Section2 Advanced Road Traffic Services

During the "Yume Midori Ishikawa 2001" exposition, which was held in Kanazawa City between 8 September and 11 November 2001, an ITS experiment called "Yume Midori Traffic Information" was conducted to alleviate traffic congestion and ensure access to transport as well as to provide a park and ride service, install temporary bus lanes, and attach entrance tickets to route bus tickets. This system collects the location of shuttle buses, estimates the arrival times, uses the information for controlling the bus operation, and provides the information to users through information boards along roads, the Internet, and mobile terminals.

The majority of users said they heard about the park and ride service on TV, followed by leaflets and information boards. Most users who decided to use the park and ride service got the shuttle bus information on information boards. According to traffic volume data at nine intersections in Kanazawa City, the number of vehicles on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays during the period (22 days in total) decreased by approximately 2,900 a day compared to the same time of the previous year, so the system effectively reduced the number of private cars.