What is TISA?

Ensuring synergy and adding market-driven impetus to traffic information technologies.

The Traveller Information Services Association (TISA) was established as a not-for-profit company (ASBL under Belgian law) to ensure an international framework for market-driven, coordinated, proactive implementation of traffic and travel information services and products based on existing standards such as RDS-TMC and TPEG. It also works towards the development and deployment of future standards and services.

TISA has taken over all the activities undertaken by the previous TMC Forum, TPEG Forum and the German Mobile.Info project. It also supports standards that provide elements or framework for services and products covering traffic and travel information, including roads, public transport and related information needs such as points of interest, weather and environmental information.

TISA’s secretariat is hosted by ERTICO – ITS Europe, although it is financially independent, with a small joining fee and an annual membership fee.

Objectives

Prepare and promote technical specifications for widespread international utilisation/adoption.
Facilitate the introduction of new Traffic and Travel Information services using those standards.
Facilitate the closest possible coordination between pre-competitive activities and standardisation.
Maintain the existing specifications to meet the needs of the market.
Keep the market and technology developments under continuous review to identify developments in related areas where co-operation is essential for market success.

Members

Membership of TISA is open to all public and private organisations that have an interest in traffic and traveller information and support the objectives of the association. Many members of TISA were previously involved in the TMC and TPEG Forums but the scope of TISA is broader and therefore participation by a wider range of organisations is expected.

History & Background

TISA takes over the activities undertaken by the TMC Forum, the TPEG Forum and the German Mobile.Info project. It also supports standards that provide elements or a framework for services and products covering traffic and travel information including roads, public transport and related information needs such as points of interest, weather and environmental data.

TMC Forum

Founded in 1997 to represent all sectors in the development and roll-out of RDS-TMC services and products following their initial development in European Commission funded projects, the TMC Forum supported both commercial businesses and public authorities. It acted as the “keeper” of the TMC Standards and supported working groups and task forces to further develop all aspects of TMC. From the early days of technical development, the TMC Forum successfully created a truly global industry.

TPEG Forum

TPEG (Transport Protocol Expert Group) was originally developed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) with partners from industry invited to join B/TPEG in January 1998 and the TPEG Project from 2000 to 2003, validating the TPEG concepts with industrial development of TPEG client decoders. The TPEG Forum was formed in 2003/4 to continue development
and maintenance of TPEG Standards.

mobile.info

The German Mobile.Info project, led by BMW, during 2006-7 defined a set of commercial services based upon the best of TMC and TPEG capabilities which would be suitable for the first major European TPEG services.

In October 2004, the TMC Forum, TPEG Forum and Mobile.Info project created the Road Traffic Information Group as a cooperation of the three organisations. The Road Traffic Information Group’s goals were to:

ensure a single, market led technology emerges
build on the synergies of the two Forums and the Mobile.info project
utilise the best of both technologies

The Road Traffic Information Group achieved improved requirements definition for developers and implementers. The benefits of this cooperation highlighted the value of a more concrete joint activity. In creating and working jointly in a new single market-driven organisation, the aims and objectives of the traffic information industry will be achieved more effectively, through creating synergy among previously separate member organisations, exploiting the best of TMC and TPEG as technologies, providing a single platform to openly discuss new requirements, creating and maintaining a market focus and ensuring one consistent set of standards for the future. This joint activity has now been launched as TISA.