A range of transport professionals hailing from the private and public sectors adopted a formal Declaration on Intelligent Transport Systems on November 10th during the European Union Digital Transport Days in Tallinn, Estonia.
The event was convened on invitation from the Estonian Presidency of the European Union to discuss the future of transport digitalisation, under the aegis of Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc.
The 10-point declaration vows to maintain European leadership in the digitalisation of transport systems in order to achieve higher efficiency, safety, inclusivity and sustainability for all. Commitments are made to achieve safe automation, interoperable solutions, and integrated transport modes in order to deliver multimodal mobility.
European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc at the Digital Transport Days on November 9th (©Maksim Toome 2017)
The Declaration also addresses concerns about data protection and privacy, with a view to building up consumer trust and prevent potentially devastating cyberattacks, and includes an explicit commitment to the high standards laid out in the General Data Protection Regulation and its 2015 revision.
Focus on common data models and interfaces is expected to allow open platforms and shared services to grow while securing a level playing field, coupled with the introduction of paperless data sharing in order to cut the red tape and allow the creation of new mobility services.
The human factor is not forgotten either. The Declaration underlines the need for a ‘socially sustainable transition to digitalized and automated transport’ and for investment in skills and lifelong training.
In her remarks to the 2017 Digital Transport Days on November 9th, Commissioner Bulc called on participants to look past digitalisation, ‘To challenge the way we understand the digital world’ and ‘To imagine what comes after digitalisation’, noting in particular the need to ensure cybersecurity and ‘privacy by choice’.
Read more:
Speech by Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc at the Tallinn Digital Transport Days: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/bulc/announcements/speech-commissioner-bulc-tallinn-digital-transport-days_en
Digital Transport Days Declaration: https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/2017-11-08-mobility-package-two/2017-11-10-digital-transport-days-declaration.pdf
