Skip to main content

Sharing real-time information ‘could save the transport sector billions each year’

A European research project led by Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands makes real-time information available for the whole transport chain for the first time. The GET Service software platform, which is being presented at an international symposium in Rotterdam on 1 October, enables a flexible response to unforeseen circumstances, making transport faster, more environmentally friendly and cheaper each year by many billions. The researchers are confident that the total fuel consumption
September 29, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A European research project led by Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands makes real-time information available for the whole transport chain for the first time.

The GET Service software platform, which is being presented at an international symposium in Rotterdam on 1 October, enables a flexible response to unforeseen circumstances, making transport faster, more environmentally friendly and cheaper each year by many billions. The researchers are confident that the total fuel consumption in the EU can be reduced by some 2 billion litres and CO2 emissions cut by 6.5 million annually.

A collaborative project involving transport companies and research institutions, led by researchers Remco Dijkman and Paul Grefen, has spent three years developing a software platform that allows transport routes to be adjusted in the light of unforeseen circumstances.

GET Service solves a major problem in the transport sector, say the researchers. It makes real-time information available for every transporter, about the location of goods, how busy the road is, the weather conditions and more. This kind of information is currently lacking and planning is made in advance. “What is holding transporter back is a fear of market share if they share information,” Dijkman says.

This widely backed European platform, largely funded by the European Union, is intended to put an end to this problem. The platform enables plans to be made and adjusted on the basis of up-to-the-minute information and the availability of transport. The researchers are confident that the total fuel consumption in the EU can be reduced by some 2 billion litres and CO2 emissions cut by 6.5 million annually by improving the use of environmentally-friendly means of transport and cutting the number of ‘empty’  trucks on the road.

Partners in the project include Eindhoven University of Technology, Portbase in Rotterdam, IBM Research in Zürich, Jan de Rijk Logistics in Roosendaal, PTV in Karlsruhe, Wirtschaftuniversität in Vienna and Exus in Athens.

Related Content

  • Manchester seeks smart but not selective transport solutions
    January 25, 2018
    Smarter transport relies on better communications both with travellers and between transport providers. Andrew Williams reports. Inrix’s prediction that the cost of traffic congestion will rise by 63% to £21bn per year by 2030 clearly illustrates that, in addition to the ongoing inconvenience and inefficiency, ongoing gridlock is a significant drain on the economy. It is against this backdrop that a Cisco-led consortium has launched CitySpire, a smart transport programme that uses location-based services a
  • Manchester seeks smart but not selective transport solutions
    January 25, 2018
    Smarter transport relies on better communications both with travellers and between transport providers. Andrew Williams reports. Inrix’s prediction that the cost of traffic congestion will rise by 63% to £21bn per year by 2030 clearly illustrates that, in addition to the ongoing inconvenience and inefficiency, ongoing gridlock is a significant drain on the economy. It is against this backdrop that a Cisco-led consortium has launched CitySpire, a smart transport programme that uses location-based services a
  • Researchers devise snow ploughing algorithm
    September 16, 2014
    Canadian researchers Olivier Quirion-Blais, Martin Trépanier and André Langevin have developed an algorithm to determine the most efficient routes for snow ploughs and gritters. Snow plough routing has always been something of a ‘black art’: to direct a fleet of show plough to clear priority roads without having the same road cleared several times while others are left untreated. Increasingly, GPS is being used to track the routes the clearing vehicles have taken but until now it has not been possible to ta
  • EU proposes to spend €2.7 billion for 152 transport projects
    June 29, 2017
    The European Commission is proposing to invest US$3 billion (€2.7 billion) in 152 key transport projects that support competitive, clean and connected mobility in Europe.