Sustainability

Since public transport deregulation in the UK the provision of solutions to transport demand
in areas of dispersed demand has been met by local authorities’ attempts to “fill gaps” in the
commercial public transport network, whilst the voluntary sector has addressed the needs of
more specialised travel. Since 2001 more innovative solutions have been enabled by the
development of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), which allow more flexible transport
services in terms of time and space. In addition, new ways of thinking about the provision of
what might be considered public transport has led to more flexible transport modes becoming
available, permitting the general public on education contract services, the use of taxis for
shared public transport and the provision of vehicles enabling access to work. However, these
innovations tend to operate independently leading to overlap, gaps and misunderstandings
about the purpose, delivery and receipt of services. To address these issues, future public
transport services will need wider area network planning, greater co-operation between
service providers and improved understanding of passenger requirements. The
Northumberland case study illustrates diverse solutions that have been made to address these
challenges and the key role of ITS in this process.

University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Presented at the 12th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, November 6-10, 2005, San Francisco, California

Leicester’s Intelligent Transport System provides a rich source of monitored, real-time
and archived traffic data. Data from the Air Quality Monitoring Stations, weather
stations and meteorological services have been integrated using Air Quality Monitoring
and Modelling Systems. “Nowcasts” and “Forecasts” of air and noise pollution are
being developed to influence public choice on time/mode of travel and assist in the
management of the road network. “WebServices”, “Open Systems Architecture” with
Geographical Information System, together with the MESSAGE Project’s ‘Grid
enabled’ “e-Science” infrastructure, will improve the assessment of the impact of traffic
on air and noise quality, the environment and health, as well as informing the City’s
Climate Change Strategy and the Carbon Footprint via the 4M project.

Leicester City Council

Presented at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York

A  response  to  environmental  issues  is  one  of  the  things  society  is  asking  of  ITS,  and especially the reduction of CO2 emissions from the transportation sector is a major theme. In Japan  the  “Transportation  and  Logistics  Renaissance”  project  was  launched  last  year  by  the public  sector,  private  sector,  and  academia.  This  project  aims  to  cut  congestion,  CO2 emissions, and logistics costs by half and to reduce traffic fatalities to zero by 2020. We have been considering a way of upgrading logistics systems and have been estimating the effect of that upgrade as an activity of the transportation and logistics renaissance project. In this paper, the  results  of  our  study  on  a  way  of  improving  the  logistics  system  and  a  way  of  using  ITS technologies which are indispensable for achieving the goals are presented.

Fujitsu Limited

Presented at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York

The growth of wireless technologies provides great promise for current and future ITS communications infrastructure deployments.  Knowing what technologies to deploy is critical to
the long-term success and cost of an ITS deployment.  Traditionally, ITS networks have been based on a mix of private or leased wired infrastructure that uses copper or fiber optic cabling. This paper discusses the high costs associated with this type of deployment and how wireless technologies could reduce some of these costs.  An overview of currently available wireless technologies that are most applicable to ITS designs is presented.  Significant design issues that must be considered are discussed, including security, system reliability, total cost of ownership, and interoperability and expandability.

Southwest Research Institute

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

This paper discusses a broad congestion pricing approach that may be implemented
in the near term, since technologies needed to implement it are already deployed extensively.
The approach involves converting existing freeways (all lanes) into premium-service freeflowing
highways that provide fast, frequent and inexpensive express bus service, while charging
all private vehicles a variable toll -- except for authorized buses and certified vanpool vehicles.
The toll could vary by level of demand and could be set high enough to guarantee that excessive
demand will not cause a breakdown of traffic flow. Public acceptance could be a major hurdle,
but could be achieved with careful system design along with a major public education and
outreach campaign.

Federal Highway Administration

Presented at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York