The Reference Handbook for ITS Core Service Deployment in Europe comprises a series of guidance and advice for use by road authorities and operators to support them in development of their strategic approach, design development, deployment, installation and operation of Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (ITS) and remain compliant with EU legislation.
The purpose of the guidance is to assist Member States in taking a broadly similar approach so wider European added value can be achieved, while at the same time delivering the needs of individual Member States, as outlined in Figure I.
The content of the handbook has been written by ITS practitioners and experts in the field of Traffic and Travel Information and Traffic Management systems from across Europe. The authors pay particular attention to the introduction of the Delegated Regulations issued under the European ITS Directive (DR (EU) 2013/885, 2013/886, 2015/962 and 2017/1926) and how these requirements are to be incorporated into ITS systems and services.
The traditional domains of road operators have now opened up to data and information exchange with actors outside their own area of responsibility. In response, the guidelines incorporate the results achieved by the European C-ITS platform C-ROADS, so handbook users can see how other data services and future C-ITS services with impact their schemes and operations. In addition, through the cooperation of EU EIP with DATEX II, Recommended DATEX II Service Profiles have been developed for the ITS Core Services included in the handbook.
The handbook contains information to facilitate the adoption of existing ITS Service specifications and best practice in four areas where European cooperation can bring added value. These areas are:
The four target user groups for the guidelines comprise:
The handbook focuses on European ITS Core services under three ITS Service categories with 14 specific ITS Services in total. The tables below present the key focus areas of the handbook.
The Handbook is designed to facilitate quick assimilation. Through necessity, it incorporates a wealth of information. Therefore, in Section 1, the guidelines incorporate guidance to its reading, and a description of the overarching conceptual approach to describing each of the three ITS Services and 14 specific ITS Services highlighted above. In Section 2 they are explored separately following a standard structure. This structure is presented in Figure II below.
The introduction to each of the three services provides decision makers with general and strategic information common to TTI, TM and F&L services. The sections on Service at a Glance and ITS Service Profile describe what is achieved by the service, its profile in relation to other services and what type of benefits are expected.
Information and advice are given on harmonisation requirements. This extends to the requirements for data sharing of each ITS Service. This is based on the generic data sharing structure presented in Figure III.
Finally, three Annexes are incorporated to complement the handbook.
These Annexes are designed to provide examples of real-life deployments, along with further background information which will help in meeting the objectives of the reference handbook, which is to facilitate a European harmonised approach to the deployment of ITS systems and services.
