Final Results
Introduction Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) is an ever-growing field within the transport sector. C-ITS systems allow vehicles to communicate with other vehicles, road users and with the road infrastructure. C-ITS services advise drivers on how to act within specific situations to optimise mobility for both people and goods. The European project Compass4D focuses on three services which will increase drivers safety and comfort by reducing the number and severity of road accidents, as well as by optimising the vehicle speed at intersections and by possibly avoiding queues and traffic jams. The three services are: the Energy Efficient Intersection (EEI), the Road Hazard Warning (RHW) and the Red Light Violation Warning (RLVW). Compass4D services also have a positive impact on the local environment by enabling the reduction of CO 2 emissions and fuel consumption for equipped vehicles. As the focus of Compass4D is on actual deployment, these services have been implemented through a combination of established technologies and available pre-commercial equipment. Dedicated short-range communication (ITS-G5) and cellular networks (3G/LTE) have been used, following ETSI TC ITS standards. In addition, Compass4D has identified solutions to deployment barriers and elaborated business models to make the services self-sustainable for a wide commercialisation. This work includes cooperation with standardisation organisations and global partners to achieve interoperability and harmonisation of services. The Compass4D services have been piloted during one year in seven cities: Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Helmond, Newcastle, Thessaloniki, Verona and Vigo. Prior to the pilot operation, the implementation phase lasted more than one year and was a result of teamwork involving all consortium partners. Overall, during the three years of the project duration, Compass4D has installed equipment and implemented cooperative services on almost 300 road side units and traffic lights and on more than 600 vehicles, with over 1200 drivers involved in the pilot operation. The public authorities in the seven pilot cities have been actively driving the Compass4D project with the aim of addressing their challenges and needs in the context of improving traffic management. At the same time, Compass4D has brought together many other key stakeholders such as industry players, public transport operators, fleet operators, users, standardisation and research organisations. In October 2015, the Compass4D partners decided to continue operating the C-ITS services in 2016, for at least one year, beyond the EU funded project life, with the ultimate goal of moving from pilot to large scale deployment to a self-sustained market.
7 vehicles 600+ drivers1200+ RSUs 100+ pilot sites
Cooperative Services and Pilot Sites The three cooperative services piloted in the frame of Compass4D are as follows: The Energy Efficient Intersection (EEI) Description of the service The Energy Efficient Intersection service provides advice to optimise the way vehicles pass through an intersection. Both energy and emissions are saved by avoiding any unnecessary acceleration or braking by the vehicle driver. To reach this goal, a two-way radio communication system is used between the traffic light control unit and the equipped vehicles. The information on traffic light status is transmitted from the traffic light control unit to the oncoming vehicles. Inside the vehicle the driver receives information on when the traffic light ahead will change, either in the form of a time countdown or as a speed advice. This information allows the driver to anticipate the next manoeuvre and to change his/her driving behaviour, for example by decelerating when a red light is to become green and thus avoiding an unnecessary stop. When a vehicle has to stop because the traffic light is red, the EEI service can then send advice to the driver on whether it is convenient to turn off the vehicle engine. Shortly before the light turns green, the driver is warned to restart the engine. This reduces not only the delay between the green light and the vehicle driving away, but also the chance that other vehicles behind in the same lane have to brake and accelerate again. Information about the oncoming vehicles is detected by cameras on main roads and roadside stations at each equipped intersection and sent via a radio connection to the city s traffic management centre, where traffic managers can take appropriate action, like send out messages to cooperative ITS roadside stations and variable message signs on ongoing events (roadwork, accident, queue, etc.) to alert the drivers as needed. This information includes details such as vehicle type (emergency, bus, truck), location, speed and other parameters. Heavy-goods vehicles or delayed public