ERTICO eMagazine - December 2012

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ERTICO eMagazine The first HeERO International Conference: Showcasing achievements and documenting challenges in the deployment of pan-European eCall The Road to Rio The World Cup and Olympic Games could help to revolutionise Brazil’s transport network An extraordinary story; Bev Marks and his adventures From the BBC to TISA, from RDS (Radio Data System) to TPEG (Transport Protocol Expert Group) Welcome to the In this Issue: December 2012

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ERTICO eMagazine - December 2012

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Page 1: ERTICO eMagazine - December 2012

ERTICO eMagazine

The first HeERO International Conference:

Showcasing achievements and documenting challenges in the deployment of pan-European eCall

The Road to Rio

The World Cup and Olympic Games could help to revolutionise Brazil’s transport network

An extraordinary story; Bev Marks and his adventures

From the BBC to TISA, from RDS (Radio Data System) to TPEG (Transport Protocol Expert Group)

Welcome to the

In this Issue:

December 2012

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contents Editorial

Merry Christmas from ERTICO!

Dear readers,

as you might have noticed, our

normal eMagazine look had been

suspended for two months to give

space to two special editions on the

19th ITS World Congress in Vienna.

After this incredibly successful event

(we reached the record number of

10,000 visitors) we are all back to

normal to say goodbye to 2012 with

a very exiting edition.

In this edition we talk about eCall.

Just a month ago the European

pilot project HeERO had its first

international conference in Zagreb,

hosted by the Croatian National

Protection and Rescue Directorate

(NPRD). In the article we look

at the progresses of the pan-

European emergency call, including

standardisation and certification,

and the plans for the New Year.

But what kind Christmas would it

be without one of our articles on

international cooperation? This

month we focus on Brazil, a huge

country with a fast expanding

economy which will host not only the

World Cup in 2014 but also the next

Olympic Games in 2016. We reflect

on the development of transport and

ITS in Brazil and consider how the

international cooperation with the

EU and the USA may develop in the

next few years.

Last but not least, this month we have

an unusual feature on Mr Bev Marks,

who is retiring as TISA Executive

Director. We believe that tributes

need to be paid to great people,

so we celebrate an extraordinary

person by summarising his - and

TISA’s - successes.

That’s it. This is our last edition for

this year and we look forward to

coming back next year with more

stories to tell. Meanwhile we wish

you a very happy Christmas holiday,

hoping that ITS will accompany you

in your journeys and will indicate the

right way to get home!

The Editorial Team

Editorial

The First HeERO International Conference

The Road to Rio

An extraordinary story: Bev Marks and his adventures

ERTICO Partnership events

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10

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The views and opinions expressed

in this magazine are solely those of

the authors and other contributors.

These views and opinions do not

necessarily represent those of

ERTICO or its Partners.

Visit the ERTICO website and count down to Christmas with our Advent Calendar!

www.ertico.com

Page 3: ERTICO eMagazine - December 2012

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The goal of the conference was

to present the common efforts

made across the 9 HeERO pilot

sites (Croatia, the Czech Republic,

Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, the

Netherlands, Romania and Sweden).

As one might expect with such a

large scale project there was much

to report on, including the results

of the first round of national and

interoperability eCall testing, the

evaluation and validation of standards

and specifications established for the

eCall service, and dissemination of

the results of the project.

Welcoming addresses

The event opened with addresses from

two high level speakers; Mr Jadran

Pernić, Director of the Croatian NPRD

and Ms Olga Sehnalová, Member of

the European Parliament and co-

rapporteur of the “eCall: a new 112

service for citizens” report.

Earlier in 2012, Ms Sehnalová and her

co-rapporteur MEP Dieter-Lebrecht

Koch finalised the eCall report with

support from both the Parliament’s

Committee on Transport and Tourism

and Committee on the Internal Market

and Consumer Protection. In July, a

non-binding resolution expressing

full support for the implementation

of eCall across Europe was approved

by an overwhelming majority in the

Parliament, demonstrating a clear

and strong will for pan-European

eCall to be fully implemented in

2015. The resolution calls on the

European Commission to table

legislation requiring EU Member

States to upgrade their emergency

response service infrastructure in

order to be able to handle eCalls.

