IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60

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IATSS Research

Overview

Solutions for urban traffic issues by ITS technologies

Hiroshi Makino a,⁎, Kazuya Tamada b, Koichi Sakai c, Shunsuke Kamijo c
a
City and Housing Department, Hokuriku Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 1-1-1 Misakicho, Chuo-ku, Niigata, Japan
b
ITS Division, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 1 Asahi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
c
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In recent years, traffic congestion, traffic accidents, and deterioration of the environment because of growing
Received 2 March 2018 population, increasing urbanization, and increasing car ownership have become serious problems in the Asia-Pa-
Received in revised form 2 May 2018 cific regions. Intelligent transport systems (ITS) are systems that try to solve various road traffic issues using
Accepted 18 May 2018
information communication technologies. Several countries are endeavoring to solve such traffic issues by
Available online 6 June 2018
deploying an ITS and achieving positive results. However, there are some problems in advancing ITS deployment
Keywords:
in these countries, such as lack of technical know-how, a lack of coordination among systems, lack of a master
ITS plan, and financial constraints. In order to introduce ITSs, it is important to select suitable technologies and
Smartway applications appropriate for each country. An appropriate plan and evaluation of the ITS project are also impor-
ETC 2.0 tant for the introduction of ITS.
MaaS In this paper, we propose methods for the utilization and introduction of ITS technologies to solve urban traffic
TDM issues in various countries, based on the lessons learned from the deployment of an ITS in Japan.
PPP © 2018 International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction
Both emerging and developed countries suffer serious urban traffic
problems, such as traffic congestion, accidents, and environmental
problems owing to concentrated populations and economic growth.
Certain cities are using intelligent transport Systems (ITS) to solve
these urban traffic issues by utilizing state-of-the-art information
communication technologies, and some of them have achieved success
in their implementation. However, even countries that have introduced
ITS are experiencing various issues, such as uncoordinated complex silo
systems, a shortage of deployment strategy knowledge, the lack of a
master plan, and stalled deployment due to financial constraints. In
order to introduce ITS, it is necessary to select suitable technology and
applications appropriate for each country and region, as well as an
appropriate introduction plans and project schemes.
Japan has been implementing the practical applications of ITSs such
as the vehicle information communication service (VICS) and the
electric toll correction (ETC) nationwide, based on the “Smartway”
concept [1] shown Fig. 1. It is one of the concepts of cooperative
vehicle-infrastructure systems (V2I).
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: makino-h87bh@mlit.go.jp (H. Makino).
Peer review under responsibility of International Association of Traffic and Safety
Sciences.
A novel project called “ETC 2.0,” which combines VICS and ETC func-
tions on one on-board unit (OBU) and adds several new functions, was
launched in 2011. ETC 2.0 has enabled a variety of applications through
high-speed, high-capacity communications by utilizing characteristics
of a dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) at 5.8 GHz. This
could contribute to alleviating urban traffic problems.
This paper suggests policies that make use of ITS technology for
solving urban traffic problems based on the expertise gained and les-
sons learned through the introduction of ITS in Japan. The policies are
beneficial for countries which are developing expressway (motorway)
by public finance initiative (PFI) or public private partnership (PPP).
2. ITS in Japan
2.1. Features of ETC 2.0
Fig. 2 shows the features of ETC 2.0. The system is simple because
ETC 2.0 OBUs and a road-side-unit (RSU), called “ITS SPOT,” communi-
cate with each other on a dedicated area. The OBU has a basic applica-
tion interface consisting of common functions such as command/
response function, memory access function, an IC card access function,
a push-type information delivery function, onboard unit ID communica-
tion function, and onboard unit basic command function, which enable
the use of various ITS services by combining these common functions. It
has great merits such as cost reduction and long-term use on OBU be-
cause if we want to add a new service, all we need to do is develop a
new RSU with a new application.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iatssr.2018.05.003
0386-1112/© 2018 International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
50 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60

Fig. 1. Smartway concept in Japan.

