Skip to main content

EC promotes ''against lock-in'' approach on ITS standards

According to the European Commission (EC), open standards for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) would save the public sector €1 billion a year US$1.5 billion a year, citing Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC) as one of the standards being developed in the transport domain. Launched in 1997, the UTMC programme was the UK Department for Transport (DfT) main initiative for the development of a more open approach to ITS in urban areas. UTMC systems are designed to allow the different application
August 2, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
According to the 1690 European Commission (EC), open standards for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) would save the public sector €1 billion a year US$1.5 billion a year, citing 3549 Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC) as one of the standards being developed in the transport domain.

Launched in 1997, the UTMC programme was the UK 1837 Department for Transport (DfT) main initiative for the development of a more open approach to ITS in urban areas.  UTMC systems are designed to allow the different applications used within modern traffic management systems to communicate and share information with each other. Thereby a more robust and intelligent system can be used to meet current and future management requirements.

At the end of June 2013, the EC released a new policy to help public authorities avoid dependence on a single ICT supplier, together with a Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT — Elements of Good Practice, which lists UTMC in the sources of information appendix.

The EC states that following the recommendations in this new "against lock-in" approach could save the EU's public sector more than US$1.5 billion a year. For example, open tendering procedures can attract increased numbers of bidders with better value bids (doubling the number of bidders typically lowers contract size by 9 per cent).

The full story and a copy of the guide, aimed at officials responsible for planning and purchasing ICT systems and services for public authorities, can be found on the EC %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal webpage http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/open-standards false http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/open-standards false false%>.

Related Content

  • Update on the FIA Region I conference Driving Change
    October 5, 2015
    The latest agenda for the FIA Region 1 conference, Driving Change, Connecting Mobility, which takes place in Brussels on 20 October, is now available on the conference website. Participants can hear from keynote speaker Pascal Smet, Minister for Mobility and Public Works in the Brussels Region and join in two debates with mobility experts, moderated by Jack Short, the former Secretary General of the International Transport Forum.
  • ERTICO-ITS Europe issues World Congress website warning
    July 11, 2018
    ERTICO-ITS Europe, organiser of September’s ITS World Congress in Copenhagen, has warned that an unofficial website could confuse potential delegates and suggests that people avoid it. The official site of the Congress is www.itsworldcongress.com, but a site exists with a similar domain - itsworldcongress2018.org – offering hotel bookings and travel information. In a statement, ERTICO said: “This website does not represent the ITS World Congress and is not affiliated with ERTICO – ITS Europe or any of t
  • USDOT offers free public workshops at ITS America 2016 San Jose
    May 26, 2016
    The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is partnering with ITS America to host two free public workshops at ITS America 2016 San Jose in June. These workshops will discuss connected vehicle architecture, standards and software tools, as well as provide new training on developing a plan for deploying a connected vehicle environment. The Connected Vehicle Architecture Workshop takes place on 16 June at 0900-1230 BST in the Almaden Ballroom of the Hilton San Jose Hotel. It will cover connected vehicle a
  • Copenhagen light rail JV appointed
    February 13, 2015
    Copenhagen metro operator Metroselkabet has appointed Arup as part of a joint venture with Rambøll to develop the light rail on ring 3 for greater Copenhagen. The new light rail system includes a double track alignment of 27 kilometres and 27 stations with a rolling stock fleet of 27 light rail vehicles. This major project was planned to promote the use of public transport as well as encourage the urban development along the route and the passage across the city to avoid interchanging in the centre.