In her welcoming address Ms

Sehnalová expressed her support for

the work done in the HeERO project

and praised the close cooperation

among all stakeholders involved,

before emphasising the importance

of the mandatory implementation of

the system for citizens across Europe

in 2015.

Mr Pernić hailed the hard work

of all participants in the Croatian

national consortium which has

ensured that Croatia is ready for

the implementation of eCall and

expressed thanks for the strong level

of interest in the Conference.

Pilot Test Results

Pilot site leaders were invited to

share the results of the first round

of testing which took place in 8 of

the 9 pilot sites, leading to many

positive initial results, and – equally

important – the identification of

barriers to deployment and issues to

be resolved.

The data gathered has been analysed

using the 28 HeERO Key Performance

The First HeERO International Conference: Showcasing achievements and documenting challenges in the deployment of pan-European eCall

by Laura Johnstone

Two years after the launch of the Harmonised eCall European Pilot, the first HeERO International Conference took

place in Zagreb on 15 November. Organised by the Croatian National Protection and Rescue Directorate (NPRD), in

cooperation with ERTICO – ITS Europe, the European Emergency Number Association (EENA), and Croatian pilot project

partners Hrvatski Autoklub and Ericsson Nikola Tesla, the conference attracted almost 200 participants from Europe

and around the world.

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Indicators (KPIs). The KPIs include

the length of time for the call to

be established, the length of time

for the emergency response centre

to receive the minimum set of data

(MSD) from the vehicle (this includes

key information such as the location

of the vehicle, the number of

passengers, the force of any impact,

etc.), the success rate for the

establishment of voice transmissions

and the time taken and success rate

for the Vehicle Identification Number

(VIN) to be decoded.

Several pilot sites were able to test

thousands of eCalls, both manually

and automatically generated, and a

variety of different scenarios have

been tested both in laboratories

and on the roads in the real-life

environment.

Furthermore, eCall In-Vehicle

Systems (IVS) from a range of

suppliers have been used in tests,

and testing with real, live Public

Service Answering Points (PSAPs) has

taken place in several countries.

As a result of testing several technical

issues have been identified, which

must be resolved in time for the

implementation of the system in

2015. Care must also be taken to

ensure that standards developed

for the end-to-end eCall system are

appropriate and can be adhered to

by all parties.

However, the reports given at the

Conference show that technical

issues are not the main barrier

to eCall deployment. All of the

problems picked up in the first phase

of testing can and will be resolved by

the experts in the HeERO project and

other stakeholders.

Despite the steps undertaken by the

European Commission to make eCall

mandatory, and the work of HeERO

in proving the effectiveness and

reliability of the system, the largest

remaining barrier to implementation

remains at a political level. Although

22 of the 27 EU Member States have

signed the eCall Memorandum of

Understanding (in addition to Croatia,

Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and

Turkey) and work is ongoing to engage

the support of the remaining Member

States, the necessary PSAP upgrades

to support the system are in some

cases being delayed by decisions at

national level.

Of course this is not the case across

the board, but it is evident that a

lack of political will in some quarters

is slowing progress towards eCall

implementation. As eCall legislation

is introduced, Member States will

have to comply with the regulations;

stalling the implementation of the

system until then will be of no benefit

to citizens.

As a very recent example of

European Commission efforts, at

the end of November a delegated

act was adopted in order to address

specifications for PSAPs, and if

necessary the Commission will

present a proposal to ensure that

PSAPs are upgraded as necessary by

2015.

Cross-border interoperability testing

Another key area for testing during

2012 has focused on cross-border

interoperability testing. As eCall

will be a pan-European system, a

key feature is that the driver can

take his vehicle anywhere across

the continent and in the event of an

accident receive the same service as

in his home country.

Real environment tests have been

carried out using a Czech test vehicle

in Germany, in addition to tests

between Romania and Croatia and

Romania and Italy. In addition, all of

the current pilot sites welcome the

opportunity for further cross-border

testing in the coming year.