ETC 2.0 uses a two-piece system that supports multiple users.
Vehicle information is stored in OBU and personal information is stored
on IC cards, enabling the separation of the vehicle owner and the toll
payer. This allows people other than the owners of the vehicle, such as
car rentals, to pay ETC tolls. Security and privacy protection is also im-
portant for mobile payment. ETC 2.0 is able to guarantee security and
to protect privacy because it uses an IC card having an IC chip with a
built-in CPU, which enables a two-way authorization and the encryp-
tion of recorded data using DSRC security platform (DSRC-SPF). The
high-speed, high-capacity active DSRC at 5.8 GHz enables the provision
of information for supporting safe driving, and wide-area traffic conges-
tion information for over approximately 1000 km. Two-way

Fig. 2. Features of ETC 2.0.

 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60
communications also allow probe data collection from GNSS on it. This
5.8G-Hz active DSRC was certified as ISO 14906 by the International
Telecommunication Union's recommendation M.1453.
The name ETC 2.0 indicates that it is completely compatible with the
conventional ETC. It can offer new mobility applications such as safe
driving support and dynamic route guidance for car navigation systems
using a larger capacity and high-speed communication than a conven-
tional VICS. A remarkable application of this is for “probe data [2]”
collection by utilizing the uplink function. Probe data consist of the
two kinds of data: travel records and behavior records. The travel re-
cords show each vehicle's time and position along its path. The behavior
record can reveal dangerous points on the road where a driver may
need to stop suddenly or adjust steering.
Approximately 2.4 million OBUs were shipped on the market by the
end of December 2017. More than 3000 RSUs have already been
installed along expressways and national roads by the Ministry of
Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism (MLIT).
2.2. Smart use of roads using ETC 2.0
After World War II, the Japanese government started construction of
expressways using a World Bank loan, and have since continued con-
struction under the toll road system. First, we started construction of
the national development longitudinal expressway, which connects
Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka metropolitan area. Thereafter, we have devel-
oped crossing expressways that connect local cities and the longitudinal
expressway. Finally, now we are concentrating on developing last miles
to local cities and ring expressways in the metropolitan areas. The ring
expressways are the most important infrastructure to consider in
order to solve urban transport problems by eliminating passing car traf-
fic, easing congestion in the city center, and affording space to human
and public transportation.
ETC plays a key role in the smart use of developed expressways.
Firstly, ETC is an inevitable tool for collecting tolls safely and securely
at low costs. Secondly, it is useful for making more inter-changes (IC)
Fig. 3. Example of the analysis and evaluation using probe data.
51
at a lower cost and over a smaller space in order to improve user acces-
sibility. Thirdly, it has a dynamic charging function for providing drivers
discounts, such as the time of the day, day of the week, and so on, as in-
centives to use expressways.
In rural areas where ETC gates cannot be densely installed, a low
cost ETC only IC is useful for reducing construction money. On the
other hand, in metropolitan areas, smaller space is beneficial
because of limited land for construction and a dynamic charging
function is an essential tool for “traffic demand management
(TDM).”
By making use of the probe data, we can accurately identify the
location and time of congestion, and black spots of accidents.
Additionally, we can coordinate the best countermeasures, such as
widening roads, modifying traffic signal timing, providing informa-
tion via variable message signs (VMS) and car navigation systems,
and calculating using those new data sources. The collected probe
data can also be used to evaluate the effects of coordinated counter-
measures. Finally, we can establish the PDCA cycle of policy
implementation.
As Fig. 3 shows, countermeasures can be evaluated after implemen-
tation. The details of traffic problems can be more accurately under-
