The city of Iwaki sprawls over a large surface area and its central city areas are widely dispersed. The city is late in providing a public transport infrastructure and the inhabitants of the city are therefore heavily dependent on the use of the motorcar for transport. This large dependence on car use is causing a variety of traffic problems ranging from road congestion and traffic accidents to an adverse effect on the environment along the roads. It is also a factor in the decline of the public transport system and leads to a further erosion of the central city areas which have since old flourished around the railway stations and makes life more difficult for children and the elderly who do not or cannot use the motorcar. In an attempt to achieve a solution to these problems, the Iwaki ITS Association was founded in 1999 as an organization for promoting ITS and information system technology. It's role is to make practical efforts toward this goal. For the covering abstract see ITRD E114174.
Abstract