transport buses can be given green light priority to reduce the number of stops and, hence, travel time and emissions. Vehicles such as ambulances, firefighters trucks or police cars, which are in an emergency status, can send a message to other vehicles and road side stations, so that they can be granted absolute priority by other drivers and by traffic managers, who may turn red traffic lights at the intersections ahead to clear their way as fast as possible. Implementation of the service in Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Helmond, Newcastle, Thessaloniki, Verona, Vigo The Energy Efficient Intersection service provides advice to optimise the way vehicles pass through an intersection. Both energy and emissions are saved by avoiding any unnecessary acceleration or braking by the vehicle driver. To reach this goal, a two-way radio communication system is used between the traffic light control unit and the equipped vehicles. Bordeaux and Helmond cases: The EEI service has been deployed and piloted on 15 intersections in the city centre of Bordeaux sending information on traffic light phases. The service has been made available for free through a public web App for smartphones and includes advice on two different
situations: the optimal speed to pass through an intersection with a green light (GLOSA), and the suggestion to switch off the engine while stopped at a red light. In Helmond the service is available on more than 20 intersections, especially for professional users (trucks and emergency vehicles). Copenhagen case: The EEI service has been implemented and tested in 21 equipped intersections with the primary aim of public buses moving through the city faster and more efficiently. By receiving the time-to-green and time-to-red information, bus drivers have been able to drive in a more energy efficient fashion and to secure a higher degree of service towards passengers. Knowing in advance the traffic light s signal phase and timing contributes also to decreasing stress for bus drivers. In addition, a priority service has also been implemented enabling buses to request the extension of the green light phase or the reduction of the red light phase, so as to minimise the waiting time and number of stops at signalised intersections equipped with Compass4D C-ITS systems. The picture above shows the display in the buses in Copenhagen. The Compass4D service has been integrated in the existing IT-system of the buses without the need of installing additional screens. Newcastle case: The EEI service has been performed across 21 equipped intersections in the east of the city and has been piloted on patient transport vehicles and some electric vehicles. The service has been implemented with GLOSA advices and Idle/Stop support as in Bordeaux and with green priority services as in Copenhagen. Thessaloniki case: The EEI service has been provided to more than 600 taxi drivers in the city through a dedicated App, which has been integrated in the taxi fleet dispatching App. The service provides acceleration and deceleration advice to taxis drivers based on the traffic light status, the vehicle s position (relative to the downstream signalised intersection) and speed. By following the speed advice, taxi drivers can minimise the number of stops at equipped signalised intersections (especially when traffic density is moderate) and the vehicle s fuel consumption and emissions. Vigo case: The EEI service has been implemented by providing time-to-green and time-to-red information to drivers of 20 buses, 10 taxi and 13 private users. Priority has been piloted for public buses in Vigo in four areas of the city,
providing extended green light phase at equipped intersections, when requested by delayed buses. Priority for emergency vehicles was implemented and tested only at the end of the project and only on few city police vehicles under controlled conditions. Verona case: The EEI service has been implemented in the whole urban network by integrating information from all the traffic lights in the city, both centralised and isolated, into the traffic management centre. The service has been made available for free through a public web App for smartphones giving the following information: timeto-green when stopped at a red light, speed advice for green phase (GLOSA), and road events ahead (incidents, traffic jams). Based on this experience, the city will extend the service and provide an opendata platform to the general public including, in addition to the EEI service, several other information services (parking, variable message signs). The pictures above show time-to-green (left) and speed advice for green phase GLOSA (right) in Verona. The pictures above show the HMI display combining in a map the RHW and EEI services, with countdown of the time-to-green or time-to-red at equipped intersections in the city of Vigo.