stood by analyzing probe data, although this is partly dependent on
the penetration of OBUs. It is one of the demerit of ETC 2.0 that data col-
lection is dependent on RSUs deployment.
2.3. Supporting safe driving with ETC 2.0
There are four different types of traffic accident countermeasures ac-
cording to the timing of implementation;
• Before: motorway development, traffic signal, guard rail, ramble strip
etc.
• Immediately before: safety information provision in vehicle signage,
automated break
• During and immediately after: seat belt, airbag
• After: Automated help call, Dr. Helicopter
52 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60
The most effective countermeasures are the ones taken before and
immediately before the accidents, because those are able to prevent ac-
cidents. However, establishing measures in advance is both costly and
time consuming because of infrastructure development. The “immedi-
ately before” countermeasures were considered impossible because
we had no tools for detecting hazards and delivering critical information
to the driver inside a car just before a hazard, which could be technically
challenging.
ITS technologies, however, have made this possible. CCTV cameras
with image processing [3] can detect a stopped vehicle on the blind
carve. Sensors on the vehicle can detect the tail end of traffic conges-
tions, objects on road, road surface conditions and other elements,
potentially dangerous for vehicles. The DSRC employed on ETC 2.0 has
high-speed and high-capacity communications and can provide the
detected information just before hazardous sections. Fig. 4 shows an
image of the safety application utilization of ETC 2.0. We should com-
bine these technologies and deploy them to save lives. In the future,
identifying accident prone sections using probe data would be efficient
for detecting hazards at a low cost.
2.4. Heavy vehicle management and efficient logistics with ETC 2.0
Road deterioration caused by heavy vehicles is a universal problem
because it is said that deterioration is proportional to the 12th power
of the vehicle weight. Basically, road administrators should charge a
toll with the vehicle's weight, but it was technically difficult. ETC 2.0
has adequate functions [4], such as an ID communication function for
monitoring and a probe data collection function, for route identification
in order to manage heavy vehicles. This is especially useful controlling
over-loaded vehicles. The heavy vehicles management system via ETC
2.0 consists of a system that makes use of big data calculated from the
Fig. 4. The safety application utilizing ETC 2.0.
probe data and the weigh-in-motion (WIM) sensor data to determine
if heavy vehicles are on appropriate permitted routes and of adequate
weight. (Fig. 5).
This system is also able to feedback its own probe data to freight op-
erators to support = logistics and driver management. This will make
freight traffic more efficient and help reduce the number of major acci-
dents involving heavy vehicles.
2.5. Development of automated driving vehicles
Recent advances in vehicular control technology, such as adaptive
cruise control (ACC), lane keeping assist (LKA) and automatic braking,
are leading toward the actualization of automated-driving vehicles. A
combination of vehicle control technology and the ETC 2.0 information
provision is indispensable for achieving automated-driving vehicles. It is
important that details on road surface and traffic conditions collected by
vehicle sensors and roadside sensors as forecast information resource
support vehicle control and route selection, and result in the realization
of a comfort and safety automated driving (Fig. 6).
2.6. The ETC 2.0 deployment strategy in Japan
The basic concept for promoting ETC 2.0 deployment, called “Triple
Wins Concept [5],” is shown in Fig. 7. Better deployment strategy
must bring benefits to triple winners: society, road administrators and
drivers.
Concretely, the benefits for society are a reduction in traffic accidents
by supporting safe driving, a reduction in traffic congestion, and an alle-
viation of environmental burdens by the provision of traffic congestion
information to drivers. The benefits for road administrators lie in ana-
lyzing in detail dangerous areas and frequently congested locations,
 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60 53

