Think about transport and the mobility of Europeans in twenty years! What services will be available to improve the transport of goods and people? The ERTICO Committee "ITS implementation scenarios" has developed a vision for the evolution of ITS services in Europe looking twenty years ahead. The emphasis has been on sharing ideas between partners and other key organisations. The resulting vision is presented and discussed within this special session. This vision includes the following likely benefits of ITS by the year 2017: (1) 15% increase in survival rates thanks to in-vehicle automatic emergency call systems; (2) road safety is dramatically improved, ITS significantly contributes to the reducing trend (50%) in road fatalities; (3) ITS reduces travel time by 25%, improving the overall quality of life; (4) automatic debiting and tolling systems save travellers over 40 hours/year; (5) public transport priority measures reduce delays by 50%; (6) freight and fleet operations are more efficient, cutting costs by 25%; and (7) 50% less pollution in city centres due to enhanced urban traffic management. In order to realise this vision, the following conditions are needed: (1) the availability of an efficient and extensive travel and traffic information infrastructure; (2) the willingness of the public/private sectors to cooperate and to create the necessary organisation for the provision of services; (3) the public sector acts successfully as a catalyst to help open markets for the private sector; (4) the definition of a clear boundary between public services and commercial value-added services; (5) the widespread awareness of realised and potential benefits; (6) the provision of suitable guarantees for consumer privacy and data protection; and (7) the rapid standardisation of key elements to ensure interoperability and open systems.
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