Jul 23, 2021
UVARs describe regulations and restrictions for vehicles due to pollution and traffic congestion in urban as well as rural regions. The aim is to use such regulations to improve the quality of life for the local population.
UVARs – short for Urban Vehicle Access Regulations – refer to parking regulations, environmental zones, city tolls or access and drive-through restrictions such as those on the Tyrolean motorways at the change of vacation shifts. Furthermore, pedestrian zones or immission-based speed restrictions such as the IG-L 100 series are included.
There are currently no uniform specifications for UVARs and each city or region designs the framework conditions individually. So to give travelers and transport companies an overview of which of these regulations or driving restrictions apply in which cities and regions, reliable information on environmental zone management should be created across Europe. Therefore, the UVAR Box project organized a workshop on 23 March 2021 to enable an open exchange among the involved stakeholders. “It is extremely important to create a common understanding here. In addition, it is also about the function of the technical tool, what data is available and how it can be made available to create a solution that can be used equally by everybody," explains Julia Düh, project manager at AustriaTech and team leader Pilot & Explore / Digital Transport Infrastructure.
In order to create a harmonized provision of information for UVARs, the data and information must be available in a uniform and digital format - in the specific case DATEX-II. For this purpose, a survey is carried out to determine which UVARs exist in Europe, in which data format available information is processed and how the announcement takes place. National stakeholders were invited to the workshop in order to identify current challenges and needs in the individual authorities and organizations.
The aim is to use this to drive forward the reduction of high-emission mobility services. The next steps are to promote the exchange with other European countries and to hold further workshops, to formulate requirements for the digital provision of data on environmental zone management and to develop and test digital support tools.
