Samenvatting
This short article briefly describes the Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS) in Japan. The system configuration is described briefly, as are the results of a public demonstration of the system. This two day demonstration gave 600 people the opportunity to ride in the 45 test vehicles and was attended by over 1,600 people. The results of a feasibility study carried out in February 1994 by the VICS Promotion Council are also presented. This study estimated the social and economic effects of deploying VICS over a 20 year period. It is estimated that VICS could save some 5.6 trillion yen in journey time and wasted fuel consumption. It is estimated that the benefits would outweigh the costs by a factor of 4 or thereabouts.