The Hungarian municipalities, public road operators, including the Hungarian Public Roads (HPR) and Budapest Közút Zrt (BK), and private road operators have been aggregating data following the standardised TN-ITS format since the year 2019. This milestone was recognised by the multi-stakeholder innovation platform, earning the Hungarian Public Roads the ITS Hungary Excellence Award.
In 2021, Budapest became a member of the TN-ITS community. Initially, five limitations were available nationwide: maximum speed limit, vehicle height, vehicle width, gross vehicle weight, and parking information. Since then, Budapest has undergone significant improvements in the implementation of the TN-ITS system. Since this year, as part of the EU project Crocodile 3 HU they are offering a wider range of data and functionalities to its users. Within the Budapest area, the previous categories have been enriched, adding the following datasets:
- RoadCategoryType
- areaType
- roadCategory
- maximumSpeedLimit
- vehicleHeight
- vehicleWidth
- vehicleLength
- grossVehicleWeight
- heaviestAxleWeight
- encodedGeometry
These advancements go beyond the Hungarian capital. Beyond the abovementioned limitations included in the TN-ITS service, for rural environments they are also encompassing static warnings for potential hazards on the road, right-of-way information to clarify traffic flow precedence, and new limitations, prohibitions, and mandatory regulations to ensure driver awareness. Additionally, the system includes special rules, information, and complementary boards that provide context-specific details relevant to specific locations. This comprehensive expansion adds over 600,000 data entities, including geolocation information, to the national TN-ITS system.
To ensure users receive the most up-to-date information, the Hungarian Public Roads Authority has collaborated with the traffic operation department, mapmakers, and representatives from the automotive industry to prioritize the most crucial information for users. This collaborative effort resulted in the integration of nearly half of the available data into the system, translating to approximately 350,000 shared entities. Furthermore, the accuracy and timeliness of data have been improved. Datasets are now timestamped with the last data update date, ensuring users have access to the most recent information. The local TN-ITS test homepage with sample datasets will also be updated to reflect the new functionalities.
These improvements significantly enhance the quality and usability of the TN-ITS system. The wider range of data provides more comprehensive guidance for drivers, mapmakers, and developers of automated driving systems. The high-quality static data foundation also strengthens the reliability of dynamic traffic information systems.
About Hungarian Public Roads (HPR)
Hungarian Public Roads (HPR) is a state-owned company, responsible for the operation and maintenance of nearly 32,000 km of national roads, while Budapest Közút Zrt. (BK) is responsible for the road and traffic management of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The main objective of these companies is to support road users as widely as possible with information for their daily commuting on the roads and to ensure smooth traffic flow for travelers by performing road maintenance activities. These activities consist of the operation, as well as routine and preventive maintenance, of the national public road network, including expressways and motorways.
Our responsibilities also include road and pavement inspection and repair; hard-shoulder maintenance and the maintenance of unpaved areas belonging to the road network; removing trees that are potentially dangerous for road safety; grass cutting; chemical plant protection; maintenance of drainage systems; placement and operation of traffic control devices; painting of road markings; as well as snow removal and anti-slip measures during the winter service period.
Furthermore, Hungarian Public Roads is responsible for maintaining the National Access Point together with the National Road Databank department making the data sharing for data providers and users easier.
Their commendable work also merited them the TN-ITS Best New Service Implementation Award in 2022.
The Hungarian Public Roads authority welcomes collaboration and encourages users to test the new datasets in the first quarter of 2024. If you encounter any issues, feel free to contact them at cef@kozut.hu.