New EU project UVAR Box supports city authorities to help road users know about access regulations.

UVAR Box, a newly awarded EU Project, has been established to tackle fragmented or unavailable information on up to date and relevant UVARs (Urban Vehicle Access Regulations). The project will provide tools to structure data on UVARs in adequate machine-readable formats for navigation systems and mobile applications.

European cities are increasingly introducing a range of different UVARs. These local access regulations serve policy objectives such as air quality, liveability, and congestion abatement. The most common types of UVARs include: Low Emission Zones, Parking Regulations, Congestion Charging Schemes, Limited Traffic Zones and Pedestrian Zones.

Providing relevant and effective information regarding UVAR schemes to all road users is important for ensuring schemes are effective and publicly accepted. It will help drivers know where the access regulations are, and cities to inform drivers.

While EU-wide information on UVARs is available on the CLARS website, there is no digitised static and dynamic machine-readable data available in a standardised or interoperable format – nor is there - as yet- an agreed EU-wide standard for which to do so.

The UVAR Box project aims to harmonise UVAR information, supporting integrated information on UVAR schemes in apps, fleet management tools and navigation devices. This will support both road users to plan journeys across the EU, and local authorities and Member States to set up digital issuing procedures and comply with European regulations on travel information (ITS Directive and Single Digital Gateway).

The project will establish a structure for UVAR data schemes and develop adequate machine-readable formats in DATEX II. It will support UVAR data collection, maintenance, and accessibility to navigation systems and mobile applications.

This will enable the public authorities responsible for UVARs to provide digital, accurate, up to date, continuous and interoperable EU-wide real-time traffic information services. It will in turn facilitate access to harmonised information to all road users to plan their trips, through different end user service providers.

UVAR Box is a pilot project awarded by the European Commission to a consortium led by ARMIS, composed of AlbrechtConsult, AustriaTech, MAPtm, MEMEX, POLIS Network, PRISMA Solutions and TRT, and including Harrod Booth Consulting, Sadler Consultant´s together with the CLARS website, and U-Trex as subcontractors.

The project begins in August 2020 and runs for 24 months. The first presentation of the project will take place at the Urban Mobility Days on October 1, 2020. An information leaflet will be distributed by the end of October, and stakeholder interviews will be conducted, with the first online workshop organised in November 2020.

This project was awarded in the framework of the Preparatory Action — User-friendly Information Tool on Urban and Regional Vehicle Access Regulation Schemes, Notice: 2019/S 229-561113, Reference number: MOVE/B4/2019-498.

For more information contact: 

ARMIS Information System - Pedro Barradas, Project Manager, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

POLIS Network - Manon Coyne, Communications Lead, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CLARS and Sadler Consultants, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Image by Syaibatul Hamdi from Pixabay