Description of Compass4D services The Road Hazard Warning (RHW) Description of the service The Road Hazard Warning service uses a radio communication system to provide a variety of safety warnings to vehicles. By doing so, drivers are informed in a timely manner of upcoming, and possibly dangerous, events. The warnings can be transmitted by the roadside stations as well as by stations on-board trusted vehicles (emergency services, road operators - in case of road works). In case of an accident, the information is sent to vehicles in direct proximity, but also to other roadside stations in order to warn distant vehicles travelling towards the event location, to avoid becoming involved in the same accident or to allow them to make a detour. Once received by the unit on-board a vehicle, the warning is assessed by the system and brought to the attention of the driver depending on the risk relevance and impact on routing. In Compass4D, the Road Hazard Warning service is operated for two categories of events: static and dynamic. Static events have a relatively long duration and are related, for example, to road works (such as a lane closed) or to a pedestrian crossing; in this case the same warning message is constantly sent to raise the drivers attention of a known event at a fixed place and time period. Warnings related to dynamic events deliver variable information by reacting on sensors inputs, for example camera s detection of queue s tail in a congested arterial road, or a vehicles detector at the exit of a construction site, or an emergency vehicle emitter sending a signal when its blue light is turned on. Implementation of the service in Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Helmond, Thessaloniki, Verona, Vigo Bordeaux case: The service is deployed both on the ring road and in the city centre of Bordeaux and receives real time road events from the French national Traffic Management Centre TIPI. Radio messages about incoming events are transmitted to equipped vehicles, where they are presented to the driver on the display of the unit on-board the vehicle. Copenhagen case: The thermal detection of pedestrians crossing a non-signalised intersection The picture above shows a feed from one of the thermal cameras located above a pedestrian crossing in the pilot site of Copenhagen. When the rectangles or square detection areas turns white, the system has detected movement in the relevant direction. This detection triggers a message that is sent to equipped vehicles approaching the pedestrian crossing. has been implemented as a part of the RHW service. The system detects when a pedestrian is about to cross the street, and sends this information to equipped vehicles. This gives the drivers an early warning and helps avoid potential hazardous situations. Thessaloniki case: The service provided advice regarding incoming congestion to equipped vehicles based on a network of 15 Bluetooth detectors estimating travel time along the peripheral ring road of Thessaloniki, a three-lane, bi-directional highway with a daily flow of more than 100,000 vehicles. The smartphone App implemented in the framework of Compass4D internally processes the warnings to show only the ones relevant to the vehicle s trajectory. With this advice, drivers can modify their route and leave the ring road in order to avoid a congested stretch.
Description of Compass4D services The Red Light Violation Warning (RLVW) Description of the service The RLVW service aims to improve safety at signalised intersections. Based on the information exchanged via radio communication, the situation in the intersection ahead is analysed and visual (and/or audio) warning messages are generated. These messages are context sensitive, depending on the possibility, imminence, and severity of an event. The system can target dangerous situations which occur during normal intersection crossing, such as recognising events involving conflicting turns across a junction, or exceptional situations, such as a vehicle violating a red light. A special case of RLVW is the situation where an alert must be given before the red light is actually violated. If the warning is presented after the offending vehicle has passed the stop-line, it would be too late to effectively inform other vehicles in the vicinity. Therefore, the system must be able to predict if an approaching vehicle will perform a normal, safe stop, or will definitely violate the red light. In the latter case a Red Light Violation Warning is issued. Within the context of Compass4D, the Red Light Violation Warning is currently issued to other vehicles only in the case of emergency vehicles equipped with a Compass4D cooperative system crossing an equipped, signalised intersection. Implementation of the service in Bordeaux, Helmond, Vigo Bordeaux and Helmond case: The emergency vehicles equipped with the Compass4D cooperative on-board unit automatically send out a warning message when their blue lights are turned on. This message is received by other equipped vehicles, whose drivers are alerted that an emergency vehicle is approaching and could potentially pass through the red light. Vigo case: A basic red light warning has been implemented in the whole corridor of Vigo. In this case, the service alerts the driver about his/her own imminent violation of the red light. Display change from EEI (left) service to RHW (right) service in Vigo.
