PURPOSE: to adopt a European strategy on Cooperative
Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), a milestone towards
cooperative, connected and automated mobility.
BACKGROUND: in the very near future, vehicles will
interact directly with each other and with the road infrastructure.
This interaction is the domain of Cooperative Intelligent Transport
Systems (C-ITS).
Communication between vehicles, infrastructure and
with other road users is crucial also to increase the safety of
automated vehicles. Digital technologies help reduce human
error, by far the greatest source of accidents in transport. It
is expected to significantly improve road safety, traffic
efficiency and comfort of driving, by helping the driver to take
the right decisions and adapt to the traffic situation.
They can also create a truly multimodal transport
system integrating all modes of transport into one mobility
service, allowing people and cargo to travel smoothly from door to
door. And they can spur social innovation through new forms of
value creation such as the collaborative economy.
The steady trend in improving road safety that the EU
has seen over the last decade has slowed down. The coordinated
and rapid deployment of cooperative, connected and automated
vehicles in road transport urgently requires EU
action.
The market potential of cooperative, connected and
automated driving is estimated to be worth dozens of billions of
euro annually and to lead to the creation of many new jobs. The
strategy therefore delivers on the Commission's political
priorities, notably its Agenda for Jobs, Growth and Investment, the
Digital
Single Market and the Energy
Union.
In the Declaration of Amsterdam in April 2016,
European transport ministers urged the European Commission to
develop a European strategy on cooperative, connected and automated
vehicles.
CONTENT: the objective of the European strategy
on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems is to allow for a
wide-scale commercial deployment of C-ITS as of 2019 in
order to avoid a fragmented internal market in the field of C-ITS
and create synergies between different initiatives. It addresses
the most critical issues, including cyber-security and data
protection and interoperability and recommends action at different
levels to meet the 2019 target date:
(1) Definition of common priorities: this Communication sets priorities for a coordinated
deployment of CITS services by Member States and industry. The
Commission considers that a list of technologically-mature and
highly-beneficial C-ITS services should be deployed quickly so
that end-users and society at large can benefit from them as soon
as possible. This early deployment list is defined below as the Day
1 C-ITS services list (hazardous location notifications and signage
applications). The Commission will support Member States and
industry in deploying Day 1 C-ITS services, notably through the
Connecting Europe Facility, European Structural and Investment
Funds and the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
In a second phase, the Day 1.5 C-ITS services list
would be deployed.
(2) Security communications: as the transport system becomes more and more
digitised, it may also become more vulnerable to hacking and
cyber-attacks. The Commission seeks to develop a common security
and certificate policy for deployment and operation of C-ITS in
Europe. It will publish guidance regarding the European CITS
security and certificate policy in 2017.
(3) Data protection:
data broadcast by C-ITS from vehicles will, in principle, qualify
as personal data as it will relate to an identified or
identifiable natural person. The implementation of C-ITS therefore
requires compliance with the applicable data protection legal
framework.
C-ITS service providers should offer transparent terms
and conditions to end-users, using clear and plain language in an
intelligible way and in easily accessible forms, enabling them to
give their consent for the processing of their personal
data.
(4) Communication technologies and
frequencies: drivers expect to
receive all information on traffic and safety conditions seamlessly
across Europe. The Commission considered that this can only be
achieved through a hybrid communication approach combining
complementary and available communication technologies.
To support all C-ITS services on the vehicle side, the
full hybrid communication mix needs to be on-board. Currently, the
most promising hybrid communication mix is a combination of WiFi
based short range communication and existing cellular
networks.
(5) Interoperability at all levels: C-ITS deployment initiatives within the EU should
define and publish the technical C-ITS communication profiles
needed to ensure the interoperability of Day 1 C-ITS services. They
should also develop test procedures to check the interoperability
of these profiles. The Commission will make full use of the C-Roads
platform as the coordination mechanism for C-ITS deployment at
operational level.
(6) Develop the right legal framework: rapid technological developments and the complexity
of the issues at stake mean the right legal framework is needed.
The Commission believes this framework needs to be developed
through learning by experience, using feedback from and interaction
between the C-ITS deployment initiatives and the C-ITS
Platform.
As a result of this process, and in close cooperation
with all stakeholders, the Commission will consider using the ITS
Directive 2010/40/EU. Other legal instruments might also be
considered, e.g. for compliance assessment processes.
(7) International cooperation: the EU has already benefitted from cooperation with
Australia, Japan, Singapore and the US in areas such as research,
security and harmonisation of standards.
The Commission will continue promoting the
convergence and coordination of C-ITS development and
deployment activities in cooperation with international partners
and initiatives.
In conclusion, the Commission calls upon all parties
concerned, and in particular Member States and industry, to support
the approach presented in this Communication, and collaborate at
all levels and across sectors to start deploying cooperative
intelligent transport systems successfully in 2019.