In the future Intelligent Transportation Systems can be expected to be widespread and to be based on some synergistic integration of the 30 defined ITS applications. The fully integrated system will however be expensive and few, if any, regions will be able to embark upon the implementation of a full system in the immediate future. A piecemeal approach in which the system building blocks are selected to satisfy immediate local needs therefore seems inevitable. How then should we plan and select these building blocks to ensure that in the long term they will fit together into one seamless system accessible to all potential users? This paper discusses some of the issues that planners should address to ensure that the investment in piecemeal implementation can be applied towards the long term infrastructure so that the full benefits achievable from the integration of mutliple ITS applications will eventually be obtained.
Samenvatting