Those who attended the ITS World

Congress in Vienna this year can’t

fail to have noticed the presence

of eCall and HeERO at the event. At

the HeERO stand live demonstrations

took place throughout the week, and

the most exciting test was perhaps

an ad-hoc experiment which saw

the German test vehicle (a remote

controlled car in this case!) send

First International HeERO Conference in Zagreb, November 2012

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an eCall to the Romanian PSAP in

Bucharest, the MSD of which could be

seen at the ITS Romania stand across

the exhibition hall. The success

of such a test, which was entirely

unplanned, demonstrates both the

technological viability of the system

and the importance of cooperation

between all stakeholders, to ensure

that all European drivers can benefit

from eCall, however far from

home they are.

C r o s s - b o r d e r

interoperability testing is

not confined to European

Member States. The Finnish

pilot site has been working in

cooperation with GLONASS

Union, the Russian non-

profit organisation tasked

with implementing the ERA

GLONASS system in Russia,

on testing interoperability

in between the two systems.

Along with ITS Russia and

GLONASS Union, ERTICO

has for the last two years

co-chaired the eCall/ERA

GLONASS Working Group,

which works towards the

alignment of ERA GLONASS

and eCall, in terms of

standards and technical

requirements, and also in terms of

the schedule for implementation.

Finland, with almost 1,400 km of

shared border with Russia, is the

ideal place to begin such testing. In

2012, 3 Russian IVS have been tested

in Finland, and in 2013, Finnish IVS

will be tested in Russia. There are

also plans to carry out further testing

of the Russian IVS in other countries

during 2013. This means that when

the eCall and ERA GLONASS systems

are launched in 2015, the driver

should be able to drive anywhere in

Europe and across Russia with access

to the two emergency call systems.

Standardisation and Certification

The HeERO International Conference

also provided an opportunity to

hear an update on the work of the

Standardisation Task Force. The

task force has met several times

throughout 2012 to discuss existing

standards and in the context of the

results from testing, 25 proposed

changes to the standards have been

submitted to the standardisation

bodies for consideration.

A further success for the

Standardisation Task Force this year

was the eCall interoperability testing

event, which was held in the UK in

June. The objective of this three

day event was to provide a realistic

environment for vendors to test their

IVS with different PSAP configurations

and vice-versa. Those participating

were able to monitor and assess their

product throughout the transmission

of the eCall, and the results gathered

were highly positive.

Looking forward to 2013, plans are in

place to set up an eCall certification

body, and many stakeholders have

already registered their interest.

Public Awareness

Another key element of the HeERO

project lies in raising public

awareness of eCall and gathering

support for its implementation. As

the pilot progresses, it is important

that citizens understand what eCall

is, how it will be of benefit to them,

and what they can realistically

expect from the service. At the same At the eCall interoperability testing event in the UK, June 2012

European Commissioner Neelie Kroes with the German test vehicle at the ITS World Congress in Viennna 2012

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time, targeted events and initiatives

aimed at specific stakeholders in the

eCall value chain continue to be of

great value.

In close cooperation with EENA, a

variety of different events have been

organised over the course of the year.

From the EU Emergency Services

Workshop held in Riga in April, to

the Berlin eCall Days in September

and the eCall Technical Workshop in

the UK in October, culminating with

the HeERO International Conference

itself.

The HeERO project has also

participated in numerous events

at both national and international

levels, including the FIA Action for

Road Safety Day in Prague in June and

the ITS World Congress in Vienna in

October.

there is much work still to be done for the

implementation of pan-European eCall; however, with the cooperation and the will of all stakeholders involved, we will succeed in making eCall a reality across Europe

2013 and beyond

The HeERO pilot is a large and

multi-faceted project, and 2012 has

been an extremely busy year for all

those involved. Much momentum

has been gained in terms of testing,

the development of standards and

raising awareness, both amongst key

stakeholders and amongst the general

public. In 2013 the pace will be

stepped up further, as it is not only the

final year of the HeERO pilot; it will

also be the first year of the HeERO2,

the extension of HeERO. HeERO2

will extend the actions of the last

MEP Olga Sehnalová visits the HeERO stand at the Road Safety Day in

Prague, June 2012

two years 6 new countries: Belgium,

Bulgaria, Denmark, Luxembourg,

Spain and Turkey and run for two

years. Several other associate pilot

sites are planned, and the scope of

the pilots will be extended to include

new technical areas including eCall

for large goods vehicles, powered

two wheel vehicles and aftermarket

devices.

