Road transport informatics for demand management

Abstract

The authors describe progress on a major study being performed by a multinational consortium under contract to the European Community DRIVE (Dedicated Road Infrastructure for Vehicle Safety in Europe) program. The study involves investigation of the application of various RTI technologies to demand management measures such as road pricing, restrictive zoning, and access control. The technologies considered are automatic vehicle identification; onboard computers and smart cards; automatic enforcement systems; and license plate scanners. It is noted that the expected results will be of great value to European transportation agencies in determining what demand management measures are appropriate to their particular problems and circumstances, and how new technologies can be used in an optimum system framework to implement those measures. This will potentially lead to reduction of urban congestion, bringing significant economic and environmental benefits.<>