Brussels, 20/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - According to a communication presented on Wednesday 20 July, the European Commission intends to promote digital technologies and communication - transport connectivity and intelligent road pricing - to ensure a transition to a low carbon economy.
Among the many measures listed to ensure the expansion of low-energy transport in the road sector, as well as in aviation and maritime transport (see other article), the Commission is seeking to optimise the transport systems through greater connectivity.
The Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, therefore outlined three major development areas: Master Plan for the deployment of Interoperable Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, improved road pricing and enhanced multimodality.
The action plan for low emission rates plans to introduce a Master Plan for the deployment of Interoperable Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (ICITS. This Master Plan is expected to be presented this November but according to one European source, there could be a slight delay. The ICITS platform delivered a 140-page report on the subject last January (EUROPE 11474). In April last, Transport Ministers also adopted a declaration in Amsterdam to guarantee the expansion of connected vehicles (EUROPE 11532).
On the subject of so-called "intelligent" pricing in road transport, the Commission is currently working on the Eurovignette Directive (1999/62/EC). The modalities within this directive are still not yet known but the Commission is expected to promote the "polluter pays" approach based on the distance travelled and a differentiated price based on Euro standards for lorries. The non-discrimination principle is also expected to be applied to light utility vehicles. The Commission is currently examining the development of the VECTO software, which seeks to stimulate CO2 emission rates as accurately as possible and which are emitted by heavy duty vehicles (EUROPE 11358). The Commission also seeks to revise the 2004/52/EC directive on the European Electronic Tolling Service (EETS), as well as the Commission decision on the definition of European Electronic Tolling service (2009/750/EC).
With regard to the point on multi-modality, Commissioner Bulc indicated that she wanted to push for the adoption of the 4th railway package (EUROPE 11592 and 11542) to strengthen the railways in the European transport system as a whole. She is also seeking to push for the strengthening of the inland waterways (EUROPE 11515). In this connection, the Commission is seeking to introduce a draft regulation to speed up implementation of the Trans-European Transport Network and another for amending the directive on the common rules for certain combined forms of goods transport between member states (92/106/EEC).
Connected cars are also becoming a major challenge for the European car industry. The latter has outlined six major regulatory and technical challenges to meet in this domain (EUROPE 11533) (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)