As Mr Andy Rooke, Project Manager

at ERTICO and HeERO Project

Coordinator concluded: “there is

much work still to be done for the

implementation of pan-European

eCall; however, with the cooperation

and the will of all stakeholders

involved, we will succeed in making

eCall a reality across Europe”.

We look forward to seeing you next

year in Bucharest at the second

HeERO International Conference!

eCall Special Session at the 19th ITS World Congress in Vienna

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The Road to RioThe World Cup and Olympic games could help to revolutionise

Brazil’s transport network

On 12 August 2012 the world watched as 600,000 lights illuminated London’s Olympic stadium to mark the end of the

2012 Olympic Games. Standing on stage in front of 80,000 spectators and a global TV audience - Rio de Janeiro’s

mayor, Eduardo Paes accepted the Olympic flag on behalf of his country, and as he did so he introduced Brazil to the

world as hosts of the 2016 games.

Two years earlier, South American

football fans celebrated news that

Brazil would host the 2014 World Cup.

As hosts of two of the world’s largest

tournaments Brazil will be thrust

into the international limelight

over the next four years and has

the opportunity to shine as a one of

the world’s leading nations, and the

accompanying boost in visitor numbers

and foreign investment offers Brazil

the perfect opportunity to rebuild

and modernise its infrastructure and

transport network. In fact, if the

games are to be a success – there may

be no other choice.

Brazil is a large country which has an

estimated 1.7 million km of roads,

approximately 50,000 km of inland

waterways and a 30,000 km rail

network, however as home to nearly

200 million people and two of the

world’s largest cities (Rio de Janeiro

and Sao Paulo) Brazil is no strangers

to congestion. More than 21 million

people live in Sao Paulo alone and in

a single day in 2009, 293 kilometres

of traffic are said to have clogged the

city’s streets.

Brazil’s place on the BRIC list of

emerging economic powers adds

additional pressure. According to a

2010 report for The Economist, Brazil

ranked fourth in terms of new vehicle

registration which had boomed by an

enormous 120%! This took place with

a population growth of just 11%.

Introducing Intelligent Transport

To cope with this and a swell in cargo

traffic Brazilian authorities and city

planners will need to be incredibly

creative if they want to keep the

country’s goods, people and economy

moving when hundreds of thousands

of sports fans descend on their cities.

This offers a huge opportunity for

the ITS industry and this is a fact

that hasn’t been missed by Brazil’s

international partners such as the

USA and the EU. In March 2011 the

US and Brazil signed a ‘Memorandum

of Understanding’ to support the

Brazil at a glance

Politically stable with GDP growth of 7.5% in 2011

Home to almost 200 million people, Brazil has the world’s 7th largest economy.

84% of Brazilians live in cities

In 2014 12 Brazilian cities will host the Fifa World Cup.

In 2016 Rio will host the Olympic Games

Megacities: Brazil has two of the world’s largest cities (Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro)

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by Ian Bearder

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organisation of major global sporting

events, and in April the same year

the US Commercial Service presented

a report on ‘Opportunities for US

companies in the Brazilian ITS

Market’. Meanwhile the EU has been

developing joint transport projects

in Brazil as part of its Seventh

Framework Programme (FP7). One of

these, Viajeo has promoted EU-Brazil

cooperation on sustainable transport

in partnership with the Brazilian

Bureau for Enhancing International

Cooperation with the European Union

(BB.Bice).

A Viajeo seminar held in April 2011

in São Paulo focused on ITS for large

events and electric mobility and

João Fernando Gomes de Oliveira,

president of Brazil’s Institute for

Technological Research (IPT) talked-

up the business opportunities that

arise from the sporting events.

