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ITS and Public Transport

Posted: 7 December 2007 | Ivar Christiansen, Director of ITS Norway | No comments yet

The transport challenges facing many Norwegians are similar to those confronting citizens of other countries. Queues and chaos on the road network result in health problems, accidents and substantial economic losses. There is a growing acceptance in the larger city areas that these problems cannot be solved by merely extending the road infrastructure. Also, the emerging policies to fight the greenhouse effect will have to include rather strict measures in the transport domain. We have to find ways to end the growth of private car usage and to stimulate greener attitudes and behaviour. The focus must be on public transport.

The transport challenges facing many Norwegians are similar to those confronting citizens of other countries. Queues and chaos on the road network result in health problems, accidents and substantial economic losses. There is a growing acceptance in the larger city areas that these problems cannot be solved by merely extending the road infrastructure. Also, the emerging policies to fight the greenhouse effect will have to include rather strict measures in the transport domain. We have to find ways to end the growth of private car usage and to stimulate greener attitudes and behaviour. The focus must be on public transport.

The transport challenges facing many Norwegians are similar to those confronting citizens of other countries. Queues and chaos on the road network result in health problems, accidents and substantial economic losses. There is a growing acceptance in the larger city areas that these problems cannot be solved by merely extending the road infrastructure. Also, the emerging policies to fight the greenhouse effect will have to include rather strict measures in the transport domain. We have to find ways to end the growth of private car usage and to stimulate greener attitudes and behaviour. The focus must be on public transport.

Essentially, we need to increase capacity, attractiveness and efficiency. Working for better public transport is a core element in the activities we run in ITS Norway, but it is not our only objective. As with other ITS national organisations, ITS Norway is a network for both public and private entities from government, industry and research. We have three fundamental principles for our promotion of ITS as a tool for a modern transport policy:

  • Multimodality: ITS must be included in all transport modes and serve co-modality
  • Interoperability: ITS must offer continuity in quality of service and re-use of information
  • Strategy: New systems and services, both public and commercial, should be deployed as part of a clear strategy in order to achieve a synergy of effects

ITS Norway is organised as a non-profit association, financed primarily by membership fees. We were formally started in 2004 and our nine founding members have guaranteed the first years of operation by paying double fees. Together they represent all the main transport modes; road, rail, sea and air. Today ITS Norway has close to 70 member companies from all parts of the transport domain and many suppliers of ICT systems for the ITS market.

We work closely with The Ministry for Transport and Communications and the transport authorities, and we promote ITS as the most efficient tool to reach transport policy goals, like safe and sustainable mobility. ITS is gradually receiving more attention and priority in our National Transport Plan which is revised and updated by the National Parliament every four years.

Close to ten different interest groups represent the inner life of our network and they constantly produce added value. It may be new ideas for research, business cases for new products, or new alliances for a strengthened network. ITS Norway co-operates with The Research Council of Norway and contributes to a high profile of ITS in national programmes and participation in European research programmes.

Our national ITS Conference is established as the annual meeting place for the network. The challenge in this conference as well as many other workshops and seminars we run is of course to pay equal attention to all transport modes. ITS is constantly growing more multimodal and this is supported by European transport policy; but we have a long way to go before the road sector domination in ITS will be challenged by rail and maritime transport.

Multimodality, inter-operability and strategy

To stimulate the development and deployment of ITS in line with our three main principles, we initiate and take part in technical standardisation and international harmonisation of ITS. We also promote mechanisms for information exchange and inter-operability across transport modes. Public transport and intermodal transport chains for cargo can increase their attractiveness through advanced information and management systems. A backbone for our multimodal ITS network is the national framework architecture. This framework, named ARKTRANS, is information and communication technology (ICT) architecture for the transport sector and the result of a comprehensive research initiative devoted to an in-depth examination of the roles and functions of all transport modes (road, rail, air and sea). It is responsibility centred and therefore adaptable to different business models, organisational structures and choice of technologies.