Implementation & operation Overall System Compass4D can provide ITS services because it enables different cooperative systems to exchange information. Data and information which are normally only available on-board a vehicle or at a traffic management centre through the road side infrastructure, can now be shared thanks to cooperative ITS systems. Information which is normally available in advance at the traffic light control centre and seen by the driver only when they occur, like the change of a traffic light status (colour), are now available (also in advance) to a system on-board equipped vehicles. By means of cooperative ITS systems, new services can provide support to enhance increased safety and comfort to all road users while reducing the environmental impact of road transport for people and goods. Technology As a vehicle s location changes during a journey, the only means to exchange information is wirelessly. In Compass4D, two wireless technologies are used: a variant of Wi-Fi called ITS-G5, and the mobile internet (3G or LTE). Both technologies have strengths and weaknesses, and that is why within Compass4D the technology selection at a particular site depends on a combination of the existing road network and infrastructure; various site requirements (both technical and non-technical) and road operator priorities, based on defined urban and inter-urban mobility strategies and plans. The ITS-G5 radio network differs from normal Wi- Fi because it allows all systems to communicate with each other without the use of an access point or a password. Vehicles close to each other can exchange messages, for example when one of them suddenly brakes. Roadside stations can use ITS-G5 to broadcast the traffic light status or a road work event (e.g. lane closed) to all vehicles in the vicinity. To create such an open network the messages sent over a radio channel must be standardised and the message contents must be trusted. Both aspects are targeted by the standardisation bodies like ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. Compass4D has actively participated in piloting and improving the ITS-G5 standards by bringing together systems from multiple vendors, and by participating in European testing activities on systems interoperability. Installations Inside a vehicle, the Compass4D system is the on-board unit (OBU) or station, which consists of a processor, a radio system, a GNSS 1 receiver and a display. The display is used to provide information to the driver, the GNSS system is used to identify the location and speed of the unit (e.g. the vehicle in which the OBU is installed), the radio system is used to communicate with other Compass4D systems; and finally the processor executes the services. On the other hand, the road side unit (RSU) or station is the Compass4D system installed in the road infrastructure. It consists of a processor, a radio system, a GNSS receiver and often a data network connection (either as mobile or wired IP). The data network is used to connect to other infrastructure systems like traffic control units or sensors, and to connect to a back-office located at the city or regional traffic management centre for operational purposes. 1 Global Navigation Satellite System, for example a GPS.
Figure 1 Compass4D on-board unit in an electric vehicle; the information is displayed on a commercial hands-free system. Figure 2 - Radio unit mounted on a traffic light in Bordeaux. Operation To support the verification and validation of the Compass4D services, a large amount of data on vehicle movements and service performance have been collected during one year. The datasets from each site have been collated into a centralised database, then processed, filtered and distilled into a consistent series of cross-site metrics. These metrics have been used to carry out coherent analyses of the operation of the system over the seven pilot sites, giving valuable feedback on performance to operators and stakeholders. The pilot operation was carried out over a period of 12 months, divided into 3 months baseline operation (to collect data without Compass4D services), and 9 months functional operation (to collect data with Compass4D services in use). Figure 3 - Integration of Compass4D in a Mermaid bus system in Copenhagen.
The target users of Compass4D have been mainly professional drivers of public buses, emergency vehicles, trucks, taxis, but also drivers of private cars, depending on the priorities of the seven pilot sites.