Another EU funded project ‘STADIUM’

may also prove useful. The project is

working to improve the performance

of transport services and systems

during large events by examining the

use of ITS applications during three

major tournaments; the South African

World Cup (2010), the Commonwealth

Games (2010), and the London

Olympics (2012). Researchers involved

in the project are developing an

online ITS handbook to support those

responsible for organising large scale

events and the guide, which is due to

be finished in 2013, covers areas such

as planning and impact evaluation

and reviews of proven ITS systems. It

also provides a list of ITS suppliers.

Brazil will also be able to draw on its

own ITS experience.

According to Alessandro Santiago

dos Santos of Brazil’s Institute for

Technological Research (IPT), ITS

in Brazil is not as

well developed as

it is in Europe, but

progress is being

made.

“ I n t e l l i g e n t

Transport Systems

are not at the

forefront of

thinking for public

managers and

decision makers”

he says, “but the

country already

has considerable

ITS experience

in both highway

management and

public transport”.

“Brazil began its road concessions

programme in 1998 with the transfer

of the operational administration and

maintenance of highways to private

companies under the supervision of a

state-owned company. In concession

contracts, the use of ITS is mandatory

and critical to maintaining the quality

of services for citizens and cargo”.

Viajeo seminar in São Paulo, May 2012

Intelligent Transport Systems are not at the

forefront of thinking for public managers and decision makers, but the country already has considerable ITS experience in both highway management and public transport

CONTRAN 245

Brazil’s CONTRAN 245 resolution requires all new vehicles—trucks, cars and motorcycles—to be fitted with an antitheft tracking device. The legislation, which aims to tackle vehicle theft and reduce sky-high insurance costs, was almost dropped because of privacy concerns. However, as the law is implemented, Brazil is set to become a huge ITS market with many suppliers exploring ways to deliver additional location-based services.

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With regards to public transport,

he says that electronic ticketing

systems have played a leading role;

“Ticketing in Brazil is characterised

by the predominance of contactless

card solutions. Furthermore, over

77% of cities with more than 50,000

inhabitants have electronic ticketing

mechanisms. The introduction of

automation and the remarkable

growth in the collection of fares was

driven by the need to control benefits

(discounts or exemptions), which

currently amount to more than half

of the users in most of the cities”.

He says the industry will also benefit

from a new law that requires all cities

with over 200 thousand inhabitants to

develop a “plan for urban mobility”,

If we find a solution for Sao Paulo, which is top

on the world’s cities’ list on transports’ problems, we will find a solution for the whole world

which must be integrated and

compatible with their master plans

of the city. In addition to this, a

‘Sustainable Brazil’ initiative has

promised to invest $2 billion in the

development of innovative products,

processes and services linked to the

concept of sustainability.

No time to lose

How authorities meet these

challenges and the final strategy used

to develop Brazil’s transport network

and manage the games remains to

be seen, yet work is already well

underway.

Eleven new Operational Control

Centres are being built in the World

Cup host cities and they will integrate

the management of traffic with

the operation of public transport,

the emergency services and public

security services.

Nine of the twelve World Cup host

cities are also building Bus Rapid

Transit (BRT) lanes and in four cities

including Sao Paulo and Brasília the

government is financing light rail

systems such as monorails and trams.

In 2011, Sao Paulo State’s Secretary

for metropolitan transport predicted

that by 2013 twelve rail lines would

be under construction in his city and

promised that the subway network

would have grown by 80 km by 2014.

“We are moving at Chinese speed” he

said.

If this is true and if Brazil’s new

transport systems are a success

then the games could offer a real

vision for the future of movement.

As Angel Landabaso, the Science

and Technology Counsellor of the

European Commission in Brazil once

noted: “If we find a solution for Sao

Paulo, which is top on the world’s

cities’ list on transports’ problems,

we will find a solution for the whole

world”.

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An extraordinary story; Bev Marks and his adventuresFrom the BBC to TISA, from RDS (Radio Data System) to TPEG (Transport Protocol Experts Group)

by Carla Coppola

In 1922 the American inventor Thomas Edison stated that “the radio craze will die out in time”. Almost a century has

passed by and here we are, talking about TISA, the Traveller Information Services Association whose work floats on the

radio frequencies, and about a man, Bev Marks, who spent more than 40 years working in broadcasting, first at the

BBC, as a broadcast engineer, secondly at the European Broadcasting Union, as an engineering consultant, and then at

TISA (Mr Marks will be retiring this year). Something went definitely wrong in Edison predictions...

