GoF4R – Governance of the Interoperability Framework for Rail and Intermodal Mobility

In order to promote a modal shift towards green modes of transport such as rail, the intermodality between different transport modes should be improved. The development of multimodal travel information, planning and booking services and the interoperability between business applications is currently limited due to the fragmentation and incompatibility of interchange formats and protocols both within and across transport sectors as well as within the supply chain.
The aim of the GoF4R project is to overcome the obstacles currently impeding the development of market innovation by fostering a large acceptance of the ‘semantic web for transportation’. The establishment of good governance aims at securing the confidence of the industry to use the Interoperability Framework (IF) semantic technologies that will be established under the IP4 Innovation Programme of Shift2Rail ‘IT Solutions for Attractive Railway Services’. The objective of the Governance of the IF for Rail and Intermodal Mobility (GoF4R) project is to design a governance and management structure for the IF that will: i) create the right conditions to introduce seamless mobility services, ii) foster the development of multimodal travel services and iii) ensure its continued relevance for the future evolution of the Single European Transport Area. The governance models proposed in GoF4R will serve the interests of the European travellers by fostering the market uptake by mobility service providers. It will facilitate new business opportunities for improved mobility and travel related services and improve the incorporation of new stakeholders in the European transport arena by removing technological, administrative and economic boundaries.
The objectives will be achieved through a partnership of specialist participants including research institutions, a major European rail operator, industry associations representing the passenger and multi-modal transport sectors and public transportation authorities. Participants, who are also involved in the consortium of designers for the IF, will focus on the establishment of sustainable governance that will promote community confidence. The governance structure will create the basis for long term stability and controlled future evolution of the IF, promoting industry confidence so that it is attractive to invest in future products and services, contributing to the achievement of a distributed semantic ‘web of transport’ integrating the TAP-TSI specifications as one of its elements.