Evaluation Methodology Evaluation Framework Compass4D has been piloted and deployed on public roads and intersections in everyday, real traffic conditions in all seven pilot cities. This has enabled understanding of the actual impact and benefits of the piloted systems and services. As the basis for evaluation, the widely used FESTA methodology 2 was applied, implementing the Compass4D services, and defining impact areas and performance indicators: Compass4D services: Energy Efficient Intersection, Red Light Violation Warning, Road Hazard Warning Impact Areas: fuel consumption, energy savings, traffic efficiency and traffic management (at vehicle level and network level), road safety, driver behaviour, driver acceptance Performance indicators: e.g. distance, duration, speed, S.D. speed, max speed, 15% quartile speed, 85% quartile speed, median speed, stop time, stops, emissions, efficiency, fuel consumption. The evaluation framework has been defined taking into account a subjective and an objective evaluation, the former based on users feedback, the latter based on analysis of data logged from the unit on-board the vehicles to the central project database. Subjective User Feedback Understanding how users of Compass4D cooperative systems react to the services is extremely important. Questionnaires on user acceptance were completed by drivers, fleet operators and local authorities, with the findings being used to build the business cases for Compass4D, and to identify areas for improvement. There was widespread support for the concept and a desire to see the services expanded from the pilot sites to the entire road network. However, there is a clear need to improve the on-board interface and to consider ways in which pre-commercial prototypes can be better integrated with other in-vehicle systems such as satellite navigation units (GPS). Data Analysis & Findings Data from the on-board units and road side units was collected and inserted into local databases at each of the seven pilot sites and automatically transferred to a central server. A set of performance indicators was then generated from this data set using appropriate statistical software analysis, supervised by specialised engineers. It has been possible to calculate the majority of indicators, such as the average speed of a vehicle, the distance travelled per trip, or the journey duration, from data derived from GPS location and timestamp. However, a very detailed analysis was required before any impact could be attributed to the Compass4D services with confidence. Factors to be analysed included pilot site spatial features, RSU/intersection location, trajectory of vehicles within RSU/intersection, vehicle type and emission characteristics (bus, taxi, truck, etc.), date/day/ time of day, and phase (baseline versus functional operation). In addition, the analysis has been supported by the interpretation by local experts at each pilot site with knowledge of specific situations and conditions of the road network as well as by
Benefits And Impacts Emissions (in gco 2 ) City Type Baseline Functional % Reduction Operation Operation events simulation, which all lead to the definition and calculation of few, selected key performance indicators (KPI), namely: KPI 1: The length of time needed to cross an intersection KPI 2: The emissions and fuel consumption either directly measured from the vehicle or modelled KPI 3: The number of stops experienced by a vehicle crossing an intersection 2 FESTA (Field operational test support Action) is a widespread, acknowledged methodology providing comprehensive guidance for the conduction of successful Field Operational Tests (FOT). It describes the entire process of planning, preparing, excecuting, analysing and reporting a FOT. 3 The data for Copenhagen (table right) represents a full bus journey across multiple intersections rather than an individual intersection. Bordeaux Light 162 146-9.88% Heavy 928 907-2.26% Copenhagen 3 Bus 5287 4901-7.30% Helmond Heavy 412 396-3.88% Bus 670 674 0.60% Newcastle Heavy 574 563-1.92% Vigo Light 114 114 0.00% Bus 651 646-0.77% Time (in seconds) City Type Baseline Functional % Reduction Operation Operation Bordeaux Light 76.7 74-3.52% Heavy 84.2 78.8-6.41% Copenhagen 3 Bus 875 786-10.17% Helmond Heavy 48.5 46.7-3.71% Bus 35.8 40.5 13.13% Newcastle Heavy 47.7 47.4-0.63% Vigo Light 63.8 61.3-3.92% Bus 119 119 0.00% The data from Thessaloniki and Verona are not comparable to other sites due to the layout of the system. In addition, the volume of data from Verona is substantially smaller than from other trials and hence Verona was not considered during the overall analysis of results. Regarding Thessaloniki, it was observed that with the traffic in a congested state the system offered no benefits whilst in a non-congested state the system provided a benefit of 1.72% in emmission saving.