Appointed TISA Executive Director in

2010, Mr Marks has seen TISA growing

up to 106 members worldwide

including car manufacturers, terminal

client device manufacturers, public

authorities, broadcasters, and

service and content providers. And

of course he was an integrating

part of and celebrated many of the

associations’ achievements.

Under the Marks’ leadership, TISA

published three position papers;

one on international standards in

support of the European ITS Directive

2010/40/EU, an ERTICO-joint one

on Traffic and Travel Information

(TTI) services and a most recent one

on the provision of a free minimum

universal traffic information service.

Bev Marks has been so much involved

in TISA work that one could say that

his achievements in the past two

years are TISA achievements. But

let’s proceed in order.

Founded in 2007, TISA has taken

over the activities carried out by the

TMC Forum, the TPEG Forum and

the German Mobile.Info project with

the scope to support standards that

provide a framework for services and

products covering traffic and travel

information.

Since its

creation, TISA

has grown

to over 100

Members in

28 countries

i n c l u d i n g

Brazil, China,

Russia, the

USA and the

United Arab

Emirates.

In 2011, during the ITS European

Congress in Lyon, former TISA

President Jonathan Burr and

EasyWay Chairman Ronald Adams

acknowledged the cooperation

between EasyWay ESG5 group

and TISA to work on the interface

between DATEX II and TPEG by signing

a Memorandum of Understanding.

According to TISA Coordinator Amaury

Image: courtesy of Bev Marks

TISA and EasyWay representatives sign the Memorandum of Understanding in Lyon at the 8th ITS European Congress

Page 11: ERTICO eMagazine - December 2012

Cornelis, “the Lyon event was a

landmark for TISA as we had for the

first time in 4 years an autonomous

stand at a Congress with an end-to-

end demonstration on the booth”.

The same success was repeated a

year later in Vienna, this time at a

World Congress. In October 2012

TISA signed a Liaison Agreement with

GENIVI Alliance with the scope of

creating a framework for an exchange

of TISA Specifications between

the two communities in order to

harmonise protocols in the areas of

mutual interest. “These agreements

are perceived as fundamental for

the TISA work as they allow a close

cooperation of experts on specific

subjects, such as protocols and

standards”, Stephanie Chaufton,

Administrator of TISA, adds.

2012 has been indeed an exciting

year for the TISA community; in

May, on the occasion of the annual

General Assembly in Brussels, the

association presented the handbook

“TISA 12017 - TPEG What it is all

about”. This ‘TPEG for dummies’

offers a guideline for professionals to

understand concepts and principles

of TPEG (Transport Protocol Experts

Group) technology specifications and

follows “many of the ideas used in a

booklet originally

produced in 2003 by

the TPEG Project,

coordinated by the

EBU” (as clearly

mentioned in the

book).

One of the most

recent successes

of the association

was the first TPEG

Testfest held

in Munich last

September. During this event, jointly

organised by ERTICO and TISA, a

series of interoperability test cases

were organised focusing mainly

on the implementation of TPEG

applications currently defined in

TISA Specifications which are soon to

become worldwide Standards.

When asking about the birth of TISA

in 2007, Michel Reneric, founder

and former President of TISA,

explains that Bev Marks provided

the diplomatic drive behind the

establishment of the association.

“At the time we had two different

associations, the TPEG Forum and

the TMC Forum, which were offering

the same type of service in providing

traffic information. There was a risk

of conflict between the two activities

based on their different approaches

to technology; one analogical (RDS)

and one more modern (TPEG)”.

The greatest merit of Bev Marks,

according to Mr Reneric, was to stop

this competition and understand

both parties and to make them

sitting at the same table; “it was a

complex and delicate matter because

the two associations had to agree

on one governance, one statute,

one president, one structure. Bev

showed great comprehension and

sensibility in finding a balance fair to

both organisations, but also a strong

ability in writing the important

funding principles in a unambiguous

and fair manner”.

