During the last few years, the importance of reliable traffic information in Europe has increased dramatically. Smart phone and portable navigation device (PND) makers have come to this realization far before the European automotive OEMs have. These OEMs now are playing catch up and are starting to introduce real-time traffi c solutions that go far beyond the traditional radio data system-traffi c message channel (RDS-TMC) receiver.
On the PND front, real-time traffic has been one of the central premium features. Portable device makers have put global positioning system (GPS)-enabled handsets and connected dedicated navigation devices to good use. While new devices not only enable new services, they are also part of the solution to improve the existing services and content data.
With the ever-rising number of GPS enabled devices in use, content aggregators are now able to employ these devices as additional sources for real-time data. By adding consumer devices to the pool of commercial GPS probes, it is possible to provide more accurate information for more roads then was possible before.
Decongest the Autobahn, Autoroute, Autostrada, Autopista
Players such as TomTom, ITIS and Inrix all have made deals with major European OEMs and are finally bringing real-time traffic solutions to market that hopefully will help to reduce traffic congestion rates in Germany and other European countries.
According to the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC), Germany experienced 994 traffic jams in the summer of 2010, up by 40 percent from 722 during that same time span in 2009. According to a survey conducted by TomTom, Brussels had the longest traffic jams of all major European cities in 2010. A trip that normally should have taken one hour, took an average of 20 minutes extra. According to research by Navteq, London leads a list of European cities for regular snarl-ups, with Paris and Dublin taking the second and third worst spots. In short, European drivers are in desperate need of reliable pan-European traffic information.
TMC/TMCpro
Traditionally, OEMs have been offering the digitally coded frequency modulation (FM) RDS system that broadcasts via conventional FM radio, or in some cases by digital audio broadcasting (DAB). This service is free of charge to the end user and has the reputation of being rather unreliable. In Germany, some OEMs have taken a minor step forward and have introduced TMCpro, a traffic relief service in Europe, with some of their navigation solutions. TMCpro was initially introduced in 2004 byT-Systems Traffic GmbH, which then was acquired by Navteq Services GmbH in January 2009.
It currently is used by Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Fiat, Lancia, Kia and some others. The only important difference between the two solutions is the fact that TMCpro data is generated automatically, while TMC is based on voluntary reports and public-service traffic broadcasts. TMC data processing time ranges from 20 to 40 minutes, while TMCpro can relay 100 traffic incidents in a time span of four minutes. However in the end, traffic services based on road sensors and incident reports from agencies are not able to provide the required accuracy and updates.
TomTom HD Traffic
One European player that provides proprietary pan-European traffic is TomTom. In Europe, the PND maker has partnered with Vodafone to gain access to the carrier’s cell network data, which the company uses as passive probes. TomTom and Vodafone take existing traffic information and enhance it using anonymous data from 80 million mobile phone users on the road and 1.6 million connected TomTom devices.
INRIX XD Traffic
INRIX on the other hand is providing real-time traffic in 18 countries in Europe and covers more than 500,000 kilometers of roads throughout Europe. INRIX claims more than 120 customers and industry partners including Ford and Toyota in the United Sates.
The Way of the Future
Efforts by TomTom, Inrix and others show that pan-European traffic services are the way of the future in the automotive OEM world. Demand for increased coverage not only within an individual market, but throughout Europe is only increasing with more vehicles able to consume such services. It is important for OEMs to keep in mind that they need to pay attention to and provide innovations in fundamental features such as navigation and traffic, as these continue to be some of the most sought after connected services in the vehicles.
IHS iSuppli believes that the competition from the mobile device world has been hurting navigation system sales for some time now and will continue to do so, if OEMs and suppliers don’t step up their game and offer innovative and more importantly meaningful services.
Learn More > iSuppli’s Automotive Research Portal - Infotainment – Europe.