On 7 February 2017, Hungarian Public Roads and Budapest Közút Zrt applied for the funds available under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for 2017, named C-ROADS HUNGARY. The total eligible cost of the project is €1,995,431, 85% of which is financed by the Connecting Europe Facility and the remaining 15% (plus VAT) is financed from domestic funds. The grant agreement between the European Commission and the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, plus the grant contract between the Ministry and Hungarian Public Roads were concluded in the first half of 2018. One of the most important elements of the project is participation in the work of the C-Roads joint platform, whereby member countries jointly elaborate the detailed specifications of vehicle-to-infrastructure (v2i) communications and perform joint tests in order to establish coherent and interoperable services throughout Europe.
Another important element is the enlargement of the Hungarian pilot system with new system functions. Activity within the platform is carried-out in working groups, whereby experiences, standards and technical specifications are shared among the participating countries. The Hungarian work program is aimed at the extension of coverage (further extension of the roadside network), the testing of mobile communications data transmission and the creation of functions that can be applied in the urban environment.
In 2018, preparatory works have been carried out, including the preparation of public procurement procedures and the drawing-up of technical documents. The preparatory phase was followed by the purchase, installation and (in case of motorway M1) replacement of C-ITS devices (Road Side Units – RSU).
These devices provide the road users with up-to-date information for the safe and efficient use of our roads.
Similar devices have already been installed on motorways M0 and M1 (where our devices installed in 2015 have recently been upgraded). As the project’s latest achievement, devices have been purchased to be installed in an urban setting, namely at the Route 10 junction of the town of Győr. These devices are intended to provide road users with up-to-date information for the safe and efficient use of our roads. For example, they indicate the time remaining until a green signal or to provide drivers with speed advice that allows them to ”ride the green wave”. The vehicles able to receive such data can display messages on their onboard displays such as information on recommended speed approaching junctions, time remaining until green lights or other incidents.
We are continuously working on similar developments and carry out tests in real world environments in cooperation with the ZalaZone project and with the Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.. A C-ITS roadshow is going to take place for the cross-border testing of applications.
We actively participate in the C-Roads platform’s work (Steering Committee and Working Group meetings and web conferences).