Benefits And Impacts The base conclusions from Compass4D can be summarised as follows: Light vehicles show a benefit from the cooperative system and services in terms of time saved but the energy efficiency savings are typically small in absolute terms. Heavy vehicles show a much greater saving in energy efficiency, of up to 5-10%. Buses show large savings (up to 10%) depending on the route and, especially, on the position of bus stops relative to the nearest equipped, signalised intersection ahead. The priority service has a greater positive impact than the speed advice (GLOSA) for a wider range of vehicle types. Benefits: For car and taxi drivers Compass4D has demonstrated a varying effect on light vehicles ranging from 10% improvement in energy efficiency (saving approximately 35gCO 2 / km) down to a minimal to non-existent effect. In most pilot sites, an appreciable reduction in stationary time and number of stops has been observed by the drivers, resulting in travel time reduction and increase of driving comfort. For trucks and other heavy vehicles Compass4D generally produced an improvement in energy efficiency of 5-10 % (between 20 and 60 gco 2 /km per vehicle), a reduction in the duration of crossing intersections, and a decrease in time spent stationary. This effect was markedly greater and more consistent than that seen for light vehicles. The effect on buses was dependent on the bus route and the positioning of bus stops relative to the Compass4D equipped intersection. For operators Priority request is likely to be an appropriate method for improving energy efficiency, average speed, and reducing the total time spent stationary at an intersection. The overall energy savings are likely to be considerable - improving the efficiency of trucks or buses by 10% will produce greater overall reductions in emissions compared to improving the efficiency of light vehicles by the same amount. For cities Modelling techniques were used to elicit understanding of possible network- or city-wide effects of the Compass4D system. The GLOSA (Green Light Optimised Speed Advice), part of the EEI service, results in a reduction in emissions and stops. The Compass4D data analysis has shown a significant decrease in the number of stops, resulting in fewer emissions. In general, there is an improvement in the road network performance and capacity with more vehicles equipped and the GLOSA service implemented. Green priority provides a positive effect for the specific vehicle types with a reduction in travel time of up to 10%, fewer stops, reduced emissions and less stress for concerned drivers. However, priority can also cause an increase in delays in the wider network (which can be set as political objective to incentive/discourage people s and goods mobility).
Impacts Reduction of stops Compass4D aims to make road traffic more fluid by reducing the number of times a vehicle stops at an intersection, and the total length of time a vehicle is stationary at an intersection. Every time a vehicle stops it decelerates to stop and then accelerates back up to speed. Deceleration itself does not lead to an increase in emissions, however, re-acceleration from a stationary position or lower speed does lead to an overall increase in emissions per km driven. The results of Compass4D at all sites show that there is a strong dependence between the average emission level and the average number of stops at an intersection with the emissions at an intersection increasing approximately linearly as the number of stops increases. The results show that, if the average number of stops at an intersection can be reduced, this will lead to a reduction in emissions. For example, in the pilot site of Bordeaux, with an average of 1.14 stops and of 160 gco 2 emissions per intersection, a 50% reduction in stops would lead to an overall reduction of 20% in emissions (corresponding to approximately 30 gco 2 per vehicle) at that intersection. Fewer stops at an intersection will also mean a decrease in the time spent to cross an intersection as well as in the total travel time for any bus route. Compass4D data analysis shows at all sites a linear decrease in the total time consumed to cross an intersection as the number of stops at that particular intersection decreases, although the effective delay due to a stop varies across the different pilot sites. The benefits in time saved for a single vehicle crossing a single intersection may not be considered significant; however, when a vehicle crosses multiple intersections it may be possible for the small individual time reductions to add up to a substantial decrease in overall duration. This can be seen in Copenhagen with some routes exhibiting savings of up to two minutes over a 10-15 minute journey. Before versus after stop-line The advice to the driver and the instructions issued to the roadside unit are supplied by the Compass4D system as the vehicle is approaching an intersection. However, if a vehicle does not need to slow down, because of an extended green period, then the vehicle will approach the stop-line faster, without stopping, and will also move away from the intersection faster. Compass4D demonstrates that the cumulative emissions of CO 2 dramatically increase during the acceleration process. Only 25% of total emissions occur before the stop-line, with 75% of the emissions occurring during acceleration phase to move away from the intersection. This not only has an impact on the fuel consumed by a vehicle, but also in any possible pollution impact from the increased emissions near intersections. Therefore, in order to reduce emissions at intersections, the most effective way is to reduce the need for acceleration after the stopline whenever possible.
