Soon the European Commission will implement a High Level Advisory Board on the ITS Directive. What do you think could be the first priorities for this group?
Gunter Zimmermeyer: I see three primary priorities. I believe that priority number one could be to achieve consensus on the most important deployment activities in the context of ITS. Here we already have an excellent basis with the priority areas identified in the ITS Directive. Secondly it needs to achieve a common understanding of the main challenges for deployment of the related applications and services. Finally it has to agree on the solutions and commit itself to actively work on them.
Few weeks ago you gave a presentation in the European Parliament on ITS and electromobility. What were your key messages?
Gunter Zimmermeyer: My key message was and is very simple: ITS is the major enabler for electromobility because it provides confidence to the driver it allows integration of the “smart” vehicle with the “smart” grid and it links the vehicle to other modes of transport. At the same time electromobility is the driver for ITS; it will become a necessity instead of an option. And we have to enlarge our perspective. eMobility is not only cars it includes eBikes of growing importance for urban mobility and there we have an actual need for ITS in a fast growing self sustaining market.
Do you believe that politicians in Europe are already sufficiently supporting the deployment of ITS?
Gunter Zimmermeyer: There are already many politicians who strongly support the deployment of ITS in national parliaments and most certainly there are many doing it in the European Parliament. To achieve even broader support the ITS community will have to cooperate closely delivering facts and figures on the costs and benefits of ITS applications and services. We all know that they have enormous potential to save lives reduce congestion and protect the environment – to make mobility fit for the future and provide all the needs of society and economy. We all know that bringing intelligence into mobility via ITS is more cost-effective than extending the road infrastructure which by the way will still be necessary. What is needed are concrete facts and figures. There are already some but more are necessary.
Bosch has most recently provided to European Member State officials in the ERTICO Public Authority Platform a presentation on safe and secure truck parking. Why is this topic important and what is the Bosch solution?
Gunter Zimmermeyer: The need to provide safe and secure truck parking is already evident in everyday life experience. Trucks are often forced to park at places endangering other vehicles or their drivers or they have to drive to parking places 50 km off their delivery routes. At Bosch we have developed a service which supports the effective and safe organisation and reservation of secure truck parking places using the most advanced ITS technologies.
Link to original Article
http://www.ertico.com/interview-with-gunter-zimmermeyer-chairman-of-ertico-its-europe/
Original Publication Date: Fri 28 Oct 2011
