A political agreement has been reached between the European Parliament and the Council on a proposal made by the Commission in 2021 on the revision of the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Directive. The revised law will make high-quality and timely data available for services, such as multimodal journey planners and navigation services. A smarter and interoperable transport system allows more effective management of traffic and mobility across transport modes, and users to combine the most sustainable modes of transport.
The revision, agreed on 8 June 2023, extends the scope of the Directive to cover emerging services, such as multimodal information, booking and ticketing services (apps for booking journeys that combine public transport, shared car or bike services), communication between vehicles and infrastructure and automated mobility.
The new rules also set targets for the digitisation of crucial information, such as on speed limits, roadworks and multimodal access nodes, and the delivery of essential services (information on road safety). The benefits for transport users include real-time information and digital, intelligent road infrastructure, as well as more accurate intelligent speed-assistance systems.
In addition, the revised rules aim to facilitate the deployment of Cooperative ITS, which allows vehicles and road infrastructure to communicate with one another, for example warning of unexpected events, such as a traffic jam ahead. To ensure safety is guaranteed on the road, the agreement is making sure there is trust between all C-ITS equipped vehicles and C-ITS road infrastructure across the EU.
The agreement is a milestone towards making connected and automated multimodal mobility a reality, as targeted by the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.
