Hamburg to bid for 2021 ITS World Congress

5495 ITS Germany used its presence at the June 2016 Europe ITS Congress in Glasgow to make two major announcements from the city of Hamburg, country’s second-largest urban area.

First came a formal bid to host the 2021 6456 ITS World Congress; second, the global unveiling of new Roadwork Administration and Decision System (ROADS) software.ROADS has emerged to enable coordination of planned transport construction projects several years before start dates, to minimise impacts on traffic flows when work begins.

The system collates key information for display in a georeferenced digital map on an integrated touch table, designed to present complex data in an easy-to-understand fashion for project partners to discuss.

ROADS will be fully operational by April 2017.

Frank Horch, Senator for the economy, transport and innovation in the city government, told the Congress he looked forward to traffic flows becoming “safer and more efficient.”

Hamburg’s head of traffic flow improvement, Jeff Marengwa, told ITS International: “We are leading a thematic working group that reports to the Deutsche Städtetag (Association of German Cities). Several of these are showing interest - as are municipalities in other countries.”

Hamburg sees its 2021 World Congress bid as a spur to the continuing development and implementation of ITS and smart city technologies.

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ITS Australia

Collective focus for Australian ITS

Australia’s ITS industry is successfully “working hard together, sharing information and pulling in the same direction”, 858 ITS Australia CEO Susan Harris told the Connected Autonomy in Smart Cities summit held in Brisbane. She foresaw connecting vehicles, transport infrastructure, data analysis and new technologies delivering safer and better mobility. 

The summit moved seamlessly into the 2016 National electronic Tolling Conference (NeTC), where Luke Normington, head of enforcement solutions at 120 Siemens Mobility, updated delegates on London’s congestion charging.

The association has also recently created a new category in its annual awards scheme to mark achievements in autonomous vehicle development.  

ITS Ireland

Irish updated on Netherlands’ news

Following its policy of sharing experience across Europe, 7075 ITS Ireland recently heard an update from Frans Op de Beek, principal ITS advisor to Dutch public works agency 4767 Rijkswaterstaat, on a planned C-ITS corridor running from the Netherlands to Austria via Germany.

Motorways along the route are currently trialling two CV applications, Road Works Warning and Probe Vehicle Data.

During maintenance work on a variable message sign on the A16 trunk road near Dordrecht, the former sent audio alerts into two repeatedly passing test vehicles, with lane closures presented in on-board displays.

The second is undergoing rigorous examination of infrastructural implications, costs and reliability as compared with alternative data sources for traffic management. Op de Beek chairs the 7024 Amsterdam Group, a strategic alliance dedicated to early C-ITS deployment across Europe.

Ministerial boost for ITS campaign

TTS Italia has welcomed support from the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport for the association’s plea for increased emphasis on technology-based upgrading of the national transport infrastructure, to increase capacity without incurring the costs of new construction. The approach is informing a new national strategic plan with ITS at its centre.This envisages creating new national standards for mobility and orienting industry towards support for ITS, smart infrastructure technologies and sustainable energy use.

The Ministry sees ITS as crucial in delivering the much-needed improvements in capacity, modal connections and network security in the shortest time at the lowest cost. It will now rank strategic transport projects following more structured analyses of user-demand and costs than previously and a new review process will re-evaluate previous decisions in the light of changing economic conditions. Quantified targets for 2030 include modal shares of 40% for public transport and 10% for cycling and walking; and convenient access for 30% of the population to high-speed rail and major air/sea interchanges.

In parallel comes a drive for more sustainable urban development, based on revitalising urban public transport to smart-city levels. The model is the northern regional capital of Turin, based on its reputation for innovation in smart mobility and logistics for people and goods, making it a reference point for exchanges of best practice with other Italian cities. 

Ertico

UDRIVE findings

Preliminary results from the 374 Ertico coordinated UDRIVE naturalistic driver behaviour project will be shared early in 2017 via two free-access webinars. In April a series of regional workshops will be staged in the host countries (the UK, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain and France), and a conference is being planned for the end of spring.