Benefits & impacts Cost Benefit Analysis In order to assess the efficiency of C-ITS services, both direct and indirect costs related to the deployment of the different C-ITS services in the different pilots have been accounted for. The main aim was to evaluate if the benefits exhibited due to the deployment of the system, outweigh or justify the costs for the operation and maintenance for different types of vehicles and road side equipment. To this end, a cost-benefit analysis has been performed taking into account the initial investment and the annual operational costs, weighing them against the measured benefits in terms of energy efficiency and time savings. Since it was not possible to evaluate safety gains, these have not been considered in this analysis. As experienced in past investigations, due to differences in wages and prices, the estimated costs for the implementation of C-ITS services in the frame of Compass4D varied sensibly among different countries and cities. Hence, the overall results of the analysis illustrate that, depending on the different type of services and the vehicle category in each pilot, the estimated gains on an annual basis can vary considerably between different pilots. Generally monetary gains on an annual basis are larger in terms of time savings compared to the achieved fuel efficiency. One of the main conclusions of the cost-benefit analysis is that significant benefits can be achieved provided that the city seeks to integrate all functionalities and services related to C-ITS in its infrastructure. Even in this case, larger benefits may be expected from certain categories of vehicles. In particular, the Compass4D results reveal that the services benefits are larger for heavy trucks, buses and taxis compared to private vehicles. The reason for this is that the benefits in monetary terms of these users categories are directly proportional to the significant amount of hourly costs associated with wages of the persons involved in the field of transporting goods and people on a daily basis and the large scales of the target groups of interest. At the scale of a city, even for small amount of time saving achieved as a result of giving green light priority of the order of 2% can show a significant annual return, of the order of millions of Euros. Last but not least, the results also indicate that the ratio of the achieved benefits versus costs in terms of both time saving and energy efficiency depends heavily on the expansion of the system in terms of number of equipped vehicles and intersections. In the future, assuming that the penetration of the C-ITS systems and services increases so that the majority of vehicles and intersections is equipped with the necessary OBUs and RSUs, the reductions that can be achieved in terms of percentages of time travel and fuel consumption will be multiplied for all vehicle categories. Finally, it should be noted that the analysis conducted in the frame of Compass4D did not quantify the potential benefits on road safety, such as reduction in injuries or fatalities due to road accidents. This is simply due to the fact that it was not possible to measure the impact of the system in this respect in real life conditions, but only in simulations or in a controlled environment and with non-safety-critical conditions. However, after a number of years of running C-ITS services, it will be possible to collect sufficient data from real cases to conduct a statistical analysis and prove that the use of services such as the Road Hazard Warning or the Red Light Violation Warning can contribute to saving lives and prevent serious injuries. Then, the economic and societal benefits are expected to be very high.
Enablers For Sustainable Deployment One of the Compass4D objectives has been to ensure the continuation of services after the end of the project. To this end, public and private stakeholders have elaborated business models and exploitation plans for the sustainable deployment of cooperative ITS services. For each of the seven cities, these clarify the respective roles and responsibilities for operating C-ITS systems infrastructure (covering both onboard and road side units), for further maintenance, upgrade and standards compliance, for equipping additional vehicles and fleets in compliance with the local schemes, for running Compass4D cooperative services (including their further evaluation, improvements and expansion), and many other items essential for a sustainable afterproject life. These agreements have been reached on the basis of the successful Compass4D pilot experiences and results. In most cities, public authorities already have long-term framework contracts for operation of traffic management systems with suppliers and providers. The additional challenges of deploying C-ITS services from pilot to large scale after the end of the project will need to be appropriately addressed in adapted or new framework contracts. In some cities, additions to these contracts have already been made in order to ensure that C-ITS remains or becomes a solution for daily traffic management and to ensure its successful maintenance. If, for instance, an on-board unit malfunctions after the end of the project, it will be repaired during a certain period on an actual-cost basis (without profit) by the respective supplier. For irreparable, lost and stolen units, the costs will be incurred by the vehicle owner/fleet operator on the basis of commercial agreements already in place. For acquisition of new units when expanding C-ITS services operation to additional users, other rules might apply. For a large scale deployment of C-ITS, it is essential to ensure the interoperability between different vendor s systems. To tackle this, Compass4D has developed a Certification Framework and has been taking part in Plugtests 4 providing feedback to the main standardisation bodies. Furthermore, several project partners have cooperated with counterparts from the Department of Transportation (US DoT) in the USA, in order to harmonise communication and service protocols between the two continents. An important indication of the strong belief in cooperative systems as future-proof solutions has been the expansion of the pilot sites equipped with C-ITS communication technologies. For example, in both Copenhagen and Helmond additional routes, not co-funded by the pilot, have been already equipped before the end of the project with ITS-G5 communication technologies and Compass4D services. At the same time, the number of users has increased significantly, especially in the city of Thessaloniki, where hundreds of users have been involved in the pilot primarily due to usage of 3G mobile networks and the relatively low costs of operating a service based on smartphone Apps.
