On 14 July, ERTICO organised an expert workshop for the EU-funded Coordination Support Action (CSA) PrepDSpace4Mobility of which it is a consortium member. The CSA is laying the foundation for the common European mobility data space (EMDS) by supporting the creation of a technical infrastructure that will facilitate easy, cross-border access to key data for both passengers and freight. It is also mapping all existing Data Spaces available in Europe in the field of mobility. The workshop earlier this month explored the various elements required for data collection and sharing within the concepts and structures of several ERTICO-affiliated Mobility Data Spaces and Innovation Platforms, in order to further PrepDSpace4Mobility’s aim to help establish the basis for collecting and sharing mobility data across Europe in a secure and controlled way.
Following on the success of the PrepDSpace4Mobility stakeholder workshop, also hosted by ERTICO, last May, this workshop invited participants to delve into the different technologies and standards, as well as the challenges and opportunities associated with them, while exploring the business models and the governance frameworks, including policies and regulations, needed for fair and transparent data management in the context of the emerging EMDS. Dr Nikolaos Tsampieris, Senior Manager Connectivity and Automation, who is the CSA’s ERTICO lead and organised both workshops, comments: “The workshops have been highly productive for the important work PrepDSpace4Mobility is carrying out in Phase I by setting up the building blocks of the common EMDS. The first workshop took stock of stakeholders’ needs while this workshop was focussed on exploring the existing Mobility Data Spaces as potential foundational units of the EMDS”.
Four Data Spaces and Innovation Platforms with unique contributions
ERTICO-affiliated Innovation Platforms and Data Spaces took centre stage in PrepDSpace4Mobility’s expert workshop with a view to understanding the requirements of the stakeholder communities in different Mobility Data Spaces. The Data For Road Safety (DFRS), TM 2.0, MaaS Alliance and TN-ITS platforms set the scene with specific application cases that provided the context for the discussions in four virtual rooms. The objective was to map out the business model, governance and legal framework, and the technical building blocks in each scenario.
ERTICO CEO and Chair of the DFRS General Assembly, Joost Vantomme, led the discussion related to road safety data. He introduced the DFRS ecosystem as a decentralised one where each stakeholder (chiefly vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, and road authorities & operators) has a clear role to play.
Dr Johanna Tzanidaki, ERTICO’s Chief Innovation Officer, co-chaired the breakout discussion on Interactive Traffic Management with Itir Coskun, TM 2.0 co-Chair and Regional Innovation Officer at SWARCO. The TM 2.0 Mobility Network Management system works on an information loop between the Traffic Management value chain (traffic management operators, road operators, traffic service providers) and the Mobility value chain (MaaS providers, travel service providers, mobility operators, mobility integration platforms) that is based on collaboration and trust along with co-opetition (collaboration and competition).
MaaS Alliance Secretary General, Roelof Hellemans, introduced the vision of the Alliance to create and facilitate the “Open Mobility Ecosystem” serving the needs of the users, mobility service providers and public authorities. He steered the discussion on the topic of MaaS in one of the breakout rooms.
Frank Daems, ERTICO Senior Manager and TN-ITS Platform Coordinator, presented the role of TN-ITS (DATEX II) in the European mobility data space. As a multi-stakeholder innovation platform it creates a data chain mechanism for trusted, authoritative spatial road data exchanges between road authorities on one hand and map makers and services providers on the other. Services using the TN-ITS standard interface are a great and needed asset for the EMDS: 1) TN-ITS is aligned with the requirements of the RTTI Delegated Regulation 2022-670; 2) It is a member of CEN TC278 WG7 (on Geographic Road Data); and 3) It inspires trust as it originates from the domain of public authorities.
Mapping the building blocks
In an attempt to get a clearer picture of the business, governance and legal models and technical requirements, participants in the breakout rooms talked about the high-priority cases for each of the four application settings. Among other things they considered existing governance models and funding requirements, including the role of the European Commission, and discussed mobility and logistics specific features to be taken into account in the creation of the data value chain.
Prior to the breakout sessions, Kristof Almasy, DG CONNECT, and Dimitrios Gkatzoflias, DG MOVE, presented the European Commission’s perspective on the common EMDS. This truly pioneering initiative is designed to empower digital innovators in Europe by clearing the way for easy and secure cross-border access to mobility and logistics data.
Presentations by the project coordinator, Lucie Kirstein of acatech, and project partners Nico Spijkers and Harrie Bastiaansen of TNO shed light on the progress made by the CSA in its ambition to establish a sound foundation of the common European mobility data space.
Looking ahead to Phase II
Having achieved some significant results, the PrepDSpace4Mobility CSA will come to a close in September this year. With the end of this crucial preparatory phase, the EMDS can look ahead to the deployment stage. A new EU-funded Digital Europe project, deployEMDS, in which ERTICO will be an active consortium member, is set to commence in a few months from now to carry the work forward.
Stay tuned and stay engaged to be part of this important and far-reaching endeavour!
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