In Japan, ITS research, development and deployment of ITS-related projects have been promoted, based on "Comprehensive Plan for ITS in Japan", the ITS master plan created by the five ministerial offices. Under the master plan, the five ministerial offices are taking the lead in promoting ITS in close cooperation with academia and private sectors including VERTIS (Vehicle, Road and Traffic Intelligence Society). This paper discusses: (1) VICS (vehicle information and communication system), the first service in the world of this kind started in 1996 (FY), (2) ETC (electronic toll collection) to start service in 1999 (FY), and (3) AHS (automatic highway system) to plan field tests in 2000 (FY). This paper also discusses the Smartway, the intelligent road scheme, which will form the platform of future ITS services. (A*)
Samenvatting