Satellite communication in road freight operations: the METAFORA experience

At the beginning of 1992, the European Commission inaugurated its second DRIVE R&D programme to examine the benefits of implementing various Advanced Transport Telematic applications. METAFORA, one of the projects funded within this programme, was initiated by a consortium of 14 organizations. The objective of this project was to assess the applicability of mobile data communications (MDC) using satellite and electronic data interchange (EDI) in the real working environment of the road freight sector, with special attention paid to the needs of small and medium‐sized enterprises. Concentrates on presenting the findings of the MDC pilots carried out during the project. Describes the pilots, technology implemented, data sources and collection techniques, evaluation methodology used and concludes with a financial and socio‐economic cost‐benefit analysis of the trials.