European society and European citizens face very strong challenges in meeting their mobility needs and facing the consequences of their travel choices. The Citizens' Network, proposed by DGVII of the European Union (EU), represents part of the European Commission's response to this challenge. Intermodal transport is a vital part of the response, and enables citizens to make `seamless' journeys using a combination of modes meeting their individual needs. At present, users face barriers due to lack of harmonisation of planning, pricing, systems, and information. This paper discusses how to meet the needs for intermodality in Europe, presents a conceptual view of intermodality, and assesses the contributions in these directions made by European telematics research programmes. The current Telematics for Transport Programme develops and validates suitable tools to support intermodal travel. A harmonised intermodal platform will allow traveller support and operational management systems to function across modes. The demonstration phase will enable many non-technical as well as technical barriers to be addressed. Many important business, regulatory, and management issues remain. The paper reviews the challenges, and describes the work and results of the current and previous programmes.
Samenvatting