This unique capacity to listen

to all ideas and to moderate

conflicts before their escalation has

accompanied Bev Marks also in all his

participation in the working groups;

“certainly it was not an easy task to

put together Englishmen, French,

and Germans in the same working

group!” Mr Reneric yarns. This ability

to understand the various European

cultures is something that belongs to

him and that he practiced over his

15 years at the EBU - the European

Broadcasting Union - which counts 74

active members varying from Albania

to USA.TISA Committees Meetings in 2011 in Bosh premises in Berlin

TPEG Forum meetings in 2007 in Geneva at the EBU premises

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Michel Reneric has also the merit to

have offered Bev Marks the position

of Executive Director of TISA at the

end of 2009 after Heinz Friedrichs.

“It was an obvious decision, taken

at the unanimity; after all his efforts

and work for TISA, he was the perfect

person for this position”.

A long term colleague of Bev Marks,

Theo Kamalski gives us some historical

insights on the early days of Bev Marks

work; “Bev is first of all an expert of

RDS (Radio Data System) where all

started and which paved the way to

the TMC and TPEG activities”. Mr

Kamalski also explains how the calm

(and calming) approach of Bev Marks

has been helpful in many occasions,

especially in difficult circumstances.

“I remember that at the end of a

meeting after a difficult discussion on

RDS he could come back in the room

and say ‘Gentlemen can we continue

this meeting in my own Battle field?’

[Battle is Bev Marks home town].

it is a joy working with Bev, he is not only an

extremely competent person but he has also a feeling of belonging to the organisation he works for, which is difficult to find in many professionals

He has a great sense of humour

capable of soothing the most difficult

situation”. “He is an extraordinary

person – Kamalski continues – I have

known Bev since 1984, together with

Mark Saunders we are the survivors

of the RDS expert group at EBU still

working for TISA”.

Thanks to Theo Kamalski we

discovered a quite extraordinary

document; “The Marks’ Newsletter”

produced in 1998 on the occasion

of the publication of the book “RDS

- The Radio Data System” written

by Bev Marks and Dietmar Kopitz.

In this unique newsletter Mr Marks

names TPEG probably for the first

time “during 1998, I have also been

working on a new Project for the EBU

called TPEG... This activity takes me

to Geneva every month for a week or

more”.

Thomas Kusche, current President of

TISA and long term representative of

the WDR (West German Broadcasting)

at the Broadcasting Union, has known

Bev Marks for over 12 years since Mr

Marks time at the EBU.

According to Mr Kusche two words

can best describe Bev Marks:

expertise and reliability; “it is a joy

working with Bev, he is not only an

extremely competent person but

he has also a feeling of belonging

to the organisation he works for,

which is difficult to find in many

professionals”. As said by Mr Kusche,

“Bev knows everyone in the industry,

if you need some technical advice you

can always refer to him as he has been

one of the key figures for TPEG”. Mr

Kusche participated in one of the last

TPEG Forum meetings in 2007, before

its merge with the TMC Forum into

TISA when Mr Marks was still working

for the EBU. He states that one of the

greatest successes of Bev Marks was

to make the commercial aspect and

possibilities of TPEG understood and

respected by a Union made of public

services.

Bev Marks and Matthias Unbehaun receive the Sparrow of Ulm from Martin Dreher in Bordeaux

The Sparrow of Ulm

According to legend, the construction of the tower of the cathedral of Ulm (the tallest in the world at 160m) stopped while only halfway completed when a wagon carrying a large wooden beam - loaded sideways - arrived at the narrow city gate. After contemplating how best to proceed, the mayor of Ulm gave the order to tear down part of the city wall, but before the order was carried out, a sparrow bird was observed manoeuvring a long twig into its nest - lengthwise! Following the lead of the sparrow, the beam was turned, the wagon passed through the narrow gate, work was resumed, the cathedral was completed, and the legend of the Ulmer Spätze (Spaarrow of Ulm) was born.

