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Mobility Data Space: The Challenges of Tomorrow’s MobilityFrancis McDowell
A great deal of excitement has been generated recently in the European context around the concept of data space, a data ecosystem involving decentralised information exchange without a central intermediary node. But above all, because of the incredible intrinsic potential represented by this kind of ecosystem, which can manifest itself in a myriad of benefits in multiple areas, starting with the development of new data-based goods and services in the European Union.
A paradigm that finds its best application in the smart city, given the great variety of data that a smart city is able to produce today for the benefit of the community. A common European space in which public administration and private players operate for the secure, efficient and reliable interchange of information in the most crucial sectors such as, for example, health, manufacturing, environment, finance, mobility, energy, agriculture, security, tourism and cultural heritage.
The evolutionary step of this ecosystem takes one of its ideal forms in the area of mobility, and thus working with the vast amount of data that is produced in this sector. From traffic information to parking information, from city lighting to speed limits, from local public transport stops and timetables to micro-mobility information, just to name a few of the many concrete examples.
What is data space?
But let us take a step back: what exactly are we talking about when we talk about data space? Among the most accredited definitions, which have become established in recent times, we find that of the Data Space Business Alliance, according to which a data space is ‘a data ecosystem built around commonly accepted building blocks, enabling effective and reliable sharing of data between participants, with the aim of creating value’.
More articulate is that of the European Commission, which already in 2021 recognised the need to accelerate the creation of common data spaces in order to guarantee the same opportunities for access and interoperability of data for the actors involved (public organisations, industries, small and large companies, professionals, research institutes, citizens). A data space, writes the European Commission, can be defined as ‘a federated data ecosystem based on shared policies and rules. Participants in such data spaces can access data in a secure, transparent, reliable, simple and unified manner. Data owners have control over who can have access to their data, for what purpose and under what conditions it can be used'.
Data in these ecosystems are made available to ecosystem participants through connectors and can be used for free or for a fee, including remuneration, depending on the decision of the data owner.
But what exactly does a data space consist of? On the pi
The benefits of a common European data space
In the light of the definition of data space and its constituent elements, one can understand how the logic behind the data space concept aims at democratising access to useful information for the community and organisations. In fact, each data space has a horizontal structure and uses standardised protocols; thus, all the actors participating in a given ecosystem in a given sector speak a universal language and adhere to a perfectly secure data processing system.
In particular, according to an analysis by the European Commission, the advantages include:
- a secure and privacy-compliant infrastructure to access, use, share, process and pool data;
- a clear and practical framework for accessing and using data in a fair, transparent, proportionate and non-discriminatory manner; and clear and reliable data governance mechanisms;
- full compliance with European standards and values, in particular data protection, consumer protection and competition law;
- the possibility for data controllers to grant access to or share certain personal or non-personal data under their strict control;
- data made available may be re-used against remuneration, including remuneration, or free of charge;
- the participation of an open number of organisations and individuals.
The data space for intelligent and sustainable mobility
As anticipated at the beginning of this article, the concept of data space is one that applies well to the smart city and, in particular, to mobility. Transport and mobility in general are a key sector of our daily life, from a social and economic point of view. Just think of commuting to work, ordinary trips for personal errands, visits to relatives and friends, travel for tourism or business. But also consider the functioning of supply chains for goods that arrive on the shelves of shops in our cities, or the processes necessary for industrial production. The free movement of people and goods is a fundamental freedom of the European Union and its single market. According to a report by Eur Lex, it is the second area of expenditure for EU families: the transport sector represents 5% of the EU GDP and directly employs around 10 million workers.
The Common European Mobility Data Space (EMDS) aims to facilitate access, pooling and sharing of data (existing and future) for more efficient, safe, sustainable and resilient transport. In a word: smart. The overall objective is to accelerate the digital transformation of the European transport sector and fully exploit the benefits of data for mobility and other players, and for society as a whole. The digitalisation of the sector and a better use of data for all means of transport – for passengers and goods – are key factors in evolving towards safer, more efficient and accessible mobility. All players involved will be given equal opportunities to enjoy an ideal context, thanks to the harmonisation of data sharing conditions that ensure interoperability.
Just to give some practical examples, the use of the Common European Mobility Data Space could be crucial in improving the efficiency of the logistics sector at European level; in the implementation of MAAS systems that include agreements at European level or between individual countries within the EU; in supporting local authorities in the field of sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMP); in implementing the regulation on urban vehicular access (UVAR); in promoting the cross-border multimodal model for passengers and goods; in facilitating access to data on electric mobility in the European Union. It should also be considered that there will increasingly be strong synergies with other data spaces in related sectors such as, for example, construction, energy, environment or health that will allow the full exploitation of the advantages of electric mobility. Although it must be taken into account that the reference legal frameworks are still constantly evolving. In any case, at European level, several initiatives have been undertaken or are in the pipeline to support the digitalisation of all transport modes by making it easier to access and exchange data relating to the mobility sector.
Here are some examples:
The framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) supports interoperable services in areas such as multimodal travel, real-time traffic and safety information services. It also organises access to essential transport data through national access points. The latest update on the subject took place in January this year and extends its scope, in particular, to new emerging mobility services, adding crucial aspects such as booking and ticketing.
the legislation on vehicle approval – another example – is gradually trying to define the conditions of access to repair and maintenance information by third-party suppliers;
another EU initiative concerns the so-called Digital Transport and Logistics Forum (DTLF) which is composed of a group of experts from the European Commission (public and private stakeholders) that focuses on identifying a common framework for the digital transformation of the transport and logistics sector.
Since 2021, the European Commission has been funding several projects
To make large amounts of accurate and reliable data on urban mobility available and accessible, in an interoperable format for all participants in the data space, so as to enable data analysis, the use of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies. All with the aim of speeding up the transition to intelligent and sustainable European mobility, also with the aim of improving road and rail safety, reducing transport costs and optimising logistics management.
We are talking about programs that increasingly aim to exploit, for example, intelligent sensors and distributed networks to process data in real time, enabling activities such as emergency braking in proximity to pedestrians, train maintenance detection, logistics optimisation, provision of On Demand mobility services and development of Multimodal Travel Planners to name a few concrete use cases. Furthermore, one of the key initiatives for the European mobility data space is the PrepDSpace4Mobility project, which has laid the foundations through a mapping of existing data ecosystems in Europe, for the ongoing Deploy EMDS project, which aims to implement an operational data space and common governance mechanisms in the urban mobility sector by facilitating decentralized, trustworthy and secure data sharing. Initiatives have also been undertaken by Member States or private actors to facilitate access and sharing of data in the mobility sector. In addition to the benefit of an increasingly clear showcase for all players involved, the Common European Mobility Data Space will obviously benefit from these private initiatives participating in the same data space and will focus on promoting interoperability, ensuring that common building blocks are used. Among these initiatives, the German Mobility Data Space should be mentioned. Funded by the German Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV), it is part of the European Gaia-X cloud initiative.
Due to its horizontal nature, each data space will have a transformative effect on different sectors of the European economy since it contains data useful for most industrial ecosystems. There will therefore be a very interesting contamination, as well as advantageous on the European goods and services market which is based on the exchange of information. Data spaces will also be interoperable in a cross-sectoral manner so as to aim to create a single data economy of the European Union. Universal standards and languages will simplify and homogeneously decoding data among all the actors involved. In this way, the main barriers to the exchange of information will be broken down.