Danish strategy for ITS THE NATIONAL ITS BOARD MARCH 2011

Danish strategy for ITS THE NATIONAL ITS BOARD MARCH 2011

Introduction Traffic has increased dramatically in recent years. In the last 30 years the volume of traffic has doubled on the main roads leading to increased congestion on the road network, which means delays for people and goods, increased transportation costs and reduced efficiency. The Danish transport policy is therefore facing increasing challenges to ensure and maintain good mobility. In the agreements between the main political parties on sustainable transport policy ITS is identified as an important tool. Up to 2014 a total of 600 million DKK has been set aside for ITS projects. The national ITS Board has been appointed to ensure a focused approach and the Board has now formulated a cohesive ITS strategy for Denmark. This pamphlet sets out the background for the strategy and presents its recommendations. What is ITS? ITS is an acronym for Intelligent Transport Systems, and is generally defined as any IT based system used in vehicles, in transport infrastructure, to facilitate centralised management of traffic or to provide information to motorists and users of public transport from a centralised service. Focus of the strategy The strategy focuses on ITS in relation to road transport, i.e. cars, lorries and public transport on the roads. It also involves the interaction and integration with other modes of transport rail, sea and air traffic. This interaction is crucial for ensuring optimum use of the transport system across all modes of transport and therefore the transport system can be experienced as an integrated system.

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ANBEFALING4: Flere data om trafikken Et stærkt udbygget datagrundlag er en afgørende forudsætning for anvendelsen af ITS fremover. Der skal derfor foretages en markant udbygning af realtidsinformation om trafikken såvel vejtrafik som den kollektive trafik. Information om vejtrafikken skal bl.a udbygges ved, at bilisterne leverer anonyme oplysninger om rejsetider fra GPS er og Bluetooth enheder. Realtidsdata om den kollektive trafik indsamles også med GPS og stilles til rådighed for de rejsende gennem rejseplanen. Data om vejene og om cykelfaciliteterne skal opsamles og vedligeholdes på tværs af vejmyndigheder. Mulighederne for at samle digitale data om godstransportmønstre skal analyseres. Der skal ligeledes snarest muligt etableres en samlet systemarkitektur for ITS i Danmark, således at systemerne fremover kan spille sammen som en del af et fælles, overordnet system, så teknologiske øer undgås. Parallelt hermed er der behov for at udarbejde fælles standarder inden for rammerne af EU-reguleringen på en række kritiske områder.

What can ITS offer? In the future ITS may become an important tool in transport policy. ITS can provide faster, safer and more environmental friendly transport at lower costs leading to more mobility for your money. ITS will help bring about better use of existing infrastructure with reduced congestion and environmental impact and will therefore postpone the need to invest in infrastructure. ITS can give motorists and users of public transport a better overview of the transport network and supports the coordination between public and private transport. Furthermore ITS can improve road safety and help make freight transport more efficient. Therefore ITS can be an important and economically effective complement to investments in infrastructure and other initiatives to develop the transport system. Furthermore, increased investment in ITS can help promote competitiveness and productivity in the transport industry and in Danish companies. Increased investment in ITS also offers potential for industrial growth in the domains of new ITS services and software. Impacts of ITS The Danish Infrastructure Commission has stated that active use of ITS can help ensure smooth and effective use of the road network. Transport capacity can be increased by 5-10 % Road safety can be improved by reducing the number of accidents by 25-30 % The vision for ITS in Denmark ITS is a key instrument used in the transport sector to promote an effective, safe and sustainable transport system which, by giving people and companies a high level of mobility, helps promote welfare, improve productivity and competitiveness and supports economic growth. 5

The current status of ITS in Denmark A large number of ITS systems have already been implemented in Denmark. However, the systems only cover a small part of the transport system and only provide a limited part of the service, control and management of traffic from which motorists and users of public transport could potentially benefit. For ex -ample, the database used for traffic information and traffic management now covers only a very limited portion of the road network. The ever increasing traffic problems on the roads and the rapid development in ITS offer the prospect of completely new ways of using ITS to solve traffic-related challenges creating favourable conditions for economic growth and development that will benefit society. Widespread use of ITS means that the transport system will become significantly more efficient and services for road users and users of public transport will be fundamentally improved. The national ITS Board recommends that investment in ITS should be increased over a number of years. Ongoing implementation of ITS in Denmark will provide a basis for development in the area, but a number of obvious solutions are still to be implemented. From a European perspective the use of ITS in Denmark is relatively limited. A comparison of investment in ITS in a number of European countries from 2007 2009 shows that Denmark is lagging behind countries with which we normally compare ourselves. Therefor there is a need for a focused and concerted effort in the coming years to ensure that the positive effects of ITS are realised. 7

