A standardised system for providing detailed up-to-date traffic information to motorists is paramount in an integrated road transport environment to assist in solving these growing congestion problems. The ability to provide this information in a language of the driver's choice would enhance still further the effectiveness of such a system. This paper describes the results of work carried out in the RDS-ALERT project to address the above issues of standardisation. The project has developed a European standard for transmitting traffic messages using the Radio Data System Traffic Message Channel (RDS-TMC). RDS-TMC will increase traffic data dissemination into the vehicle by several orders of magnitude over conventional spoken warnings on the radio. By linking TMC to on-board navigation systems, an additional tool will be created for direction and guidance of traffic movements. As RDS-ALERT worked towards a European TMC standard, both technical and political considerations were taken into account. These included the quality of available data, the needs as perceived by broadcasters and traffic experts, and the technical limitations of the RDS broadcast medium. The paper details these considerations and presents the draft standard based on the field trials carried out in the project. The testing has examined RDS reception across Europe, encompassing a diverse range of conditions. The results have been used to evaluate each TMC protocol element in order to refine and optimize the final standard.
Abstract