Next Generation intelligent transport systems: a multidimensional framework for eCall implementation

The present use of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) can be defined as a hybrid between information and communication technologies to improve different aspects of mobility and transport. The potential value of the next generation ITS can be assessed as an integrated array of services satisfying customer preferences, optimising policy objectives and generating business revenues. Based on industry interviews, the analysis of a traffic information service and an 'emergency call' service permitted the multidimensional appreciation of deployment scenarios of these next generation Intelligent Transport Systems. The implementation of an on-board emergency call (eCall) is an ITS service which has already been deployed in different countries. Several private and public initiatives have already resulted into preliminary and purely private eCall services, mainly proprietary to the car industry, each with different underlying revenue and cost models. On the European level, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) instigated on the national enactment to implement a standardised eCall system. The research question involved in this paper is whether the specified ecosystem for the Belgian case confirms that all stakeholders have a particular interest in the effectuation of eCall. The findings are the result of a case study performed within the Flemish IBBT research project NextGenITS.