Imagine if your car could communicate with other vehicles, warning you of any obstacles down the road. Imagine driving straight through toll booths as the payment is automatically processed. Imagine your car knowing when traffic lights are about to turn red and adjusting its speed accordingly. This future, and present in some cases, is made possible by Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).
ITS use digital technologies to improve road safety, traffic management and coordination between different transport modes for both passengers and freight. Vehicles are connected to each other, to users, and to the road infrastructure, allowing the collection and exchange of data to improve traffic flows and safety, and to allow policymakers to analyse patterns.
ITS have multiple applications, such as:
- navigation systems
- traffic and parking availability
- alerts on roadworks and congestion
- electronic fee collection
- traffic management
- car-sharing services
- support for automated driving
Many of these solutions are built on standardised specifications that allow different operators across Europe to exchange and use data.
ITS are key to achieving the EU’s goals of seamless transport, safety, and sustainability. They help reduce emissions, manage traffic jams, make transport safer, more efficient, and connected.
Intelligent Transport Systems are improving EU mobility
ITS services are widely used across Europe, on motorways, rural roads, inter-urban roads, and in urban areas. They support road transport efficiency and facilitate its integration with other transport modes at regional, national, and international levels.
ITS play a key role in creating the single European Transport Area, through the harmonisation of ITS services across EU Member States. The European Commission supports the use of ITS by co-funding EU projects that are working on improved journeys and operations across different transport modes. Several projects focus on developing the next generation of ITS solutions, through the deployment of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), which will also allow road users and traffic managers to share information and use it to coordinate their actions.
Benefits of a connected and digital transport network
A harmonised and interconnected multimodal transport network across Europe brings many benefits:
- Greener travel: ITS help reduce congestion and encourages the use of low-carbon transport through real-time data, contributing to the decarbonisation of the transport network.
- Safer and more efficient travel: ITS improve traffic flows, reduces emissions and congestion, and make mobility safer and more accessible. By using real-time traffic data, ITS services can suggest alternative routes to avoid traffic jams, pinpoint locations for emergency responders, or adjust speed limits based on weather conditions.
- A strategic economic sector: The ITS sector creates highly skilled jobs, boosts exports, and supports many other economic sectors.
- More customer choice: ITS give travellers more options in their journeys through better information and customer engagement.
- More resilient: ITS can connect and coordinate different modes of transport, increasing the ability of the network to adapt to and recover from disruptions, whether they are caused by accidents, natural disasters, or other unforeseen events.
However, as the use of ITS accelerates, a number of challenges arise alongside the opportunities. While the deployment of ITS can create new services and jobs, these benefits can only be fully realised if coherent solutions are introduced in a coordinated and consistent manner.
One of the main challenges is ensuring operational and technical interoperability - meaning that the same ITS services must function seamlessly across all Member States. Additional hurdles include user acceptance, navigating legal constraints, and ensuring security. Moreover, the pace of technological development remains uneven across different Member States and transport modes, further complicating widespread implementation.
That is why the EU is investing significant resources to address the technological, regulatory and social challenges, while ensuring a common robust approach to security and data protection.
EU funding for Intelligent Transport Systems
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Transport
- Supports the development of trans-European infrastructure and new technologies such as ITS transport corridors and harmonised C-ITS services.
- Contributes to the implementation of EU policies (such as the ITS Directive and delegated acts), for example the eCall service.
- Provided €750 million in EU funding since 2014, triggering investments of €1.8 billion for the deployment of ITS and C-ITS services.
EU research and innovation programmes (Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe)
- Supports R&I initiatives to integrate new mobility solutions in the transport system and facilitate the transition towards multimodal traffic management that is compliant with ITS specifications.
- Funded projects also explore and test innovative automated driving technologies, supported by artificial intelligence, digital twins, and C-ITS, and Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM)
- Over €100 million in EU funding since 2014 to advance research on multimodal traffic management, ITS and support to automated transport.
1. Harmonised cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems
C-ITS enable real-time communication between road vehicles, roadside and urban infrastructure such as traffic signals, and other road users. This allows for a wide range of information-sharing and cooperation services that improve road safety, traffic efficiency, and decision-making. The deployment of C-ITS also supports the future automation of transport. EU investment supports deployment of ITS infrastructure and technical harmonisation and facilitates cooperation among EU Member States and other stakeholders. This ensures safe, smooth operations, data security, and is a key step toward achieving the EU’s vision of seamless transport for passengers and freight.