Fig. 5. Overview of the Tokusha Gold System.

Fig. 6. A combination of automated drive and ETC 2.0.

54 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60

In considering the introduction of ITS, it is easy to understand the ITS

introduction strategy by redefining the ITS with the current state-of-
the-art technology as shown in Table 1. The basic tools are personal de-
vices like smartphones, vehicle equipment, and road equipment; and
the basic technologies, serving as the ITS platform are the digital
infrastructure: CCTV camera, GNSS and Digital MAP, communication
technologies: long term evolution (LTE), near field communication
(NFC) and ISDB-T, DB (Data Base) technologies: cloud and big data. By
combining these ITS platform technologies, it is possible to realize
various user services, as shown in Table 2.

3.2. System architecture and roadmap

3.2.1. System architecture

Fig. 7. Concept of the ETC 2.0 Deployment.
etc. In addition, probe data would introduce dramatic changes such as
efficient and low-cost management of roads. The benefits for drivers
are the financial advantages of toll discounts, nonstop toll, and parking
fee settlement. The advantages for drivers, as the end users, are the
most important for promoting the introduction of ITS.
An effective way of promoting the deployment of cooperative vehi-
cle-infrastructure systems like ETC 2.0 is to install RSUs first under the
responsibility of the public sector, and ensure the collection of toll rev-
enues to cover the operational and maintenance costs of such facilities.
Furthermore, the utilization of OBUs enables collecting tolls at low cost,
and this cost down would be a means for toll discounts. The toll
discounts increase drivers' satisfaction and promotes deployment of
OBUs. Spreading OBUs will reduce congestion and emissions at toll
plazas. Moreover, RSUs collect probe data, which is a resource of traffic
information for VICS, helping drivers to select a detour from congested
routes.
3. Toward the realization of ITS
3.1. Understanding basic ITS
Each country is attempting to introduce ITS to solve urban transport
problems, and some countries have already improved traffic manage-
ment. However, the introduction strategy and the lack of a system archi-
tecture make it difficult not only to introduce effects but also to
maintain and expand the system in the future.
A well-planned system architecture is indispensable for the sound
development and growth of road infrastructure without expenses [6].
Introducing ITS must be proceeded by not developing stand-alone
applications but by using a platform to run applications on it.
Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate the overall information system configura-
tions (a physical architecture) of ITS devises on road infrastructure.
They have been classified by elemental technology type: technol-
ogy for collecting, processing, storing, analyzing and providing
information.
Understanding the whole system architecture is necessary for fitting
current and future requirements and developing platforms one by one
for fitting a priority of traffic issues for which each country has faced
in the past. This step by step installation of the platform is called a
“roadmap.”
3.2.2. Roadmap
Fig. 10 shows of an example of an evolving system extension. ETC is
necessary for developing a toll road when it is constructed as PPP and/or
PFI project. If a road authority would introduce an active DSRC with
probe function like ETC 2.0 OBU, they could collect probe data for ana-
lyzing traffic condition such as congestion and sudden breaks. These
traffic condition data are important for road improvement and traffic
management, especially in the context of an advancing signal control
system. Improving the signal control system could drastically reduce
traffic congestion and accident.
However, there are still lots of congestion spots in urban areas be-
cause it is difficult to develop enough road networks that meets the in-
creasing traffic demand caused by the economic growth of the cities.
VICS must change this situation by providing congestion information
and giving a choice of detour routes, for avoiding congestion spots, to
drivers through car navigation systems. Because drivers can understand
the usefulness of saving a lot of time and money, the use of car

Table 1
Definition of basic ITS.

Smart device Smart car Smart way ITS Platform

Sensor CCD CCD CCD (CCTV camera with image processing) CCD
Radar Radar
Positioning GNSS GNSS GNSS GNSS
Dead-reckoning
Mapping Digital MAP Digital MAP Digital MAP Digital Map
Communication LTE LTE DSRC (ETC 2.0) LTE
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi DSRC (ETC 2.0)
Bluetooth Bluetooth NFC
NFC DSRC (ETC 2.0) ISDB-T
Digital Broadcast(ISDB-T) Digital Broadcast(ISDB-T)
Network Private info. network Private info. network Road admin. optical fiber Optical fiber
Database Private ASP Private ASP ETC-DB Cloud
Navigation APP Navigation APP VICS-DB Big data
Transit info. APP Transit info. APP AHS-DB
Concierge APP Heavy vehicle DB
HMI Touch panel Touch panel VMS Touch panel
voice, vibration etc. voice, vibration etc. traffic signal VMS, etc.
 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60 55

Table 2
User services and basic ITS.

App. Smart device Smart car Smart way

Driver services Navigation GNSS + DM + HMI GNSS + DM + HMI VMS

VICS LTE + HMI ETC 2.0 or ISDB-T + HMI ETC 2.0 + VICS-DB
ETC NFC + HMI ETC 2.0 ETC 2.0 + ETC-DB
Route based discount GNSS + ETC 2.0 ETC 2.0 + ETC-DB
AHS ETC 2.0 + HMI ETC 2.0 + AHS-DB
Heavy vehicle ETC 2.0 ETC 2.0 + Heavy vehicle DB
Road management Road patrol Images & SMS Images + LTE or ETC 2.0 CCTV
Road info. collection LTE, Bluetooth GNSS + LTE or ETC 2.0 CCTV + ETC 2.0
Road info. provision LTE LTE, ETC 2.0 VMS + ETC 2.0
Traffic control ETC 2.0 Signal + ETC 2.0
Public transportation Payment NFC
Bus location GNSS + LTE or ETC 2.0 ETC 2.0
Park & Ride NFC ETC 2.0 ETC 2.0
Relative services Parking payment NFC ETC 2.0 ETC 2.0
Shearing LTE, NFC ETC 2.0 ETC 2.0
Gate management NFC ETC 2.0 ETC 2.0
Zone management ETC 2.0 ETC 2.0

