Transport and communications ministers meeting in Nicosia this week discussed the EU’s progress on mobilising intelligent transport systems, or ITS, to remove some of the frustrations regularly faced by travellers.

Such hassles include not being able to plan connections between rail and bus services on transnational trips, or not getting real-time traffic and weather information.

Siim Kallas, European Commission vice president in charge of transport, discussed with the ministers ways to employ technology to make journey planning easier and to ensure that a 2008 EU action plan and a 2010 directive for ITS deployment is fulfilled no later than 2014.