EPISODE

2.5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM EUROTRAVEL 1996 (With the End-user’s Needs in Mind)

1. The EC funded projects in the 4th Framework RTD activity are fully encouraged to define basic traffic information services and implementations to be free-of-charge. It should be a requirement that this basic traffic information be made available to any media outlet requesting that information.
   
2. RDS-TMC receiver designs must provide all the European languages and basic location tables, as soon as possible. The European Commission is urged to resolve the necessary funding for this requirement.
   
3. The broadcasters partners must recognize the need for broadcaster editorial control of traffic information, not only with respect to legislative requirements, but to ensure that there will be no conflict of information between the various broadcast outputs.
   
4. Broadcasters should recognize increased mobility and provide more information on all modes of transport including, in particular, rail and buses as well as air and rapid transit systems.
   
5. Manufacturers, broadcasters, and their partners are urged to implement RDS-TMC without relation to the timescales and steps associated with DAB developments. At the same time they are encouraged to utilize RDS-TMC systems for their DAB-TMC strategies, to lower DAB infrastructure development time and costs.
   
6. All broadcasters, transmission operators, encoder and receiver manufacturers must work towards eradication of the dynamic use of the RDS-PS feature (which is standardized as a static feature) to ensure user simplicity and to guarantee in-vehicle safety.
   
7. Examine the opportunity to organize the next Euro Travel Conference in cooperation with the European Commission, through funding for communication and coordination projects, like EPISODE.

Signed by Daniel Favre, Conference Chairman

Issue date January 03, 2000
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