Dwindling public investment available for transport infrastructure construction coupled with legitimate societal aspirations for cleaner, safer and smoother traffic have underlined the need for new answers to the traditional challenges raised by increased demand for road transport. The resulting shift by road operators towards a culture of network optimisation is at the heart of the exponential growth in the offer of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) applications. Usually conceived to overcome a specific problem, such as route guidance or tunnel safety operations, the implementation of ITS across Europe remains uneven and fragmented owing to insufficient stakeholder synergies and a poor understanding of the drivers behind road transport demand. This paper will argue that Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), and singularly EGNOS and GALILEO, will provide the technological framework of reference to reduce the negative impact of road transport while at the same time offering new services to a myriad of users impacted by road transport. This paper will further argue that it is services to the user that will drive the demand for GNSS-based solutions and ultimately ensure GALILEO can truly become an enabler of European Transport Policy. (Author/publisher)
Abstract