About C-ITS

C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems) refers to a category of transport systems that use communication technologies to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of transport. These systems enable vehicles, road infrastructure and portable devices to exchange data and information relevant to the section of road being travelled, in order to improve road safety, anticipate risks and enable cooperative traffic management. In particular, the cooperative mode enables the vehicle's on-board sensors to collect information and transmit it automatically to the vehicles ahead, in a transceiver logic.

The challenges of C-ITS are therefore varied and include the following benefits:

  • Improve the safety of users and staff, thanks in particular to on-board communication systems and driving aids
  • Better manage traffic flows and reduce congestion by optimising the management of public transport networks and fleets
  • Optimise real-time traffic information to make the passenger experience more comfortable
  • Better connect the networks managed by the various operators, including multimodal networks, in order to encourage environmentally friendly modes of transport, modal transfers and reduce the impact on the environment
  • Develop new services for users and create new business models
  • Deploy a road infrastructure that meets the future technological needs of connected and automated vehicles

As such, the benefits of C-ITS can be reaped not only by 'individual' road users, but also by road infrastructure operators at all levels (local, national, concessionary, etc.). In addition to these global issues, when all (or a large proportion of) vehicles are equipped, these technologies will make it possible to do without equipment on the road network (which is expensive to maintain), such as variable message signs or data collection stations.

The emergence of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) can be traced back to technological developments and growing concerns about mobility, road safety and transport efficiency. Initially centred on research programmes, experiments with C-ITS have over time been based on proven technologies that enable them to be put to practical use in road transport networks.

  1. 1980-1990 : The beginnings of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS): The foundations for ITS were laid in the 1980s and 1990s with the development of information and communication technologies. The first systems were often implemented locally, in particular to improve urban traffic management or develop electronic toll systems.
  2. 1990-2000 : Development of standards: Communication standards for transport systems began to be developed, with particular emphasis on interoperability between different equipment and systems. Across Europe, these standards took the form of ITS directives drawn up by the European Commission, which were implemented more widely in the 2000s and 2010s.
  3. 2000s : Integration of connectivity: With advances in wireless communication technologies and transport-dedicated communication networks (e.g. the technology known as DSRC - Dedicated Short-Range Communications), connectivity between vehicles and road infrastructure gradually acquired the technical resources needed for it to be industrialised. The first vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication systems began to be explored. Whereas ITS can operate autonomously, without requiring communication between vehicles or with road infrastructure, C-ITS ("cooperative" ITS) focuses specifically on using communication between vehicles (V2V), between vehicles and road infrastructure (V2I), and between vehicles and other stakeholders (V2X) to improve transport safety and efficiency.
  4. 2010s : Standardisation and experimentation: Standardisation and experimentation: Standardisation of C-ITS increased with bodies such as ISO ( International Organisation for Standardisation) and CEN ( European Committee for Standardisation) developing standards to ensure interoperability between systems. Pilot projects and full-scale experiments were launched to test the effectiveness and feasibility of C-ITS in real-life conditions. The Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion supported several of these projects with the European Commission, including SCOOP@France, InterCor and InDiD.
  5. 2020s : Deployment and adoption: C-ITS are beginning to be deployed on a broader scale in Europe, with applications such as collision warning, intelligent traffic signals and real-time traffic information services. Many road managers and operators use these technologies on a daily basis on their networks and continue to update them. Interest in C-ITS is also being encouraged by the development of automated driving, although the corresponding use cases still need to be refined. These mainly concern remote intervention on vehicles without a driver on board and interaction with law enforcement agencies or emergency and rescue vehicles and personnel.

The development of C-ITS is an ongoing process, involving public and private players (research, industry, local authorities, road operators, etc.) working together. The stakeholders involved in this process continue to explore new applications and meet the challenges associated with this technology, especially in terms of safety, privacy, standardisation and regulation.

Access to data on road infrastructure, regulations, network conditions, traffic, safety alerts and certain services (electric recharging, parking, etc.) is covered by European regulations (2010 ITS Directive and delegated regulations on real-time traffic information, safety-related events and HGV parking). These regulations have led to the creation of a national data access point (on the Bison Futé website).

The loi d’orientation des mobilités (Mobility Orientation Law) no. 2019-1428 of 24 December 2019, includes in its Title III "making a success of the new mobility revolution" a chapter entitled "accelerating the opening up of data and the development of digital services". The European delegated regulation that these provisions originate from sets out requirements for real-time availability data for car-sharing and self-service bicycle services; the French law extends this to availability data for car-sharing services, taxis, cycles and personal mobility devices. Furthermore, details have been provided on the data to be made available for electric vehicle charging points.

