A common goal of the European research programmes DRIVE (Dedicated Road Infrastructure for Vehicle Safety in Europe) and PROMETHEUS is to improve the efficiency of operation of the road network by means of the increased use of Road Transport Informatics (RTI). Applications such as improved traffic control, dynamic route guidance and road pricing will effect congestion levels, by influencing network capacity and by demand management. The major DRIVE project TARDIS (Traffic and Roads DRIVE Integrated Systems) is investigating the potential for integrating different RTI applications, including traffic control, route guidance and road pricing, into a coherent traffic management environment. It is run by the largest DRIVE consortium, representing highway authorities, automotive and electronics industry, research institutes, consultancies and toll motorway operators from 8 European countries. The objectives of the project are: - to specify the functional requirements of an Integrated Road Transport Environment (IRTE), in order to provide a common framework for technical developments in which the different traffic control philosophies in different countries can still be embodied; and - to achieve consensus on standards and protocols for the higher communication levels within the IRTE, with an initial assessment of the legislative implications of RTI implementation. The functional requirements of the IRTE are studied in individual work packages dealing with the following applications: dynamic route guidance, advanced traffic control, parking management, fleet management, public transport management and information, automatic debiting, tourist information and data collection for traffic management and planning. The results of each work package are considered by a Functional Requirements Committee (FRC) which represents the highway authorities and other actor groups. The FRC provides the co-ordination between the individual applications and the overall integrated approach. This approach is embodied in work packages dealing with the system architecture of the IRTE; other packages consider standardisation and legislative aspects. The paper concentrates on the applications of the IRTE which directly affect the problem of congestion. A description is given of the contribution RTI applications can make to relieving congestion, taking into account elasticities of demand. Finally the paper reviews current developments in each major application area and discusses possible implementation scenarios.
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