After the successful kick-off in Vigo last January on 23 April the Compass4D Consortium met for the second time in Copenhagen. The meeting was the opportunity to plan the upcoming work and to participate in the joint workshop with ITS Denmark focusing on ITS deployment best practices.
The Copenhagen pilot site is particularly relevant to the project as the city will deploy cooperative systems on at least 90 buses and in 21 traffic signals becoming the largest test site in Europe to do so. The route chosen for the pilot site is a central bus connection running between Copenhagen Central Station in the city centre and the important East Gate Station (Østerport) hub for regional commuter and S-trains and from 2018 the underground.
It is estimated that over 77000 passengers are using the bus lines between the Central and East Gate stations every day.
Copenhagen is in many ways a frontier when it comes to investing in the environment and it has been awarded the European Green Capital 2014 for its unique eco-innovative and sustainable approach in terms of urban planning. The city authorities intend to make the Danish capital the first carbon-neutral city by 2025.
This is also why Copenhagen is extremely committed to Compass4D; “this effort to upgrade our transport systems goes together well with our plan for green mobility and our ambition to be a carbon neutral city in 2025. This ITS project can really contribute to cleaner air and better functioning cities. That is the reason why we in Copenhagen want to prioritise and invest in ITS and have already done so. It is important that these technologies are tested in different urban environments” Ayfer Baykal Mayor of the Technical and Environmental Administration in Copenhagen stated.
Around 200 bus drivers will be using the ITS services. “Here in Copenhagen we have some unique challenges regarding traffic because bikes take up a lot of space. It is going to be very exciting to see how ITS solutions like Compass4D can create better conditions for busses and help us improve traffic flow and safety throughout the city” Ms Baykal says.
In order to strengthen the relation and cooperation with the Danish partners the Compass4D Consortium participated in the workshop organised with ITS Denmark on 24 April. Representatives of the association and the city council had the opportunity of highlighting the current national initiatives and illustrating future plans for the deployment of ITS services. “The next couple of years using ITS we will create better traffic flows and traffic safety. The benefits will be better comfort and regularity of the busses and for the city environment. We are really looking forward to continue working with the other cities and to sharing our experiences” Steffen Rasmussen Head of traffic design City of Copenhagen said.
In addition to Copenhagen Compass4D will run in Bordeaux Helmond Newcastle Thessaloniki Verona and Vigo. The project is coordinated by ERTICO – ITS Europe and consists of 33 partners: City of Copenhagen; City of Helmond; Newcastle City Council; City of Vigo; City of Verona; Region of Central Macedonia; Centre for Research and Technology Hellas – CERTH; Automotive Technological Centre of Galicia – CTAG; Equipos de Señalizacion y Control – ESYCSA; EUROTAXI; Federation Internationale de l’Automobile – FIA; GEOLOC Systems; Institute of Communication and Computer System – ICCS; IDIADA Automotive Technology; French Insititute of Science and Technology Developments and Networks – IFSTTAR; IMTECH Traffic & INFRA B.V.; INFOTRIP; IRU Projects; MAT Traffic; Traffic Ministere de l’Ecologie du Développement Durable et de l’Energie – MEDDE; PEEK Traffic B.V.; PEEK Denmark; Siemens; Swarco Mizar; Telecom Italia; TOPOS Aquitaine; TNO; University of Newcastle; Vialis; Vitrasa; Volvo; V-TRON.
Link to original Article
http://www.ertico.com/compass4d-project-consortium-meets-in-denmark-where-90-buses-will-be-equipped-and-trialed-for-at-least-one-year/
Original Publication Date: Thu 25 Apr 2013