RECOMMENDATION 1: Lighthouse projects One or more major, innovative, distinctive and forward-looking lighthouse projects should be set up involving all forms of transport, educational institutions, public authorities and companies. The projects should help to build knowledge and skills, test new technologies and new integrated solutions that can not only show the effects of advanced ITS but also help provide favourable conditions for Danish ITS companies to grow. The lighthouse projects should demonstrate how the rapid development of ITS can improve all aspects of our mobility within a few years, which will be very significant for the long term planning of the transport system in Denmark.

RECOMMENDATION 2: More ITS on the roads We need to carry on setting up new ITS systems along the roads, including the most congested roads where traffic congestion presents daily problems in terms of preventing a smooth flow of traffic. These systems could cover queue warning, automatic speed harmonisation, ramp metering and trials with hard shoulder driving. There will be a great need to use ITS in road works for the purpose of informing and warning drivers. Although motorists are far more likely to have mobile devices in the future, there will still be a number of situations, especially traffic safetyrelated situations where it will be important to make sure that information reaches all motorists, and not just those with the right mobile devices. If a message has to get to all drivers, the only way this can be done is by using variable road signs. 9

RECOMMENDATION 3: Information for users The traffic information technology is moving towards increased use of online systems. They are becoming available as navigation systems, entertainment systems and advanced mobile devices either built into cars or carried by motorists and passengers. Also users of public transport will in future be carrying advanced mobile devices on their journeys. Mobile devices are ideal for facilitating public transport, for example, by enabling ticket purchase, accessing travel information and information about any changes that need to be made on the journey. Mobile devices are also ideal for journeys made using different modes of transport, for example, park and ride facilities. This development must be encouraged, for example, by organising pilot projects and multisector cooperation etc., so that we can carry on producing results, testing technology, establishing common standards and developing expertise. 11

RECOMMENDATION 4: More data on traffic A massive growth in data sources is a crucial prerequisite for the use of ITS in the future. Therefore there must be a significant expansion of real time information about traffic both road traffic and public transport. Motorists submitting information anonymously about travel times using GPS and Bluetooth devices help increase the amount of data on road traffic conditions that we have at our disposal. Real time data about public transport should also be collected using GPS and made available to users of public transport via the travel plan. Information on roads network and bike facilities should be collected and maintained by all road authorities. We should examine possibilities for collecting digital data on freight transport patterns. A system architecture for ITS in Denmark needs to be developed as soon as possible, so that systems can continue to work alongside one another as part of a joint comprehensive system avoiding technological gaps. At the same time there is a need to develop common standards within the framework of EU regulations in a number of critical areas.

RECOMMENDATION 5: More knowledge There is a need to develop knowledge and expertise in the area of ITS, by focusing, among other topics on research and education. Universities need to develop strong ITS departments, and the knowledge and methodological basis has to be developed in several areas. Denmark should play a greater part in international research, and be much better to monitor and utilize the developments on the international arean. There needs to be Danish participation in international work on regulations and standards, and it is recommended that universities collaborate on ITS where they offer 10 PhD scholarships. We should gain experience by carrying out evaluation and assessing the profitability of future ITS projects. Denmark will look more to international experience and use this as a basis for making decisions on investments. 13

RECOMENDATION 6: Joint collaboration New guidelines and collaborative ventures between companies, organisations, public authorities and educational institutions should be developed with a view to, for example: Collecting, checking and communicating data shared by public authorities and public transport operators. Ensuring effective operation and monitoring of ITS systems. Establishing and operating a common mobile platform for booking and payment spanning the entire transport system. Ensuring the integration of ITS in the larger urban regions. Continued developmentof ITS offers the potential for increased public-private partnership which should materialise, for example, in the form of the collection and quality assurance of data, development of services etc.

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Photos: Graae, Armgaard & Bangsbo Photography, Movia, Thomas Kjeldsen and The Danish Road Directorate (Vejdirektoratet). If you would like to know more: The strategy has been prepared by the national ITS board which has been set up by the Danish government and has the involvement of the Danish Ministry of Transport, DTU Transport, Aalborg University, The Danish Transport Authority (Trafikstyrelsen), ITS Danmark, DI, the Danish Chamber of Commerce, FDM and the Danish Road Directorate (Vejdirektoratet). You can read the whole strategy and an opposing view from Aalborg University on the following web site: www.itsudviklingsforum.dk