ITS Conference, Brussels – 2 December 2013
Under the motto “Triggering ITS deployment”, the ITS Conference 2013 brought together more than 400 high-level representatives from the European Institutions and key stakeholders from both public and private sectors of the ITS community in the EU and beyond. ERTICO – ITS Europe was represented by CEO Hermann Meyer who gave a key note presentation and participated in the panel debate. Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Transport, opened the conference, together with the Lithuanian Presidency, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Finnish Ministry of Transport. Sessions focused on three main topics. The topic “Major ITS developments” gave an update on promising projects aimed at rolling out ITS services and applications throughout the EU. The Amsterdam Group, Easyway, ERTICO and the Polish General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways presented their actions and achievements. The second topic “Seamless travel” showed how ITS services and applications can help people plan their journeys from door to door. Multimodal travel information and planning services can make seamless multimodal door-to-door mobility possible. Finally, the benefits allowed by “Cooperative ITS” were discussed such as informing all road users in real time about traffic jams, road blocks and alternative itineraries. Cooperative ITS will dramatically transform road transport. If used systematically, they can substantially reduce the number and severity of road accidents. They can make traffic management more efficient and they will reduce fuel efficiency of vehicles by reducing congestion and eliminating unnecessary stops.
In his speech on ITS deployment, Siim Kallas, referring to the eCall initiative, urged delegates to visit the eCall / HeERO car demonstration that took place outside the EU Charlemagne building in conjunction with the ITS Conference.
More than 100 delegates were given the possibility to participate in a live test session that was made possible thanks to the cooperation of the Fujitsi Ten, HITEC Luxembourg, and GEMALTO. Among the high level participations in the live eCall demos were Simm Kallas, Merja Kyllönen, Arjandas Sliupas -Vice-Minister of Transport and Communications, Lithuania; and Claire Depré, Head of Unit “Intelligent Transport Systems”, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission.
Last modified on Thursday, 05 December 2013
