Carpooling and the Pan-European emergency call "eCall 112": Connected cars and their potential for environmental and transport policy

To meet transport sector obligations to emissions reductions, large effects may be derived from intelligent transportation systems (ITS) solutions. Substantial decrease of vehicle miles travelled (VMT) can be achieved using transportation systems management (TSM) measures, especially through high-occupancy vehicles (HOV) incentives. Of these, carpooling and vanpooling approaches proved to be effective. However, there is a lack of reliable enforcement procedures. A review of automated vehicle occupancy verification (AVOV) research and development (R&D) is followed by a proposal focused on the Pan European emergency call 'eCall 112'. The concept explores options for an eCall 112 application as an enforcement tool in TSM operations with vehicle occupancy data contained in the minimum set of data (MSD) as the base for new road transport policy tools. A set of incentives is described which support transport and environmental objectives. The proposed enforcement may impact congestion levels in combination with HOV-lanes and without them. Climate, environment, and the performance of road transportation systems could benefit from integrated road safety and TSM operations.