Source: http://www.steincollectors.org/library/articles/ulm/ulm.htm

Page 13: ERTICO eMagazine - December 2012

But what do TPEG gurus think about

Bev Mark? Martin Dreher, “one of the

most knowledgeable experts in the

TPEG world”, as Amaury Cornelis

states, worked on TPEG software

development for over 10 years. Mr

Dreher first met Bev Marks in Geneva

at the TPEG Forum meetings; “I learnt

a lot from Bev, he is always very open

and supportive in finding a common

agreement, he has a great sensibility

towards and a deep understanding

for people of different nationalities”.

Mr Dreher worked with Marks in the

development of TPEG for long time

and explains the importance to

establish a universal terminology for

traveller information. “Once after a

meeting in Geneva we were walking

around. At one point I comment on

an Ilex (Latin name for Holly) and

immediately Bev understood what

tree I was referring to, because he is

a keen botanist and so we were both

using the standard Latin word rather

than the English or German ones. This

is what TPEG is about – a standardised

language for travel information”.

Mr Marks has been the originator of

the TPEG framework; as Mr Dreher

confirms “initially the working group

was called “B-TPEG”; Bev has been so

much involved in this work that we

used to joke that the B was standing

for Bev rather than for broadcast!”

Bev Marks appreciation comes from

all different parts of the industry; just

a few days ago, the TISA Committees

Meetings met in Bordeaux for the last

meeting of Mr Marks as Executive

Director. Mr Marks handed over

his mission to Matthias Unbehaun.

On that occasion the retiring and

designed Executive Directors received

an unusual gift from Martin Dreher;

the little sparrow of Ulm that inspired

the inhabitants of the German city

to complete the construction of

the cathedral tower. Symbolically,

Bev Marks is the sparrow of TISA as

he has inspired the TISA community

to build its work and to look to the

right direction. Matthias Unbehaun,

received a sparrow in a cage, ready

TISA Executive Office: Stephanie Chaufton, Bev Marks and Amaury Cornelis at the Committees Meetings in Bordeaux, 2012

to be released and to continue to

inspire.

Over his career Bev Marks has also

been granted with the title of

Honorary Member by the RDS Forum,

a non-profit international professional

industry association that aims to

promote and maintain the Radio Data

System (RDS) technology, developed

by the European Broadcasting Union

as an open system to enhance FM

broadcasting. As Dietmar Kopitz

explains, Bev Marks received his

honorary membership for his work in

RDS technology as “in the early days

of RDS Bev was responsible at the BBC

for implementing RDS on the BBC’s

transmitter networks”.

But Mr Marks achievements and

honours go way beyond TPEG...

a fond hiker, lover of nature and

countryside, the man who wears only

red socks is also the Chairman of the

Battle Ramblers, a walking group

and affiliated club to the national

Ramblers Association in the UK. Last

July, together with some other 200

audacious ramblers, Mr Marks walked

for a week, every evening, during the

Battle’s Big Event.

This is only the latest of Bev Marks

successes, many more are to come

as many more there will be for the

TISA community. Indeed 2013 is going

to be a busy year for the association

with the next Committees Meetings

hosted in Seattle in March and the

second Testfest announced in May

hosted again in Munich.

The author wishes to thank Stephanie

Chaufton, Amaury Cornelis, Michel

Reneric, Thomas Kusche, Theo Kamalski,

Martin Dreher and Dietmar Kopitz for

their help in putting together this article.

initially the working group was called “B-TPEG”; Bev

has been so much involved in this work that we used to joke that the B was standing for Bev rather than for broadcast!

13

Page 14: ERTICO eMagazine - December 2012

ERTICO Partnership events

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Brussels (BE)

April 2013 ERTICO Forum – ITS for Insurance

Brussels (BE)

Dublin, Ireland, 4-7 June 2013, 9th European ITS Congress, www.itsineurope.com

Tokyo, Japan, 14-18 October 2013, 20th ITS World Congress, www.itsworldcongress.jp

Helsinki, Finland, 16-19 June 2014, 10th European ITS Congress

Detroit, USA, 7-11, September 2014, 21st ITS World Congress

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Page 16: ERTICO eMagazine - December 2012

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