In modern economics the transport sector contributes to economic growth in terms of either mobility services for goods and people, or support for the growing travel and tourism industry. On the other hand, the growth of demand for mobility well beyond the supply capabilities allowed by the growth of transport infrastructures has also resulted in continuously worsening congestion and air pollution. This, together with traffic accidents, must be included in the economic and social cost of transport. In this paper the author suggests that the central vision for future research should be to build the mobile society within the Information Society. The added value of the European research effort will be the emergence of pan-European markets for interconnectable systems and interoperable services. The revolutionary transition towards the establishment of a User-friendly Information Society requires an updating of the Transport sector's R&D objectives, so far mainly expressed in terms of collective benefits. This update must take full account of the unprecedented opportunities for personalised interaction the Information Society is about to offer. As a result, within Theme II of the 5th Framework Programme, the RTD and Demonstration activities in the field of Transport should be concentrated on the following main objectives: (1) Fostering the development of an independent and powerful European industry in Information Society technologies by promoting the innovation, development and use of such technologies in support of the emergence of an advanced European transport system and of the related info-mobility services; and (2) Supporting sustainable mobility and economic development, by exploiting appropriate Information Society Technologies (IST) in the development of advanced transport systems and services; by facilitating the multimodal use of transport means and infrastructures and by promoting the most effective use of collective transport and demand management systems; as well as the provision of a full range of tele-services. From an analysis of main current trends, requirements and opportunities, two major themes have thus been identified as top priorities for the corresponding Key Actions: (a) Information-based Interactive Transport management based on Intelligent, Personal and Vehicle Systems, and Infrastructure; and (b) Multimedia applications for Info-mobility and associated services, including systems for tourism. These themes will provide continuity with the work covered in the RTD and Demonstration Programmes on Transport Telematics Applications and Intelligent Transportation Systems, while enabling the community to take advantage of the technical and market opportunities already identified.
Samenvatting