The C-Roads platform is a joint initiative by EU Member States and road operators that deploy C-ITS services, particularly along highways and in urban areas:
- Ensures that C-ITS services are harmonised and interoperable across participating countries
- Improves road safety and efficiency, contributing to the decarbonisation of transport and helping cities address challenges related to urbanisation
- Use cases include roads works warnings, in-vehicle speed limits, weather conditions, in-vehicle signage, green light optimal speed advisory, slow or stationary vehicle warnings
- Receives €124 million in EU funding, +20 CEF Transport funded projects are testing and deploying C-ITS across Europe
- Over 2,000 C-ITS stations are already operational in the EU, discover them on our interactive map.
The EU’s trans-European transport network policy is a key tool for developing a high-quality, multimodal transport infrastructure across Europe. The network comprises railways, inland waterways, short sea shipping routes, roads, urban nodes, maritime and inland ports, airports and terminals. It fosters efficient transportation for people and goods, ensures access to jobs and services, and enables trade and economic growth.
Thousands of kilometres of roads, especially along the TEN-T core network corridors and in multi-national projects, are now equipped with ITS services funded by CEF.
These initiatives have led to significant improvements in road safety and traffic efficiency, including a reduction in road fatalities and severe injuries, as well as tangible financial savings. The ITS corridors offer complementary geographical coverage.
Over the past five years, ITS corridor projects funded by CEF Transport have achieved concrete results, including an estimate of:
- at least 75 road fatalities avoided
- at least 2,000 injuries prevented
- annual savings of at least €55 million
The MATIS project deploys a wide range of ITS services to improve the efficiency, safety and sustainability of road transport along the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and North-Sea Mediterranean TEN-T corridors. It covers several urban areas and cross-border sections in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. MATIS uses advanced ITS solutions to tackle road congestion, reduce bottlenecks, and improve road safety and multimodality.
EU funding: €62 million
The X4ITS project brings together public authorities, cities, public transport operators, rail suppliers, road administrations and traffic information service providers from Eastern and Central Europe. Their goal is to develop a connected ITS road network along the Central and Eastern corridors of the TEN-T network.
EU funding: €32 million
3. eCall: 112-based emergency assistance from your vehicle
eCall is a safety system in vehicles across the EU that automatically makes a free 112 emergency call if your vehicle is involved in a serious road accident. You can also manually activate eCall by pressing a button. As a mandatory safety feature, eCall helps reduce the number of fatalities as well as the severity of injuries caused by road accidents. eCall works in all EU countries, connecting your vehicle to the nearest emergency response network, no matter where you are. The eCall device is fitted into all new models of cars and light vans since 31 March 2018. Studies estimate that eCall can speed up emergency response times by 40% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas. It is also expected that it can reduce the number of fatalities by at least 4% and severe injuries by 6%.
Three key projects funded by CEF Transport ensure that the European public emergency services are able to handle eCalls across Europe and that vehicles can be retrofitted with this system:
The I_HeERO project upgraded 281 public-safety answering points along roads in 11 Member States to enable the proper functioning of eCall services implemented across the EU.
EU funding: €13.1 million
The sAFE project defined the standards and specifications for deployment of aftermarket systems for eCall for vehicles such as heavy goods vehicles, coaches, buses, tractors, tricycles & quadricycles.
EU funding: €2.7 million
The X_HeERO project will enable public-safety answering points to install hardware and software solutions which fits the necessary requirements within each Member State, preparing them for the mandatory implementation of the eCall service.
EU funding: €9.6 million
The EU is also investing substantial resources, through the Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation, into Connected, Cooperative, and Automated Mobility (CCAM). Projects supported in this field are contributing significantly to the advancement of automation, electrification and digitalisation, among which C-ITS, to make roads safer, traffic smoother, and transport smarter and more user-friendly.
CCAM and C-ITS go hand-in-hand. While C-ITS builds the digital highways – the communication infrastructure that lets vehicles talk to each other and the world around them – CCAM brings intelligence, feeding real-time data into the system and making sure everything works together, seamlessly.
By investing in various research and innovation activities, the EU aims to create a more integrated, efficient, and sustainable European transportation network.
