As urban traffic control (UTC) systems become more and more sophisticated, the potential of road transport telematics to support the implementation of transport management policies is also increasing. The functions that they can support include pollution monitoring, automatic incident detection, selective access control, active bus priority, parking information systems, and automatic enforcement. UTC systems have been becoming 'smarter' in various ways, with several advanced features becoming increasingly available. These features include: (1) traffic management functions, as indicated in recent studies by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), the then UK Department of Transport (DoT), and the National ITS Architecture study in the USA; (2) interlinking of urban and interurban systems; (3) links to traveller information systems; (4) navigation and route guidance; (5) traffic restraint; and (6) camera enforcement. Three key initiatives are being promoted in the UK, Europe is developing an Integrated Road Transport Environment (IRTE), the USA is demonstrating an Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure (ITI), and Japan is developing a Universal Traffic Management System (UTMS). Both governments and the private sector are involved. UK-compatible Intelligent Transport System (ITS) architectures and standards will eventually reduce system development costs and risks.
Abstract