Accurate public road, traffic and travel data are key elements of ITS deployment especially to guarantee the availability of intelligent digital maps to allow the use of in-car navigation devices but also of travel planners and all kinds of traffic management applications.
An increasing number of ITS applications rely on the availability of accurate digital maps describing the road network geometry, topology and traffic related map attributes such as traffic regulations. However, these data are often unavailable, of uneven accuracy and reliability, while rules for their timely update in digital maps missing.
The main challenge is therefore to ensure a safe and easy access to digital road databases owned and maintained by thousands of road authorities in a standardised, non-discriminatory and transparent way.
This action is mentioned in Action Area 1: “Optimal use of road, traffic and travel data” under:
Action 1.3: Definition of procedures for ensuring the availability of accurate public data for digital maps and their timely updating through cooperation between the relevant public bodies and digital map providers, taking into account the results and recommendations of the eSafety Digital Maps Working Group.
As a first step, the European Commission is in 2011 conducting a study on the state-of-the-art concerning the practice of road data collection for digital maps in the Member States across the EU, with the definition of possible optimal procedures of data exchange between Member States road authorities and digital map providers, taking into account the existing or planned National and European Spatial Data Infrastructures.