Enablers For Sustainable Deployment Further expansion of the services is planned in all seven Compass4D cities, along with the introduction of C-ITS services in additional cities having participated in Compass4D as associated partners. In order to reach a suitable cost-benefit situation, infrastructure and on-board unit costs need to decrease. However, when it comes to installation of new ITS-G5 units in the road side, a significant capital investment is related to the actual installation. If installation can be performed alongside other maintenance or installation works, the overall cost for C-ITS deployment will be considerably reduced. Therefore, implementation of services needs to be planned for strategically, giving priority to installation of units at critical intersections on few key corridors, so as to start providing benefits to users from the first day. Further expansion of services may be then rolled-out in combination with other planned intersection works. From professional users and fleet operators there is a specific pre-requisite to integrate Compass4D functionalities in the display already existing onboard their vehicle or on nomadic devices used for professional purposes. While such integration requires initial investment, it has been proven to be the right choice for large fleets, such as public buses in Copenhagen. 4 Plugtests events serve two main purposes: they provide essential feedback to improve international standards and to accelerate the standards-making process. Furthermore, they enable engineers to get together to test the interoperability of their implementations - which can reduce a product s time-to-market.
Future Perspectives Citizens wish to be mobile, unimpeded by traffic congestion, unnecessary delays and accidents. New road infrastructure is costly both in financial and environmental terms. Smart cities therefore need to offer smart, connected, safe and clean solutions. C-ITS can be a part of these solutions. Together with good urban planning, intermodal transport integration and cleaner vehicles, local authorities aim to make cities better places to live, pushing unnecessary traffic out of towns and their peripheries, while providing optimised mobility solutions for citizens and good accessibility for economic activities. In the Compass4D project, seven cities have joined forces with industry and research to pilot C-ITS services in real traffic environments with the ultimate aim to ensure a sustainable after-project life of such C-ITS services. The Compass4D project proved that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but it has extensively trialled three C-ITS services tailormade to the specific needs of the local situation and in line with local mobility policy goals. Copenhagen for example has focused mainly on improving public transport traffic flows, whereas the main focus of Helmond has been on evaluating and proving the benefits for emergency vehicles and urban freight. On the other hand, Thessaloniki and Vigo have concentrated their efforts on taxi fleets and freight transport, the main sources of traffic for the city. Based on the first positive results for users and cities, all seven pilot cities have decided to continue operating the Compass4D C-ITS services in 2016 regardless of European funding opportunities. Thanks to the strong commitment of both public and private stakeholders in the project, and the investment plans already defined or under definition, representatives from the cities are all convinced that C-ITS will help them to reduce road transport related emissions, improve traffic flows and increase road safety. However, in order to achieve a real impact, a concrete boost for large scale deployment is very much needed. It is all about getting more users, more services and more cities involved. This is the most important next step for both cities as well as the C-ITS industry. Only economies of scale and a mature market will ensure a sustainable growth and affordable roll-out of smart C-ITS solutions for smart, connected cities. Given the financial constraints that most cities and transport business operators are confronted with in Europe, cost effective solutions are the real key for success. The initiative of continuing the Compass4D activities in 2016 with the active support of the ERTICO Partnership and of the various associated public partners during the past three years of the project, demonstrates the true commitment shown by cities towards further deployment of C-ITS.
Consortium co-funded by Find out more Duration: January 2013 December 2015 Total budget: 9.996.000 Visit Compass4D website: www.compass4d.eu Contact Compass4D coordinator: Giacomo Somma, g.somma@mail.ertico.com For Media enquiries: Carla Coppola, c.coppola@mail.ertico.com Follow Compass4D on twitter: @Compass4D