The HARMONY project – Study for the harmonization of data in the public transport network and road network

Abstract

Urban mobility challenges are complex and involve many different aspects. A central issue is the management of
mobility data in the cities, lacking a common structure for multimodal data and access interfaces to the data. The
European Commission initiatives such as the ITS Directive 2010/40/EU and the Implementing Decision 2016/209
established some lines along which these issues should be addressed. A special focus is put on the Multimodal
Information Services and Systems (MISS).
The HARMONY project is a CEF joint initiative by Indra and the Technical University of Madrid, created as a
direct continuation of other urban mobility European efforts. It focuses on the promotion of multimodality, while
improving efficiency in the use of the available network capacity. A pilot with the involvement of a public transport
operator INTER-BUS, road traffic authorities and service providers is already under way in the northeast part of
Madrid.
The different use cases considered in the project are:
• Public Transport fleet management. Addresses the integration of static and real-time public transport
information, and the potential exchange of this information to third parties. This currently involves the
implementation of solutions based on GTFS, GTFS-RT and SIRI.
• Urban Traffic monitoring. Addresses the integration and exchange of information on road incidents
between operators, and again the provision of this information to third parties. This involves the
implementation of solutions based on DATEX II.
• Transit information provision. The key aspect here is the provision of real-time information to public
transport passengers and mobility users in general. Several solutions are being currently investigated.
HARMONY is aligned in time and objectives with some of the aspects highlighted by the European Commission
in the field of urban mobility, and with the corresponding efforts in different ISO and CEN standardization groups.
The added value of the project should be the progress in the identification of the particularities of each city and
their impact on the specification and deployment of urban mobility solutions.