The knowledge and technologies developed in these projects are paving the way to a future where cooperative, connected, and automated vehicles can seamlessly operate within intelligent transportation systems, providing tangible benefits in terms of safety, efficiency, and sustainability.
Through these efforts, the EU not only contributes to improving European transport but also sets a global benchmark for innovative and sustainable mobility solutions.
- Enhancing communication and safety
A key area of innovation is the development and improvement of communication technologies between vehicles and roadside infrastructure. Projects such as CONNECT are helping to secure and improve the reliability of 5G C-V2X communication – essential for the safe and timely exchange of critical information. These advancements allow vehicles to complement their onboard sensors with data from the cloud, enabling quicker, cooperative decision-making and enhancing situational awareness.
- Building intelligent infrastructure
EU-funded projects are also driving the development of Physical and Digital Infrastructure (PDI) that supports automated driving. By standardising and integrating data from infrastructure and vehicles, these systems provide a robust and redundant information layer.
For example, the AUGMENTED CCAM project uses C-ITS data to improve high-definition maps and deliver live updates on roadworks, traffic incidents, and congestion. Meanwhile, the PoDIUM project is creating new standardised C-ITS messages and technologies to support functions such as cooperative driving, intersection assistance, and the protection of vulnerable road users. The project is also developing advanced roadside and on-board units to enable local data generation and environmental modelling using digital twins.
- Improving perception and safety
The collective perception of automated vehicles can significantly enhance road safety. By sharing real-time information about road hazards with other users via C-ITS, vehicles contribute to a safer road environment. Projects such as EVENTS and ROADVIEW focus on equipping vehicles with cutting-edge perception and decision-making technologies, enabling them to operate effectively in complex and unpredictable conditions.
CONNECT is developing a data model that captures all the trust relationships in the communications system, then assessing whether the data is reliable enough for processing.
EU funding: €5.7 million
AUGMENTED CCAM set out to understand, harmonise, and assess innovative physical and digital infrastructure (PDI) support solutions for connected and automated vehicles.
EU funding: €9 million
The goal of the EVENTS project is to enhance safety, intelligence, and reliability in automated vehicles. By equipping them with advanced perception and decision-making systems, it aims to enable connected and automated vehicles to navigate adverse and unpredictable environments.
EU funding: €5.5 million
The ULTIMO project is deploying fleets of sustainable, cost-effective automated vehicles in three European cities, where they will be used for public transportation and logistics purposes. The vehicles are intended to be available on-demand, offering door-to-door services.
EU funding: €38 million
5. Optimised multimodal traffic management
The future of traffic management is multimodal, and it is being shaped by the integration of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) methods and data-driven solutions. These technologies are enabling the optimisation of passenger and freight flows, the synchronisation of different transport modes, and the ability to respond to disruptions in real-time. The result is a transport network that is not only more efficient but also more adaptive and resilient. Projects like ACUMEN and SYNCHROMODE are leading the way in developing these cutting-edge solutions.
- Digital governance for seamless mobility
The successful digital transformation of multimodal transport also relies on innovative governance and regulatory frameworks. These are essential for the standardisation and harmonisation of transport data flows across different stakeholders and systems. Such frameworks support the secure, real-time exchange of information – critical for integrated, responsive mobility management.
The DELPHI project, for example, exemplifies this approach. It is dedicated to the design and implementation of governance structures that facilitate the integration of diverse data sources, with a particular focus on improving multimodal traffic and logistics management.
- Smarter urban traffic management
In urban environments, managing future automated vehicle flows is essential. For example, the CONDUCTOR project has developed advanced traffic and fleet management systems, including adaptive traffic signal control, to reduce congestion and minimise journey times. These tools are helping cities better prepare for the integration of automated vehicles into existing traffic systems.
The SYNCHROMODE project aims to transform traffic management by adopting a multimodal, network-wide approach and equipping traffic managers with the SYNCHROMODE toolbox. This will offer predictive tools to balance supply and demand and handle disruptions.
EU funding: €4.5 million
The DELPHI project uses advanced technologies like drone monitoring and artificial intelligence algorithms to improve traffic management. The goal is to enable seamless data sharing across mobility sectors, from passengers to freight.
EU funding: €5 million
The CONDUCTOR project is developing and demonstrating advanced traffic and fleet management for efficient, seamless, and optimised transport of passengers and goods across multiple modes.
EU funding: €4.6 million