navigation systems would increase rapidly. Thus, VICS give us a chance
to make use of road networks efficiently.
After increasing the use of car navigation systems through an
infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication system, it is easy to
install a safety driving assistance application by only deploying a
safety information DB and CCTV with image processing of dangerous
spots.
The evolution of vehicles is important to achieving the ultimate
safety driving. Here, I2V and V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) communication
for automated driving obtained via sensor information from a car is
not enough to recognize a road environment, such as a blind curve.
Infrastructure and vehicles should cooperate for realization of the
dream.
3.3. Project scheme for introduction
The most effective project schemes for introducing ITS in emerging
countries are the public-private partnerships (PPP), which represents
a method for introducing and operating infrastructure by both the
public and private sectors together, bringing advantages to both sides.

Fig. 8. Conceptual illustration of ITS deployment.

56 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60
Fig. 9. An example of a physical architecture.
The public sector can obtain an infrastructure without public money by
permitting the private sector to use their land for several decades. The
private sector can do business by making use of private funds around
the world and offering their expertise.
The first method is to utilize private investment and expertise to
build motorways with well-planned ITS. ETC, WIM and CCTV camera
are necessary for the operation and management on road networks,
such as collecting tolls and monitoring traffic. If they add a probe data
collection function on their ETC, as in the ETC 2.0, and an image process-
ing unit on the CCTV camera, they could obtain enough traffic informa-
tion to understand the total situation of roads just after implementation.
Furthermore, they can provide the traffic information to car navigation
systems with communications such as ETC 2.0, Telematix and
smartphones. It will support the smart use of roads through detours or
time shifts of congestion area and enhance safe driving for drivers
(Fig. 11).
The second method is using VMS as an ITS tool on existing roads.
Introducing VMS to provide congestion information at the entrance to
the central business district is very useful for reducing urban center
congestion because VMS can be easily recognized by all drivers. If the
public sector permits the private sector the free use of several spaces
along existing roads, then the private sector could construct VMS to pro-
vide congestion information useful for the drivers, thereby bringing
beneficial effects to society. Additionally, the private sector could use a
part of the VMS for advertisement to generate funds of construction,
operation and maintenance. In this business model, the private sector
has to install traffic sensors such as CCTV cameras with image process-
ing functionality for gleaning more precise traffic information and ar-
rival times. The simultaneous introduction of ETC 2.0 is considered
effective for making information rich and at a low cost.
Fig. 12 shows an example of Ahmadabad in India. Half of the screen
displays sponsor advertisements, while the other half of the screen dis-
plays information on road works and traffic congestion, as well as other
information that the road administrator provides. Congestion informa-
tion is obtained from the traffic sensors installed with VMS, and drivers
are able to see it using the VMS and smartphones.
4. Smart cities development by basic ITS
4.1. MaaS and basic ITS
Introducing ITS is mainly to eliminate the negative effects of acci-
dents, congestions and environment, brought by the automobile era.
Several countries are now challenged to deploy ITS. Those countries
that have installed basic ITS are able to use them to comprehensively
solve urban transportation issues. Problems will be solved by making
good use of the basic ITS from the three perspectives of “multimodal,”
“TDM,” and “urban logistics management (ULM)”.
In terms of multimodal, “Mobility as a Service (MaaS)” is a remarkable
concept, which is actually a deployment project in Helsinki, Finland. MaaS
is defined as a digital platform with an integrated planning, booking, e-
ticketing and payment service across all traffic modes from departure to
 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60 57

Fig. 10. An example of Roadmap.

destination. This trial service is operated by MaaS Global organized by a Currently, the services can be received only with smartphones that
public transportation agency, a telecommunications company, a traffic in- have Finnish phone numbers. Users need to download a “whim” appli-
formation provider, a payment system company, etc. Until actual opera- cation and only input a departure and a destination place such that they
tion, the Finnish government has subsidized funds. can obtain an optimal traveling route using public transportation, car

Fig. 11. Example of PPP for Expressways.

