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

  • April 24, 2013
    Slow development of Europe's road user charging
    Delegates convened in Brussels for Europe’s 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in March, when both positive and negative developments came to light for advocates of more widespread introduction of RUC. Jon Masters reports. Goings on across Europe in recent months have again demonstrated how very sensitive road user charging (RUC) is politically. At the 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in Brussels at the beginning of March, a Danish delegation was notable for its absence, but Belgian governme
  • November 18, 2022
    Cop27: 'Act now' on transport
    Ertico, IRF Geneva and Asecap are among organisations calling for change to meet 2050 goals
  • December 4, 2015
    Europe’s heavy trucks ‘no more fuel-efficient than ten years ago’
    A study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) claims that trucks in the European Union are no more fuel-efficient than they were a decade ago. The study, which analyses data from the European commercial trucking market, looking at key member states, manufacturers and fuel consumption trend, found that heavy-duty vehicles represent only four per cent of the on-road fleet in the European Union, but are responsible for 30 per cent of on-road CO2 emissions. In contrast, the study cla
  • March 24, 2021
    Ports are facing a digital sea-change
    Next-generation cellular will revolutionise the ports and maritime sector. Its arrival is just in time, as the industry faces a variety of challenges which require new technological solutions