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1. Introduction
Mobility enables us to separate home from work and visit friends and family, as well as to allow us to do business across a wider region. Transportation has the ability to provide some powerful benefits to society. In addition to supporting specialization, transportation provides us with the sort of mobility and accessibility we need to live our lives in the way we want to live them. Generally, there is widely accepted link between economic well-being and good transportation. However, the picture is not all rosy. There is a price to pay for good transportation. This comes in the form of undesirable side effects such as environmental impacts, energy consumption, land take, congestion, casualties and money required to build infrastructure. Growing concern about the impact of these undesirable side effects has influenced most developed countries to move away from the “build it and they will come,” infrastructure-intensive, capital-intensive transportation strategies, toward more balanced and sustainable transportation solutions. There Intelligent Transport System (ITS) comes into picture and it holds the promise of sustainability. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) is the name given to the application of computer and communications technologies to transport problems. In a rapidly changing society the emphasis on road technology improvements to assist in road management has been identified. The rapid advances in ITS technologies have enabled the collection of data or intelligence which provides relevant and timely information to road managers and users.

Japanese seems to have initiated the whole modern day notion of ITS with work carried out in the 1980s. The United States was also addressing the application of ITS at an early stage in the course of the Electronic Route Guidance project (ERGS) in the 1970’s. The European Union picked up the theme, and referred to it as Road Transport Informatics. In the course of time the name of this technology subjected to many changes until USA had given a name called ITS to it. Intelligent Transport systems include wider application of technology to transit systems as well as private car and highways. Benefits given by ITS to any transportation system by introducing it are, improved safety, improved traffic efficiency, reduced congestion, improved environmental quality & energy efficiency and improved economic productivity.

Keeping traffic moving is the big challenge that all levels of government are facing worldwide. Private travelers, commercial road users, and the public sector are continually searching for new and faster travel routes. Without quality and dynamic data, route selection is often a hit and misses guessing game. The old adage, ‘knowledge is power’ is the obvious solution to the traffic problem. Customers want real-time information to help them select the best route to take at any given time. They need to know traffic speeds, incidents (accidents or lane closures), and road conditions. With Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) information, drivers make informed decisions and are better equipped to plan their route and estimate their travel time. Fast and accurate information translates into several benefits for ATIS customers such as reduction in travel time, reduction in stress levels, the avoidance of congestion, and perhaps the most important benefit, the avoidance of unsafe driving conditions.

The ultimate solution has a big mandate. Critical features include accuracy, timeliness, and reliability. The ideal solution is an up-to-the minute traffic information system that enables drivers to make more intelligent travel decisions at any time of the day and any day of the week. There is wide scenario of problems, which are specific to India, and indigenous solutions are required to suit its requirement. The countries like USA, Canada, Japan, U.K., Australia and Germany which have embarked upon intelligent transport system (ITS) don’t have scarcity of funds. Considering these facts, India needs a system, which is cost effective, and efficient, at the same time is also compatible with the present level of development in the country in the related areas.

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