UNDA) project on the Development and implementation of a monitoring and assessment tool for CO2emissions in inland transport to facilitate climate change mitigation, see: http://unece.org/trans/theme_forfits.html

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9.8 Rail Transport

Interoperability of telecommunications in rail-way operations is important for all countries inthe pan-European region. In fact, it aims to im-

prove rail infrastructure and the efficiency of rail-way operations, thus ensuring that the railway sec-tor contributes to sustainable transport. Thenecessary harmonization efforts have taken placemainly in the countries of the European Union andthe European Free Trade Association.

However, the intelligent transport systems adoptedby the EU and EFTA countries are not interoperablein the entire UNECE region. In other words, the ITSstandards for rail operations in non-EU sub-regions(mainly Eastern Europe and Central Asia) are notdirectly compatible with the EU Rail Traffic Man-agement System (ERTMS). The role of the UNECEis to further assist and promote full harmonizationof this system at a Pan-European level and beyond.

9.9 Trans-European Railway and Trans-EuropeanMotorway projects

The UNECE Trans-European North-South Mo-torway (TEM) and Trans-European Railway(TER) Projects have been addressing differ-

ent aspects of information technologies in roadand rail sector for many years. The TEM Project inparticular targeted mostly the relevant aspects re-lated to motorway infrastructure, namely at elec-tronic toll collection and variable message signs.

The new Revised TEM and TER Master Plan pub-lished in 2011 summarizes the present level reachedin ITS applications in rail and road transport, expe-rience gained by the individual countries, as well astheir expected future developments. Both Projectsintend to address the ITS-related matters in a cross-sectoral way and link their work “on the ground”with activities of the relevant Working Parties.

9.10 The ForFITs Project

TThe recently launched project on climatechange and transport15 is a joint project of allfive UN Regional Commissions, with the UN-

ECE as the lead agency. The goal is to develop andimplement a monitoring and assessment tool forCO2 emissions in inland transport to facilitate cli-mate change mitigation. The outcome of the projectwill provide a robust framework for analyzing dif-

ferent scenarios and will propose transport policydirections and strategies to achieve more sustainabletransport systems. It remains to be seen how ITSwill be addressed in this global project, however itis already clear that it may be featured as ITS tohelp measure the traffic induced CO2, and as ITSthat improves the fluidity and efficiency of transportand as such contributes to CO2 reduction.

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TInnovative solutions could bring uscloser to achieving road safety and en-vironmental policy objectives in thecoming years. This makes ITS solutionsan integral part of the range of possible

measures. In the future, innovative vehicle tech-nology will play an increasingly major role, prima-rily because the need for mobility will continue toincrease. Aside from the possible effects and publicsupport, the cost-benefit ratio has to be taken intoaccount. In this context, due attention has to bepaid to the fact that technical solutions sometimeshave unwelcomed side effects, like distracting thedriver, or encouraging inappropriate behaviour.Some techniques also have the potential to beabused.There are major benefits from using integratedstrategies in transport policies to address, for ex-ample, air pollutions, climate change, and sustain-able energy consumption. Air pollution and GreenHouse Gas emissions are often emitted from thesame source. More scientific and technical effortsneed to be directed to this area of work, and Gov-ernment policies need to take into account the ben-efits of integration. Countries have to think moreglobally in their approaches to air pollution andclimate change. There is more recognition of theglobal movement of air pollution and the need toimprove interregional collaboration. Sharing infor-mation and knowledge between regions will be thekey to future success and could achieve a greatdeal in cutting Green House Gas and air pollutionemissions globally.

Embedded in the United Nations Millennium De-velopment Goals and the Ministerial Declarationon global environment and energy in transport,technological innovation will be one instrumentwithin UNECE for reaching the common objectiveof clean and safe roads.Future challenges for innovation in transport shouldbe solved on a global scale and in a harmonizedway. A strong commitment from Governments, ex-tensive collaboration between the public and privatesectors, and increased financing for ITS is crucialfor developing smart solutions in this area. It is im-portant to reach a consolidated approach and avoidfragmented efforts of different parties. In the future, the transport sector will continue toface challenges such as a high number of roadcrashes and continuous increases in the consump-tion of fossil fuels with related CO2 emissions,which will result in increased air pollution. Con-gestion levels might also increase due to a contin-uing rise in demand for road transport. Inadequateand sub-standard infrastructure, particularly in low-income countries will continue to be additionalconcern.Applied intelligently, innovative technologies can:(a) Save lives.(b) Save time and money. (c) Reduce threats to our environment. (d) Create new business opportunities. Innovative technologies are widely accepted as theway forward for achieving the goal of sustainablemobility, while at the same time improving the qual-ity of life.

10. What’s next?

ITS for sustainable mobility100

[1] Arutz Sheva. Israel National News. Israel’s Green Machine gears up for 2010. 21st January 2010.

[2] Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT). I2V - Intermodality and In-teroperability of Transport Systems, 2009.

[3] BBC News, Bolivia holds key to electric car future, 9th November 2008.

[4] Practice and deployment of variable message signs (VMS) in Viking countries - potential for harmonisation,Finnish Road Administration, Pirkko Rämä, Anna Schirokoff, Juha Luoma

[5] Conference of European Directors of Road, CEDR, Task Group O9, VMS Harmonisation in Europe, 2009

[6] DPA, Sarkozy wants La Reunion to be “laboratory” for electric cars, 19th January2010.

[7] D. Engwicht, Intrigue and uncertainty, p. 6.

[8] Die Zeit, Intelligenz ans Steuer, 14th June 2007.

[9] European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), Facts and Figures, 2010.

[10] European Commission, Keep Europe moving - sustainable mobility for our continent, COM/2006/0314final, 2006.

[11] European Commission, A sustainable future for transport - Towards an integrated, technology-led anduser-friendly system, COM 2009/279, 2009.

[12] European Commission, ITS Action Plan, COM 2008/886, 2008.

[13] European Environment Agency (EEA), www.eea.europa.eu/publications/transport-at-crossroads, 2009.

[14] Eva Molnar, The knowing-doing gap, UNECE report, 2009.

[15] Eva Molnar, Becoming wise about ITS, in: Intelligent Transport 2008.

[16] International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook: Slowing Growth, Rising Risks, September 2011.

[17] Jack Short, Policy-Led Technological Developments, ERTICO-ITS Europe General Assembly, June 2009.

[18] Marc Green & John Senders PHD, Human Error in Road Accidents.

[19] New York Times, In Bolivia untapped bounty meets nationalism, article published 3rd February 2009.

[20] Transport & Environment, Bulletin No. 182, October 2009.

[21] Umweltbundesamt, Various Articles, studies and report, www.umweltbundesamt.de/verkehr-e/index.

[22] UNECE, ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2010/45, 2009.

[23] UNECE, Transport of dangerous Goods, www.unece.org/trans/danger, 2009.

[24] UNECE, Transport and Energy - the Challenge of Climate Change, International Transport Forum, 2008.

[25] UNECE, Project: Improving Global Road Safety - Setting regional and national road traffic casualty reductiontargets, 2008.

[26] World Bank, ITS Technical Note For Developing Countries.

References

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Ministero delle Infrastrutturee dei Trasporti

United NationsEconomic Commission for Europe