The Problem
Our roads are congested with traffic, leading to negative impacts on the environment, and each year the number of vehicles to be accommodated grows. The United Nations (UN) estimates that 1.3 million people are killed on the world’s roads each year; some 50 million are injured, with many disabled. Global economic uncertainty makes major investments in road up-keep politically unpalatable and financially impossible.
Yet, mobility is the key to social and economic development and integration of local communities, regions and states.
The Solution
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) have a demonstrated ability to improve the efficiency of mobility and quality of life. ITS contributes significantly to solving today’s transport challenges such as congestion, accidents and incidents and the lack of funding for maintaining roads in a cost-effective manner.
Policies have a major impact on the roll-out and use of intelligent technology, with many policy areas affecting deployment, such as mobility policies, environment policies and transport funding and investment policies.
Political leaders can push for a wider uptake of smart technology by recognising the importance of the tools that ITS provide to address the challenges effectively and by creating the right policy framework for their deployment.
Unleash the Potential of ITS
IRF calls upon political leaders to undertake the following policy actions in order to foster the use smart technologies to their full potential:
- Incorporate ITS in Existing Transport Policies to acknowledge and confirm its role in achieving major transport objectives in safety, sustainability and efficiency.
- Enhance ITS Partnerships and Collaboration between public, private and academic stakeholders to create a conducive environment for viable, user-oriented ITS services and innovation.
- Encourage Sustainable Mobility Behaviour to balance people’s growing mobility demand with preserving the environment and quality of life.
- Plan for ITS Deployment to create a an unambiguous path towards safer, greener and more efficient roads and to embed ITS as an integral part of infrastructure planning.
- Foster ITS Harmonisation and Standardisation to enable cross-border, user-friendly, high quality services for the public and to enable economies of scale.
- Stimulate ITS Education to foster innovation, to enable the general public to intelligently use the transport infrastructure and the services, and to continue developing the industry.