Intelligent Transport System

The Role of ITS
Intelligent Transport Systems address the problems of
road safety and congestion. Improving safety has long
been a primary objective of government transport policy.1
Other policies have been formulated largely in response
to the Stern and Eddington2 reports. Reducing congestion
addresses many of these other objectives, such as the
promotion of economic competitiveness. Congestion
reduction also leads to environmental benefits such as
improved air quality and reduced CO2 emissions.3
Individual systems generally address either safety or
congestion issues, but these cannot be wholly separated.
Road accidents, for example, can lead to severe
congestion, while findings from a recent scheme on the
M42 to improve traffic flow also show safety benefits.

The Technologies behind ITS
The underlying technologies required for ITS are now
well-established (Box 1). Satellite location is already
used in navigation systems, and could permit a range of
further applications. Often, a communications system is
also required. For information provision, mobile
telephony is usually most suitable, but wireless networks
are needed for some safety applications.



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