Technological innovation has led to a growing demand for a new mobility service as the sector responds to the need for safer and more sustainable transport

A new driverless shuttle bus is hitting the streets of Greenwich, London, in the next three weeks. The vehicle, which travels up to 16.1kph, will be controlled by a computer. This comes months after a driverless bus was trialled in Perth, Australia, and taxi company Uber launched its first self-driving taxi fleet in the US. Meanwhile, Google’s driverless cars are making progress: the number of human interventions on public roads halved in 2016. Tesla, Ford and GM are also racing to develop autonomous vehicle technology.

This is the kind of scenario being envisioned for the future of transport... and although it might seem extreme to some, the reality is that vehicles are increasingly becoming automated.

On Digital Day, observed recently as part of the official celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime and Services Economy Emmanuel Mallia addressed a session titled ‘Towards Cooperative Connected and Automated Mobility’ together with the EU Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, Günther H. Oettinger.

The Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, Maritime and Services Economy, Emmanuel Mallia, signing a letter of intent in Rome on the testing and large-scale demonstrations of connected and automated driving.

Mallia highlighted how the transport sector was changing profoundly both in Europe and other parts of the world. Technological innovation has led to a growing demand for a new mobility service while, at the same time, the sector is responding to the pressing need for safer, more efficient and sustainable transport.

Mallia stressed that the European flagship initiatives in automated and connected driving have been beneficial  and that the European Strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) was a milestone towards cooperative, connected and automated mobility.

The objective of the strategy, which the European Commission adopted last November, is a wide-scale commercial deployment of C-ITS – which optimise communication between vehicles, infrastructure and road users – as of 2019. This is expected to drastically improve road safety, traffic efficiency and help drivers make the right decisions in a bid to reduce road fatalities. Such systems are also crucial to increase the safety of automated vehicles in future and their integration in the transport network.

The European Strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems is a milestone towards cooperative, connected and automated mobility

At the end of the session, the minister, together with representatives from other member states, signed a letter of intent on the testing and large-scale demonstrations of connected and automated driving.

During the same event in Rome, Mallia also addressed a session on the impact of the digital transformation on jobs and skills policy as an important response to the challenges due to digitisation.

Technology is advancing at an accelerated pace, transforming business activities and creating global, European and national opportunities which in turn should further boost jobs and economic growth. However, this new activity is presenting a challenge for society which has to constantly adapt to new technologies and acquire digital skills to keep up to date with developments.

A sign notifies civilians of a driverless bus trial in Perth, Australia. The 11-seater bus spent three months driving a 2.7km stretch of the South Perth foreshore. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Research revealed that the digital transformation is, in fact, counter-producing a digital skills gap in Europe. According to the European Digital Progress Report 2016, approximately 45 per cent of Europeans lack basic digital skills.

Malta ranked 12th in the Digital Economy and Society Index of the same report. It performed above the EU average in broadband connectivity, internet use by citizens, the use of digital technology by businesses and the provision of digital public services. It was considered a European leader in fastbroadband coverage and in the quality of e-government services, but it lags behind its European counterparts as regards the digital skills of its population.

The index revealed that only 49 per cent of the Maltese had at least basic digital skills compared with 56 per cent in the EU.

Mallia pointed out that in order to fill this skills gap, educational institutions needed to change strategy.

“The digital skills landscape needs people with digital and business practical understanding and persons with strategic leadership. University and business schools need to move away from traditional behaviours, anthologies, curriculum standards and existing programmes,” he said.

What are C-ITS?

Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) allow road users and traffic managers to share information and use it to coordinate their actions. C-ITS are based on technologies which allow vehicles to “talk” to each other and to the transport infrastructure. In addition to what drivers can immediately see around them, and what vehicle sensors can detect, all parts of the transport system are thus able to share information.

For example, vehicles automatically warn each other of potentially dangerous situations (e.g. emergency braking or end of traffic jam queue) and communicate with local road infrastructure (e.g. optimal speed advice). This improves decision-making, either by the driver or – in the future – by the vehicle itself.

European strategy

The objective of the European Strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems is to allow for a wide-scale commercial deployment of C-ITS from 2019. This is expected to significantly improve road safety, traffic efficiency and comfort of driving, by helping the driver to make the right decisions and adapt to the traffic situation.

Most importantly, digital technologies help reduce human error, by far the greatest source of accidents in transport. The steady trend in improving road safety that the EU has seen over the last decade has slowed down. C-ITS can help to revive a positive dynamic in the reduction of road fatalities in order to reach the EU target of halving the overall number of road deaths in the EU between 2010 and 2020.

Communication between vehicles, infrastructure and other road users is also crucial to increase the safety of future automated vehicles and their full integration in the overall transport system. (source: www.europa.eu)