Network and traffic management for future mobility

Deadline: Sep 8, 2020  
CALL EXPIRED

The transition towards connected and automated mobility, also in a mixed environment with conventional vehicles/vessels requires effective network and traffic management solutions. For instance, bottlenecks across road, rail, air and water can result in system-wide capacity constraints, traffic jams and increased pollutant emissions. As a result, an advanced multi-modal transport system requires coordinated and organised traffic flows to dynamically optimise the entire transport network. Furthermore, integrated urban and inter-urban traffic management and mobility information systems contribute to optimising transport flows both through cities and in rural regions. This challenge calls for the design and optimisation of intelligent systems and operations, to monitor live traffic conditions and flow performance, to enable real-time traffic information sharing and network-wide optimisation processes, adapting flows and configurations, as well as to allow distribution of control actions to network users via connected/cooperative devices. Such an advanced network and traffic management capability should also enable new dynamic mobility services for passengers and freight.

In order to meet this challenge, proposals should build on existing state-of-the-art and address at least 6 of the following aspects:

• Analyse the requirements for a next-generation multi-modal network and traffic management capability (incl. intra-modal optimisation and development of cross-modal interfaces), which would enable the integration of smart infrastructures, connected and automated vehicles, systems and services into a truly multi-modal network.
• Design an architecture and concept of operations for an efficient, resilient and adaptable multi-modal network and traffic management system, using innovative data collection/fusion techniques and leveraging where possible existing standards/methods for data exchange.
• Assess the relevance, differentiation and preference for a centralised versus a decentralised approach towards network and traffic management in the presence of connected and automated vehicles. Existing work in this area, including from the Joint Research Centre should be taken into consideration.
• Develop multi-actor organisational and business models with shared responsibilities, which would enable effective network and traffic management by designing appropriate interfaces and interactions between the different traffic management systems of stakeholders.
• Develop tools for dynamic transport demand management and dynamic transport supply optimisation, enabling demand-capacity balancing for efficient journey management (for passengers and freight taking into account men’s and women’s needs).
• Design and calibrate arbitration models for complex network and traffic management scenarios and multi-actor settings, including disaster management (optimising multiple performance targets, enabling triggering conditions and balancing individual versus collective needs).
• Perform simulations for traffic optimisation under various scenarios (e.g. large/sport event) involving smart infrastructures, conventional as well as connected and automated vehicles, in urban / non-urban settings, considering foreseen (e.g. roadworks) or unforeseen circumstances (e.g. accidents), within a multi-modal network and traffic management system.
• Develop and test traffic management systems for connected and automated vehicle fleets, enabling the efficient operation of such fleets on open roads and thereby, contributing to smart, energy efficient, multimodal mobility concepts.
• Design a classification index for smart infrastructures, according to their capability to effectively support optimised network and traffic management for connected and automated vehicles.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of EUR 4 to 5 million each would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Actions are expected to address all of the following aspects:

• Accelerate the transition towards connected and automated mobility and the development of new services;
• Facilitate the integration of transport modes into a multimodal network for passengers and freight;
• Reduce capacity bottlenecks and, traffic jams, thereby saving time (for passengers and freight) and reducing pollutant emissions, leading also to positive health effects in Europe;
• Improve safety and security in all transport modes, in line with the Transport White Paper (e.g. Vision Zero);
• Reduce the cost of mobility for all (incl. industry, public authorities and citizens).