When we talk about smart mobility, it is common to think of sensors, digital platforms, predictive models or systems capable of anticipating incidents in real time. All of this is part of the change that is already underway. But before getting there, there is a less visible and much more important question: how are the data that make all of this possible organised, maintained and shared?
Because mobility data already exist. They are generated every day across public transport networks, roads, car parks, logistics operators, applications, infrastructure, public administrations and private companies. The real challenge is not only to produce more information, but to ensure that this information is useful, reliable, interoperable and secure.
This is where Data Governance comes into play.
And this is where specifications such as UNE 0077 and UNE 0085 become especially relevant for projects like DS4MM.
Having data is not enough: you need to know how to govern it
For years, many organisations have worked with data in isolation. Each administration, operator or company has built its own systems, its own formats and its own ways of interpreting information.
This does not mean that data have no value. Quite the opposite. It means that, in many cases, that value is limited because data cannot easily be connected with other data, do not always have the necessary quality or lack clear rules for sharing.
In mobility, this problem becomes even more complex.
An everyday journey can involve public transport, private vehicles, parking, urban logistics, interurban traffic, low-emission zones or connections between territories. No single actor has the full picture on its own. That is why, in order to make better decisions, different agents need to collaborate on a common basis.
But that collaboration cannot be improvised.
It requires rules, responsibilities, processes, quality criteria, security mechanisms and a shared vision of what the data are used for. That is exactly what Data Governance sets out to provide.
UNE 0085 Specification
The UNE 0085 Specification is a guide designed to help public and private organisations implement a Data Governance System. Put simply, it proposes how to move from “we have a lot of data” to “we know which data are important, who manages them, how they are used and what value they provide”.
Its approach is especially relevant because it does not treat data as a purely technical element. It connects data with organisational strategy, business processes, quality, measurement, change management and the ability to make better decisions.
This is important for any sector, but it is essential in mobility.
If we want a data space to help improve the planning of a transport network, analyse demand, simulate scenarios, coordinate responses to incidents or improve the sustainability of the system, data must meet a number of basic conditions. They must be clearly defined, understandable, comparable and shareable under common rules.
It is not just about connecting databases. It is about building trust.
UNE 0077 Specification
The UNE 0077 Specification establishes the foundations of Data Governance and helps clarify what it means to govern data within an organisation. Its approach is based on a key idea: data must contribute to the good performance of the organisation, generate value and, at the same time, be managed with guarantees in order to reduce the risks associated with their use.
This specification distinguishes between governing data and managing data. Data governance has a more strategic role: it defines policies, responsibilities, decision-making criteria and control mechanisms. Data management, on the other hand, focuses on turning those objectives into specific processes, tools and practices.
This distinction is especially important in mobility data spaces, where simply having information or connecting systems is not enough. It is also necessary to know who makes decisions about the data, which data must be governed, under what principles they are shared, how their use is protected and how it is ensured that they generate real value.
In this sense, UNE 0077 helps build the reference framework on which stronger, safer and more interoperable collaboration models can then be developed.
From data as a file to data as an asset
One of the most important changes introduced by Data Governance is understanding that data are not simply something stored in a system. Data are an asset.
This means they have value for the organisation and must therefore be managed with the same seriousness as any other strategic resource.
In mobility, data can help detect a congested area, optimise the location of an interchange, improve the planning of a line, anticipate congestion or reduce emissions. But for this to happen, those data must be reliable, contextualised and capable of being integrated with other data.
For example, knowing how many people use a transport node can be useful. But it is much more useful if that information is cross-referenced with demand patterns, accessibility, land use, connections with other modes, timetables, incidents or urban growth forecasts.
The value does not lie only in isolated data. It lies in what data make it possible to understand when they are correctly combined with others.
From data spaces to real mobility
DS4MM works precisely on this point: how to turn data spaces into useful tools for real mobility.
The project does not seek to accumulate information for the sake of it. Its objective is to validate how different organisations can share, connect and use data to feed mobility models that help make better decisions.
That requires a technical foundation, but also a governance foundation.
Because if each actor defines its data differently, if there are no quality criteria, if it is not clear who can access what information or if there are no common processes, the data space loses its ability to generate value.
That is why talking about Data Governance does not mean moving away from mobility. It means getting closer to the part that makes smart mobility possible.
DS4MM stands precisely at that intermediate point between data availability and practical application. It is not only about demonstrating that data can be shared, but about proving how that sharing can generate models, analyses and solutions that are useful for administrations, operators and citizens.
The importance of interoperability
One of the key concepts in any data space is interoperability.
Put simply, interoperability allows different systems to understand each other. It does not mean that everyone uses the same technology or works in the same way. It means that common criteria exist so that information can circulate, be interpreted and be used correctly.
In mobility, this is essential.
One administration may have public transport data. Another may manage traffic information. An operator may have parking data. A technology company may work with simulation models. If all these data cannot be connected coherently, it will be very difficult to build a complete view of mobility.
Interoperability makes it possible to move from many separate pieces to a system capable of working in a coordinated way.
But for interoperability to work, defining technical formats is not enough. Governance is also needed: knowing which data are critical, who validates them, what quality they have, how they are updated, how they are protected and under what conditions they can be used.
Measuring from the outset
Another relevant lesson from UNE 0085 is the importance of measuring from the earliest stages.
This may seem obvious, but in data projects it does not always happen. Many initiatives begin with major objectives, but without clear indicators to verify whether they are actually working.
In a mobility data space, measurement is key to knowing whether the system is generating value. Not only from a technical perspective, but also from an operational one.
Do the data enable better decisions? Do they reduce uncertainty? Do they improve planning? Do they help anticipate problems? Do they facilitate collaboration between actors? Do they make it possible to build more accurate models?
These are the questions that turn Data Governance into a practical tool. Because success is not measured by the amount of information available, but by the ability to turn that information into useful decisions.
Data also requires change management
One of the most interesting ideas behind Data Governance is that it is not limited to tools or processes. It also involves people.
Sharing data between organisations requires changing habits, overcoming inertia and building new forms of collaboration. In many cases, it means moving from a logic of closed systems to an ecosystem-based logic.
This does not happen overnight.
It is necessary to clearly explain the value, define responsibilities, build trust and demonstrate concrete benefits. That is why change management is a fundamental part of any Data Governance programme.
In mobility, this point is especially important because very different actors are involved: administrations, operators, research centres, technology companies, infrastructure managers and public bodies. Each has its own objectives, systems and needs.
The challenge is to create a common framework in which everyone can collaborate without losing control over their data.
From theory to real mobility
For a long time, concepts such as Data Governance, data quality or interoperability may have sounded overly technical. However, their impact is very concrete.
They affect how a city is planned. How congestion is anticipated. How decisions are made on where to reinforce an intermodal connection. How different territories are coordinated. How public policies are designed based on real information rather than intuition alone.
That is the change that projects like DS4MM aim to help drive.
The mobility of the future will not depend only on new infrastructure or new technologies. It will also depend on the ability to better organise the information that already exists, connect it with clear criteria and transform it into useful models.
Because data, on their own, do not improve mobility.
What improves mobility is knowing how to govern, share and use them to make better decisions.