58 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60

Fig. 12. Example of the advertising and traffic information on VMS.

sharing, renting a bicycle and so on. If they agree on its suggestion, they
can get an e-ticket for all transportation means with one click.
The actual deployment of the basic ITS will be a core component of
MaaS, because it makes is possible to share and coordinate the means
of transportation, time and space, and as a tool that can integrate and
manage silo transportation systems.
4.2. TDM and UML utilizing basic ITS
The introduction of MaaS alone does not solve urban transportation
problems. We must comprehensively understand current and future
traffic demands to develop the appropriate transportation infrastruc-
ture, such as motorway, railroad, LRT, and BRT as much as necessary,

Table 3
TDM and ULM countermeasures and utilization of ITS.

Methods TDM and ULM measures Utilization of ITS

Supply-side measures Road network Developing a motorway network (esp. Ring road) • Reasonable planning by probe car data
(ensuring traffic capacity) Parking Parking lots management • Parking space management by ETC 2.0
management Street parking management
Loading space and time management
Traffic signal Regional integration • Advanced traffic signal control by probe car data
control Roundabouts • Green wave control
Public TOD (Transit Oriented Development) • Reasonable planning by probe car data
transportation Developing a public transportation network (subways, light
rail transits (LRT) and bus rapid transits(BRT)
Demand-side measures Travel origin Telework • Dynamic pricing by ETC 2.0 (parking/road/zone)
(conventional TDM) adjustment Land use strategy (work near house)
Transport Oriented Development (TOD)
Parking pricing, road pricing, Zone pricing
Time shift Flex time • Dynamic pricing by ETC 2.0 (parking/road/zone)
parking and road dynamic pricing
Modal shift Park & Ride (P&R), park & bus ride (P&BR) • Integrated operation of IC card + ETC 2.0 + smartphone
Transit (improving transit, location system, fair discount) • Smartphone transit guide
Transit mall, bicycle lane, pedestrian zone • Bus location system
• Zone and Gate management by ETC 2.0
Routes shift Parking information • Real-time traffic information provision and Dynamic Route
Real-time traffic information Guidance (DRG) etc. using ETC 2.0 probe car data
Car navigation systems
Effective use Electric vehicles and electric buses • Smartphone synergistic system
of vehicles Share-ride (car pool, van pool) • Sharing utilizing IC cards and smartphones
Car sharing • Joint distribution/space management using ETC 2.0
Cooperative pickup and delivery • ETC 2.0 utilization logistics support
 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60
and aim to harmonize the supply and demand for sustainable develop-
ment of urban area. Furthermore, transportation of goods on urban area
has to be undertaken by only vehicles, logistics companies are compet-
ing each other and it is difficult to collaborate in order to reduce traffic
by themselves. TDM and ULM are the most important means to solve
these problems.
Currently, many cities have endeavored to introduce TDM and ULM
as a means of fundamentally solving congestion and environmental
problems caused by the concentration of vehicles in cities. However,
they are facing difficulties of large-scale deployment because it requires
high costs, time and effort to develop the tools for operation.
The basic ITS has enough potential to comprehensively solve these
problems, as shown in Table 3. Because they already have the functions
necessary for TDM and ULM, and the only thing we have to do is to cre-
ate an operational framework and organization for them.
Additionally, in order to solve urban transport problems, it is
important to harmonize supply and demand, including hardware and
software. To that end, it is necessary to evolve urban planning and trans-
portation planning.
The important thing for here is the information gathering function
for the creation of an optimal plan. In the age of big data brought
about by low-cost sensors, it is possible to extract valuable and mean-
ingful information from social information to society and to share infor-
mation with various entities.
The organization and utility of this information for the future is an
important research area. In the future, big data analysis and artificial in-
telligence would become be an attractive area.
5. Human centric city development using ITS
In discussing smart growth of cities, it makes no sense to focus on
disadvantages brought by vehicles and to have a stereotyped view
that public transport is good for society and vehicle is bad.
Vehicles are one of the important fruits of the machine age and it has
brought drastic changes to human lives and great convenience to soci-
ety. We should study how to compensate for their disadvantages by
