The strong implementation of C-ITS game of Vienna
While some might be concerned about timings and sales opportunities of new technologies, cities mostly care about the common good. But what does this mean in respect of C-ITS? Helmut Augustin has Vienna´s answer on how to play this game for the common good and is not about being first, but rather simply getting it right.
Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems, also known as C-ITS, have been rapidly developing and influencing our everyday travels, from the cars we use to the routes we decide to take.
Credits: City of Vienna
Amongst all cities, Vienna is playing the C-ITS game in : it does recognise the necessity of physical mobility in modern society, but it also acknowledges the negative outcomes caused by ill-managed transport, such as excessive land use, skyrocketing emissions, energy depletion and frequent crashes. For this reason, it is developing a framework to balance it all and to, on one hand, ensure the management and control of digital infrastructures, and on the other, to allow technology to contribute to the city’s goals.
Quantity, quality, equality of public space
Cities and their public space fulfil a variety of functions, of which providing space for vehicles to move is only one amongst several. Indeed, streets are much more than spaces for traffic flows, which is why the optimisation of road space must not solely focus on motorized traffic.
Within this frame, C-ITS carved out a special place for themselves - they create new possibilities to organize the road space, both spatially and temporally, while increasing safety and spatial quality (e.g., environmental zones, school zones, etc.) – and why not, equality, too. As a matter of fact, streets are an open system that must remain usable for everyone without restrictions, including "non-connected" users.
Looking at Vienna’s example, traffic is predominantly organised as a mixed system, making multimodality extremely important. C-ITS applications can enhance a seamless transition between the different modes, and in the areas of competition between different modes for scarce traffic space, C-ITS services can also help implement priority regulations set in the public interest, such as UVAR (Urban Vehicle Access Regulations like zone management, access restrictions, zero emission zones, school zones), prioritisation at intersections and clearance of priority routes.
Managing traffic – making it dynamic
How will the future of mobility look like in Vienna? - Credits: City of Vienna/Schreinerkastler
Digital technologies are able to efficiently distribute scarce spaces through dynamic usage patterns. In particular, efficient curb side management is of great importance, especially in areas with high density of uses and functions.
Cities should be mixed-use and compact, allowing people to easily reach a variety of destinations. This would facilitate a shift towards non-motorised modes of transport, increasing the affordability of mobility and road safety. Shared micro-mobility can be an alternative to car transportation – especially on short distances, providing a suitable solution for the first and last mile to/from public transport stops, which in necessary in more peripheral locations.
C-ITS are also able to optimize traffic flows and minimize energy consumption and emissions. Vienna’s take is that traffic should only occur when the benefits exceed the costs. The remaining traffic should flow optimally to minimise energy consumption and emissions, using dynamic routing and travel information services, as well as reservation and billing services for combined forms of mobility and so-called "Day 1 Services".
Safety – from… Day 1 (Services)
Road safety is a high priority for the city of Vienna. Therefore, modes that pose fewer dangers should be promoted – public transport and not-motorised modes topping the list.
Even though vehicles should already safely function without the support of C-ITS, they could represent an additional safety net when available – ITS "Day 1 Services" can indeed contribute to minimize potential hazards.
As a matter of fact, it is fair to say that C-ITS services are not infallible, which is why transport systems and vehicles must be classified as acceptably safe at all times ("fail safe").
With regard to the transport infrastructure, this state – or fallback level – is the existing system without C-ITS services. Remote control of motor vehicles must be excluded in order to avoid creating a new category of threat scenarios, and IT security must be guaranteed over the entire planned lifetime of C-ITS and IoT components.
Infrastructures at all costs?
How will the future of mobility look like in Vienna? - Credits: City of Vienna/Schreinerkastler
The city of Vienna has clearly stipulated that it will avoid implementing ITS technologies in long-lasting and exclusively analogue infrastructure elements as those shall not be subjected to the maintenance needs of IT equipment nor to their much shorter obsolescence cycles.
Rather traffic light signal systems and switch boxes are considered as suitable locations for roadside equipment with C-ITS infrastructure.
If C-ITS, Big Data and quality-assured data offer great opportunities, associated costs and possible refinancing must be taken into account from the beginning.
The city of Vienna also wants to make sure that public C-ITS offers does not lead to strongly extended liabilities of the public sector, as the city does not take responsibility for the risk and behaviours of road users.
The city of Vienna has clearly stipulated that it will avoid implementing ITS technologies in long-lasting and exclusively analogue infrastructure elements as those shall not be subjected to the maintenance needs of IT equipment nor to their much shorter obsolescence cycles.
Rather traffic light signal systems and switch boxes are considered as suitable locations for roadside equipment with C-ITS infrastructure.
Open city – open data
In its framework, the city of Vienna considers data-based decisions, believing that data sharing should not be a one-way street. For this reason, Vienna is pursuing an open data policy and recognises the need to provide C-ITS-relevant in high availability and standardised formats to support public interest.
If gathering data is necessary to pursue efficient evidence-based decision making, vehicle sensors, rather than roadside units, should be prioritized to collect data. To ensure data protection and efficiency, special business-to-government services shall provide anonymised data. For traffic and incident management, infrastructure planning and maintenance data, such as traffic volume, speed, routing data, sensor data (critical situations, conditions of the road) and parking (search time, availability) is needed.
C-ITS supports public transport management in data collection and control. Ideally, it also works anticipatively thanks to the transmitted "in-vehicle data". However, it is not exclusively committed to the interests of a specific road user but follows policy objectives.
Lastly, if decisions in transport are made or influenced by algorithms, the underlying decision-making logic and data must be disclosed in order to support professional and societal discourse.
The road ahead
While some seem concerned with the timeframes and sales opportunities of new technologies, the city of Vienna focuses on the ways C-ITS can improve citizens' quality of life. As with most technologies, the impact of C-ITS will indeed depend on how it is implemented, determining whether it will benefit the common good or lead to dystopian developments.
The road ahead is clear: the consequent task of Vienna’s urban and transport planners is to provide a comprehensive framework for the implementation of C-ITS to make sure the connected transport system will follow the goals of public interest.
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About Vienna as a POLIS member
The Austrian capital is a thriving city – Vienna has indeed grown by 340,000 people since 2002. With 1.9 Mio. inhabitants Vienna currently is the 5th-largest city in the EU.
Promoting environmentally friendly modes of transport has been Vienna’s mobility policy for decades. This heritage is reinforced by the current Smart City Framework Strategy and the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. Besides improving infrastructures for cycling and public transport, it directed attention to efficient measures in traffic management and put MaaS and urban logistics on its agenda.
In addition, thanks to the introduction of the € 365 annual ticket for public transport and the continuing extension of the underground network, the number of annual ticket holders is now higher than the number of car owners!
Vienna has been involved in the following EU projects: LEVITATE, Smarter together, and JPI - Projekte "PlaceCity”.
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About the author
Helmut Augustin is Head of the Coordination Unit for Digitization, Section Mobility Strategies, Department Urban Planning and Development at City of Vienna.
Credit: Pixabay