Ongoing changes in the European context (and in particular the regulation on real-time traffic information (2022/670) mean that the scope of the network concerned will be extended to include the entire road network open to the public (from 1 January 2025 for data relating to regulations and the condition of the network, and from 1 January 2028 for data relating to infrastructure and traffic), and that new obligations will be included (holders of in-vehicle data, operators of recharging networks). The revision of the ITS Directive, currently being published, will add an obligation to digitise data that has not yet been digitised, as well as obligations to authenticate and secure data exchanges (Public Key Infrastructure - PKI).

National regulations on access to vehicle data (ordonnance n° 2021-442 et décret n°2023-644) cover incidents and knowledge of the state of the network and traffic.

Focus on European directives:

  • The European Directive Directive 2010/40/EU on ITS established in 2010 aims to provide a common vision across Europe concerning the deployment of ITS. It defines the objectives that the systems put in place must aim for (interoperability, safety, efficiency, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, etc.). It lays down principles in terms of cooperation, data security and protection of privacy. It specifies priority geographical areas within the European Union.
  • This directive was amended in November 2023 with Directive (EU) 2023/2661, which focuses on the integration of new mobility services (such as MaaS) and automated and connected mobility. In particular, it calls for as much information as possible to be made available to users in digital format, in a way that is interoperable between countries and between media.

Since 2014, French C-ITS projects have received up to 50% funding from the European Union. This funding is provided under the CEF - Connecting Europe Facility. The strategy adopted by France concerning these projects is to continue to propose them for European funding, in order to maintain the momentum, stimulate local and transnational experimentation, and encourage new public and private players to collaborate in the work.

Road connectivity, or vehicle-infrastructure connectivity, is attracting growing interest from all the players and sectors concerned because of the expected benefits in terms of safety, infrastructure operation, knowledge of traffic flows and road assets, and vehicle maintenance. For users, connectivity is a prerequisite to the development of onboard information during the journey or prior to the journey, as well as services contributing to the transition of mobility uses, by making journeys more fluid, facilitating multimodal journeys and new forms of mobility. Connectivity and traffic information thus help to combat congestion and disturbances. Connectivity is also becoming a necessity for automation applications, to improve onboard vision and enable remote supervision and intervention. Forward-looking studies agree that by 2030, more than 90% of new vehicles sold worldwide will be connected (cellular connectivity).

In view of these challenges, the government's strategy for automated and connected road mobility dated 9 February 2023 includes, as one of its priority actions, prioritising and coordinating the deployment of connectivity and data exchange systems.

To implement this priority, the Directorate-General for Infrastructure, Transport and Mobility (DGITM) set up a "road connectivity and data" working group with the industries concerned, representatives of road operators, public transport players and haulier federations to identify the priority actions to be implemented to achieve this objective.

All the players involved in the DGITM working group expressed strong expectations for a strategic vision from the French government in five main areas:

  • An expression of common priorities for use cases, enabling the strategies of the various players to be aligned and meeting users' priority needs;
  • Operational application of the European and national regulatory framework for data exchange, clearly defining the obligations of all parties (road authorities and operators, in-vehicle data holders, traffic information service providers), which presupposes in particular a precise definition of use cases;
  • A territorial vision of infrastructure deployment requirements, taking into account existing capacity (3G-4G cellular network) or planned capacity (5G cellular network) to meet the needs of certain use cases;
  • The implementation of secure data sharing tools, integrating data qualification and access control functions;
  • Guidance on the allocation of capacity (frequencies) for short-range connectivity as part of the European debate on sharing the 5.9 GHz frequency band.

France is positioning itself as a leader in a number of areas, drawing on the lessons learned from these projects, because it

  • is the largest project in terms of deployment (number of vehicles and km equipped)
  • has the largest number of use cases deployed in Europe
  • deployed the first project to bring together road operators and vehicle manufacturers, enabling a shared understanding of the issues at stake for the benefit of users and ensuring a long-term future for the deployment of connected and even autonomous vehicles
  • deploys flows in every possible direction - vehicle to vehicle, infrastructure to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure, including with operator vehicles that can perform both vehicle and infrastructure functions
  • has the first public key management infrastructure (a secure system for anonymising and authenticating exchanges, the type of system used for passports, for example) in the field of connected vehicles operating in Europe.