making use of state-of-the-art technologies like ITS.
Suburban development through automobiles is not a good way to
using them, because it generates more vehicle traffic eventually. A com-
prehensive strategy is needed to solve problems in suburban develop-
ment. To this end, it is necessary to promote improvement from three
viewpoints in parallel, as shown in Fig. 13.
Fig. 13. A principle of trinity urban development for a human centric city.
59
Our goal is not introducing ITS but creating a human centric city. The
first principle is achieving a human-oriented city center. The city has a
lush green center where people walk through trees and chat in the
sunshine, and offers a sustainable area with lively shopping malls.
Moreover, it has communities that foster the growth of children.
The second principle is developing useful public transportation
access. In order to develop a human centric city, ensuring public trans-
portation access to the city center is very important, because it is most
efficient to have public transport responsible for traffic in radial
directions with intensive demands.
The third principle is developing a ring motorway. This can eliminate
vehicles passing through the city and create a space that allows a
dedicated public transport lane. Vehicles are indispensable for contem-
porary modern life; nevertheless, it is to no one's benefit if they pass
through the city.
During and after the development of adequate infrastructure, such
as a ring motorway and public transportation network, ITS is a useful
tool for solving transportation problems in the short term. Table 4
shows the countermeasures for developing human centric cities by
utilizing ITS.
6. Conclusion
Although various cities are tackling urban transportation problems
using ITS, there are many hurdles that must be overcome, such as apply-
ing international technical standards, utilizing de facto and de jure plat-
forms, architecture creation, and master plan creation. In this paper, we
proposed the introduction of the ITS technology to solve the urban
transport problem based on lessons learned from the introduction of
ITS in Japan. In particular, the introduction of ITS aims at alleviating con-
gestion and easing air pollution by collecting and providing traffic infor-
mation. Starting from ETC to collect funds spent on road development at
low cost, it is now finally possible to achieve zero traffic accident. ITS,
additionally, has the potential to lead to mobile services indispensable
for the smart development of cities such as MaaS.
Table 4
Countermeasures for human centric cities.
A Human centric city center
• Zone management by ETC 2.0 (gate management, rising bollard management,
zone charging)
• Street parking management by CCTV camera and ETC 2.0, joint depot management
• Regional point card system by NFC (securing transportation budget, etc.)
• Providing guidance for walking, transit, sightseeing, foreigners by smartphones,
digital signage,
• Express the hospitality at information center, digital signage, and smartphone)
• Bus & LRT location system by digital signage and smartphone
B Public transport access
• Integration transit information & sharing system by NFC and smartphone
• Park & Ride by ETC 2.0, NFC, and smartphone
• Public transportation location system
• Expressway toll discount for highway bus by ETC 2.0
• Parking demand management by ETC 2.0
C Ring motorway
• Accurate grasp of actual road network traffic situation by ETC 2.0 probe infor-
mation and CCTV camera
• Integration of traffic information such as vehicles, public transportation, pedestrians
by ETC 2.0 data, NFC data and smartphones data for grasping actual traffic condi-
tions in the entire urban area
• Road network operation using travel time information provision and route-based
discounts utilizing ETC 2.0
• Providing P&R parking lot information and reservation service by ETC 2.0 and
smartphone for improving accessibility
60 H. Makino et al. / IATSS Research 42 (2018) 49–60
References
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2013
[2] H. Makino, H. Kanoshima, Y. Tanaka, System on road transport analysis by probe data
and its application, 25th World Road Congress Seoul 2015 2015, p. 11.
[3] Shunsuke Kamijo, Traffic monitoring and accident detection at intersections, IEEE
Trans. ITS 1 (2) (2000) 108–118.
[4] Shoichi Suzuki, Hiroshi Makino, Takahiro Tsukiji, Yukio Shikatani, Field operational
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gress Bordeaux 2015, ERTICO (ITS Europe) 2015, p. 10.
[5] H. Makino, S. Suzuki, T. Tukiji, Deployment strategy of cooperative ITS in Japan - to-
wards ETC2.0, 25th World Road Congress Seoul 2015 2015, p. 11.
[6] ACECC Technical Committee No.16, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Introduction
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