All Ways Travelling consortium to support European Commission’s “Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area”

All Ways Travelling, an Amadeus-led consortium comprised of BeNe Rail, IATA, Thales, UNIFE and Zeppelin University, has been appointed by the European Commission (Mobility and Transport Directorate) to develop and validate a model for a multimodal pan-European passenger transport information and booking system.

The appointment of the consortium forms one of the initiatives adopted by the European Commission (EC) within its Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area. The roadmap aims to build a more efficient, sustainable transport system to increase mobility across Europe, drive growth and associated employment within the transport sector, and reduce carbon emissions.

In the first stage of the project, the All Ways Travelling consortium will undertake an in-depth study of multimodality. The study, which will be conducted by Zeppelin University, is due to be completed before the end of 2013. Once the results are validated by the EC, the consortium will trial a series of Proofs of Concept (POC) in terms of business models, operations and specific technologies that have been identified as critical for market delivery.

The long-term objective of the EC is to ease travel across Europe using various modes of transport, such as air, rail and urban transport, thus enabling European residents and visitors to enjoy a seamless door-to-door travel experience.

By addressing a clear requirement for easy access to travel solutions that combine different transport modes, the roadmap will establish a framework for European multimodal transport that streamlines shopping, booking, ticketing and payment processes.

Siim Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission in charge of transport, commented: “We need to develop European multimodal journey planners in Europe. To make the best use of all existing transport modes and infrastructure, we need to ensure the availability, accessibility and exchange of all relevant information, such as schedules, capacity and paths.”

Thomas Drexler, Global Head of Amadeus Rail and Ground Transportation, said: “In addition to the breadth of knowledge and experience within the consortium itself, we have created an advisory board consisting of 10 representatives of the major players in the industry to ensure that the approach to multimodal travel is truly beneficial for the travel industry as a whole.”