ITS Norway is in close co-operation with the transport authorities and has contributed to a hierarchy of ITS strategies. We act as secretariat for the initiative to establish concrete co-operation projects across the different transport modes. This work is supported by a joint co-operation plan and based on the national strategy for ITS. Currently this is followed by an ITS strategy and action plan in each of the transport administrations. This will safeguard that new ITS services are deployed in a harmonised and synergetic way in order to achieve maximum effects related to community goals.

Research and development

There is an extensive demand for research. More small and medium business (SMB) companies and research institutes should participate more actively in ITS inside international programmes, with a focus on EU’s 7th Framework Programme. Parallel national efforts give larger knowledge benefits, a focus on national conditions, and can invite a wider participation from industry. ITS Norway sees the need for research on cost and benefits, effects and impacts, personal security, legal questions and social impacts, as well as technological and commercial aspects.

Norwegian industry, research and public agencies have considerable expertise in technical core areas. Our aim is to develop this expertise further to take a leading edge for ITS on a global level. The building up of experience and references from projects will benefit the industry and research establishments. Public support, clusters of competence and strategic alliances are needed to help small and medium sized companies get started.

Development of international standards for technology and services are a pre-requisite for development and market growth. Norway wishes to be a forerunner for development and testing of new solutions. We offer advanced electronic infrastructure and experience from a variety of international ITS projects well suited for tests and pilots. Norway has a tradition for innovative transport solutions as well as for development of technological products in several market niches that give us a leading edge.

Recruiting expertise with relevant education is needed to exploit the transport and commercial potentials given by the technological advances in the ITS domain. This is attractive for young people seeking education and employment. Master and research fellowship programmes will have to be more easily available and professional courses need to be developed. To achieve the relevant basic education for ITS, we must start by combining traditional faculties.

Public Transport needs ITS

In most city areas today public transport (PT) is not doing the job. The general picture is low capacity, lack of accurate information and unacceptable comfort levels for the users. The queues and delays of road traffic affect public transport negatively and make this a vicious circle where people choose their private car. This circle must be broken. The remedy is not one-dimensional, but a combination of several measures where ITS delivers the necessary tools:

  • Upgrading public transport with capacity, efficiency, reliability and comfort
  • Combining ‘carrot and whip’ measures to reduce car usage
  • Better information services to make public transport attractive and easy to use
  • New ITS services to stimulate park and ride, high vehicle occupancy and other smart solutions
  • Traffic management to achieve optimal use of available infrastructures for both passenger and freight transport

We know from both research and full scale implementations that congestion pricing works. Combined with efficient public transport, it shows a very positive effect on the modal split while the negative social effects are negligible. Congestion pricing has been on the political agenda in many countries for years, but with a few exceptions it is not implemented; despite its potential. This is even the case in a country like Norway where both the electronic infrastructure and the legal basis is available. The potential benefits are also in focus and it could be implemented easily in existing city toll rings by making the fees time dependant; but even this is too sensitive for most politicians. Let us hope that the matter matures and that the general public and politicians overcome their fear for this effective measure.

In the ITS community, we aim for the totally informed transport user. Although we already have reasonably good web sites for travel planning and advanced systems bringing accurate dynamic information to bus stops and terminals, there is a long way to go before the goal is reached. New information systems are needed to bring accurate and relevant information to the user where he or she is on a suitable medium and related to their specific travel need.

Electronic ticketing has reached a high level of coverage and sophistication, but more inter-operability is needed. With a few exceptions, there is very little national and regional inter-operability. This is of course not only a technical and contractual challenge, but mostly rooted in organisational and administrative aspects. We would also like to see integrated payment systems for transport where a smartcard can hold several applications including an electronic purse or a pointer to your own central transport account to be used for parking, road pricing, and car-sharing. It could also support price incentives for smart and green travel.

