Transport policy in the UK has experienced a number of significant shifts in direction over the past few decades. The building of new roads has moved from a 'predict and provide' methodology to a 'predict and prevent' approach. Private car use has however continued to increase sharply whilst the use of public transport has fallen. In response to these trends, the Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions (DETR) published the Integrated Transport White Paper in July 1998 as a vision document. The main thrust of the Paper was to reduce congestion and pollution by improving public transport, encouraging walking and cycling and reducing the use of the private car. Coupled to this, in recent years, much interest has been expressed in many countries to cope with the capacity problems on infrastructure and to increase the efficiency or attractiveness of certain modes of transport by employing new technological opportunities offered by the information and communication technology. The motivation for this paper came from a workshop led by DETR representatives during a session at the Continuing Professional Development Course in Transport Telematics run by the Transport Operations Research Group (TORG) at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. This interactive workshop was attended by a mixed audience of MSc students and professionals (from practitioners, local authorities, DETR, ITS industries and consultants). This lively brainstorming session used the objectives of the White Paper as a focus for a SWOT analysis of ITS technologies. The workshop created some interesting and innovative ideas, with the students throwing new light on to the subject. The paper highlights some of the key conclusions of the SWOT and discuss in detail exactly what ITS can offer to support the White Paper objectives and aspirations of the more recent 10 Year Plan and to reference the technical developments presented into the broader political context.
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