The preparation of the
European ITS Directive and its publication in 2010 became the basis for the development of subsequent initiatives at European level.
Historically, the European Commission's TEN-T programs aimed at harmonizing the deployment of ITS in-road transport on international corridors have been as follows:
The EASYWAY project involved all Euro-regions and brought together national road authorities (around 150 road managers in total), the national administration and other associated program partners from the public and commercial sectors, such as representatives of the automotive industry and public transportation.
The program was set up to address traffic problems on important European corridors crossing international, regional and natural barriers, which are related to a high percentage of heavy goods vehicles with a high proportion of foreign drivers or located adjacent to large urban agglomerations.
It defined the gaps in the ITS systems and services already deployed at the time. It also aimed to fill these gaps by developing future common European services based on examples of good practice. At the same time, it supported a multimodal approaches and solutions.
From the harmonization activities of the EASYWAY working groups, the
Easyway Deployment Guidelines, deployment guidelines for each ITS area, were published in 2012. Today, these guidelines are no longer valid (replaced in 2021, see link below).
The working groups also prepared a vision for the future on how to further develop and harmonize ITS services in cooperation with other European initiatives, programs, and projects.
The EASYWAY and EASYWAY II programs were followed up in 2013 by the newly established European ITS Platform, with two follow-ups until 2021.
The aim of the Platform was to achieve a coordinated progressive update of the synchronization achieved in areas where the level of progress and/or the European Delegated Regulations, Implementing Regulations and other guidance required it. The EASYWAY Manual was updated in 2015.
The European ITS Platform can also be considered as a European ITS knowledge management center, which contributes significantly to the most efficient use of ITS standards and specifications.
At the ITS World Congress in Hamburg, Germany, in October 2021, the Reference Manual for the Harmonized Deployment of ITS Core Services in Europe, the result of the work of the European ITS Platform had its official premiere. Read more
here. This manual completely replaces the previous EASYWAY manuals.
As a result of the European ITS Platform and collaborating organizations, a book entitled Intelligent Transport Systems for Safe, Environmentally Friendly and Efficient Traffic on the European Road Network was published in March 2022. You can read more about this publication
here.
The European ITS Platform makes it possible to look back on its website at the results of events organized directly by the Platform or by other organizers in which one of the Platform's working groups has participated. You can find a chronologically ordered list of events with relevant links
here.