Electronic Fee Collection

Payment systems in public transport may have things to learn from the development of inter-operability for electronic fee collection (EFC) in Europe. Although we still have to wait some years for the European Electronic Tolling Service (EETS), much has been achieved in the domain of road tolling. This is the result of many combined actions; a clear policy from EU, dedicated research activity, standardisation and international co-operation.

AutoPASS is the Norwegian national electronic tolling service based on the CEN DSRC standards. It was developed by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) into an advanced service with full national inter-operability which includes more than 23 toll operators and 1.3 million daily users. Norway has secured open competition on the system and the equipment through an open specification based on international standards. This specification is owned and controlled by the NPRA. This approach – which is important for future flexibility, development and competition – should be standard in all procurement processes for public ITS systems.

AutoPASS has user friendly services for payment of tolls and several other services use the same infrastructure. This is also a result of the public specification. At the moment, AutoPASS is used for measuring travel times, payment on car ferries and park and ride services. It also has technical links to public transport ticketing. This fact represents a potential for future solutions and integration. The AutoPASS system is a cost-effective tool and a very useful public infrastructure for ITS.

EasyGo is the new cross-border inter-operability in Scandinavia. It has been in full scale operation since early 2007 and was developed through a three country co-operation project. The technical, procedural and contractual frameworks are based on results from European projects, including CESARE I-III and on the Autopass inter-operability. The service offers full inter-operability to all customers with a tolling contract and an electronic tag in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The experience from this pioneer implementation project is now brought into the work to define the coming European Electronic Tolling Service (EETS).

The MultiRIT project

To develop and test new functionality for travel planning and public transport information dissemination, ITS Norway is engaged in a national research and development project called MultiRIT (Multimodal Travel Information Services). The project will produce input for the Ministry of Transport in their process to decide concept and business models for a new multimodal travel planner for Norway. The projects focus on the needs of the transport user and how he will be informed on time tables and known deviations during the planning of the travel, as well as on unforeseen developments occurring during the journey, in which case he may be presented with alternative routing or connections.

To ensure that the transport user remains updated throughout the travel, it is necessary to develop applications for different mobile information devices. Solutions involve direct messaging to the user’s mobile telephone, or indirect messaging via monitors on trains, buses and ferries. In both direct and indirect messaging, the information provided will be specifically relevant to the individuals it is intended for.

The project has three main objectives:

  • Develop an architecture built on ARKTRANS allowing for new and improved multimodal travel information services
  • Develop pilots to test and demonstrate new and better travel information services. These pilots will encompass scheduled and non-scheduled travel by air, sea, road and rail
  • Establish a professional network and knowledge base on multimodal travel information contributing to the development of architecture and pilots. The network is to be composed of transport users and developers, suppliers and providers of travel information services.

Personal integrity and data privacy

ITS raises important issues relating to the individual’s right to privacy, since electronic services often involve the registration of personal data and storage of electronic footprints. Improving safety, traffic flow and environmental quality in the transport system will require surveillance, control and traffic management measures that will not always be compatible with total freedom of the individual. It is important to protect personal data from unauthorised access and misuse, and in many cases it is necessary to protect full anonymity. Such measures are now brought into the development of new services right from the start in order to incorporate all the conflicting aspects; privacy, other consumer rights and the need for reliable data and statistics. The Norwegian Data Inspectorate is open to suggestions at all stages of the development to secure their principles without reducing the functionality of a new system.

Conclusion

Based on a general impression from the European research portfolio and from many ITS congresses, the current ITS activity is almost completely related to road traffic management and vehicle-based systems. We need a rapid shift in this in order to meet the challenges we face in large cities and the new requirements needed to fight the contribution from transport, to climate change. We have to focus more on public transport efficiency and its competitiveness towards private cars. And we need to define ITS into a broader and multimodal context. This puts a stronger emphasis on generic frameworks and standards for architecture and information exchange, as well as on a well-defined and ambitious transport policy that gives priority to public transport and ITS.