| Practical Use of ITS and Improvement of Infrastructure | |||
| Development Areas | Progress Situation of Fiscal 1998 Measures | Overview of the Fiscal 1999 Budget | Fiscal 1999 Budget (millions of yen) |
| Improvement of Navigation Systems | VICS (Vehicle Information and Communications System) began services in April 1996 on general roads and expressways of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, the Tomei and Meishin Expressway, and so on through an alliance of the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, and the Ministry of Construction, and this system is now providing services in nine prefectures within the three metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, and on expressways nationwide. Improvements have been made in the services provided through this system, including information content enhancement and area expansion. | Following the current scope in which services have already begun, which consists of expressways nationwide and nine prefectures within the three metropolitan areas, services will also be commenced in Hokkaido (Sapporo), Miyagi, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka, and building and improving necessary facilities toward nationwide development of these services will be promoted through an alliance of the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, and the Ministry of Construction. | 10,610 21,875 |
| Electronic Toll Collection System | ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) is designed to eliminate traffic congestion at toll gates, improve user convenience by making the use of cash unnecessary, and reduce costs. Facility construction has been started with the goal of commencing ETC services in fiscal 1999 at major toll gates in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, primarily for roads of the Chiba district such as the Higashi Kanto Expressway. | The equipment of toll gate facilities will be promoted for the commencement of services under ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System), which is designed to eliminate traffic congestion at toll gates, improve user convenience by making the use of cash unnecessary, and reduce costs, in fiscal 1998 at major toll gates in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, primarily for roads of the Chiba district such as the Higashi Kanto Expressway and the Keiyo Expressway, and the introduction of ETC on all expressways within the next several years. | 50,157 45,000 |
| Optimization of Traffic Management | The National Police Agency has promoted improvements to the infrastructure of the Universal Traffic Management Systems (UTMS) and enhancement of traffic safety and smoothness by improving the sophistication of the Traffic Control Center in conjunction with its renovation, expanding the regional control of traffic signals to allow more advanced signal control, installing optical beacons to collect and supply traffic information, and adding traffic information displays to accurately inform drivers about traffic conditions in the form of diagrams and the like. | Following fiscal 1998, the National Police Agency will continue to promote improvements to the infrastructure of the Universal Traffic Management Systems (UTMS) and enhancement of traffic safety and smoothness by improving the sophistication of the Traffic Control Center in conjunction with its renovation, expanding the centralized control of traffic signals to allow more advanced signal control, installing optical beacons to collect and supply traffic information, and adding traffic information displays to accurately inform drivers about traffic conditions in the form of diagrams and the like. | 24,200 4,787 |
| Support for Public Transport | To support the operation of large-volume public transportation and improve convenience through safe and smooth operation, the National Police Agency has constructed a Public Transport Priority System (PTPS) with the goal of ensuring the priority passage of busses through signal control and excluding general vehicles from dedicated lanes, as a means of support for the operation of large-volume public transportation and the like. | Following fiscal 1998, to support the operation of large-volume public transportation and improve convenience through safe and smooth operation, in cooperation with every prefecture's "UTMS Promotion and Liaison Committee" and so on, the National Police Agency will improve the Public Transport Priority System (PTPS) with the goal of ensuring the priority passage of busses through signal control and excluding general vehicles from dedicated lanes. | 28,493 (Included in it) |
| Others | The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, in alliance with the Ministry of Construction, has promoted the construction of facilities to enable usage of mobile telecommunications in areas such as tunnels on expressways and national highways. |
Following fiscal 1998, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, in alliance with the Ministry of Construction, will continue to promote the construction of facilities to enable usage of mobile telecommunications in areas such as tunnels on expressways and national highways. The National Police Agency will implement a traffic pollution control system called the Environment Protection Management System (EPMS), in which the amount of pollution caused by traffic is measured and steps are taken to reduce pollution in cases when it exceeds the standards, such as controlling traffic signals. |
1,800 750 28,493 (Included in it) |
| Research and Development on ITS | |||
| Areas of Development | Progress Situation of Fiscal 1998 Measures | Overview of Fiscal 1999 Budget | Fiscal 1999 Budget (millions of yen) |
| Support for Safe Driving etc. | Concerning Advanced Safety Vehicles (ASV), the Ministry of Transport, in alliance with four other government bodies, has promoted investigative research on the optimization of the human interface and coordination and linkage with the infrastructure.
It has also performed investigative research to determine ways to evaluate the durability of electronic ITS equipment for use in vehicles with regard to electromagnetic radiation, and ways to evaluate the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the automobiles. Study has also been performed concerning the use of ITS technology in drive recorders to collect information on the behavior of vehicles and drivers in actual accidents, in order to promote measures to improve vehicle structure. Research and development has been promoted with the goal of performing demonstration experiments in 2000 concerning advanced cruise assist highway systems (AHS) technology, which will provide danger warnings and driving assistance to drivers through the coordination of roads and vehicles. Concerning the directions and realization measures for smartways incorporating ITS technologies such as VICS, ETC, and AHS, the Smartway Project Advisory Committee has been held to obtain advice from a wide range of views, linking academia, industry, government agencies, and domestic and foreign perspectives. |
Following fiscal 1998, the Ministry of Transport, in alliance with four other government bodies, will continue to promote investigative research concerning Advanced Safety Vehicles (ASV) with regard to the optimization of the human interface and coordination and linkage with the infrastructure.
Study will also be performed concerning the use of ITS technology in drive recorders to collect information on the behavior of vehicles and drivers in actual accidents, in order to promote measures to improve vehicle structure. Concerning the directions and realization measures for smartways incorporating ITS technologies such as VICS, ETC, and AHS, a promotion conference will be held to obtain advice from a wide range of views, linking academia, industry, government agencies, and domestic and foreign perspectives. Based on this advice, measures for the practical use of smartways will be promoted, including research and development on advanced cruise assist highway systems (AHS) and the use of information in highway management, investigation concerning a common systems base, and support for international standardization activities. |
23
98 8,200 |
| Electronic Toll Collection System | |
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications will work to popularize wireless IC card technology used in ETC, and will perform research and development to improve this technology. | 1,700 |
| Optimization of Traffic Management | The National Police Agency has studied systematic signal control methods to achieve signal control suited to Japan's traffic situation, ways to construct a network among prefectural police bureaus, and the content of information to be exchanged; and has performed investigation concerning equipment and so on for a wide-area traffic management system with regard to the traffic information and so on that is to be collected. | Following fiscal 1998, the National Police Agency will continue to develop systematic signal control methods to achieve signal control suited to Japan's traffic situation, study ways to construct a network among prefectural police bureaus and the content of information to be exchanged, study the traffic information and so on that is to be collected, and perform investigation concerning equipment and so on for a wide-area traffic management system. | 70 |
| Supporting Public Transportation and Improving Efficiency of Commercial Vehicles |
Investigative research has been performed to improve the efficiency of transport by means of ITS in road transportation businesses (buses, trucks, and taxis).
Also, investigation and study has been performed on operation management systems using ITS technology to ensure safe transport by business vehicles. There has been investigation and study on the effective use of road management databases in order to contribute to the efficient construction of sophisticated systems for the use of information in distribution. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has again carried out investigative research concerning the use of mobile communications systems for the support of distribution. |
For the organic integration and utilization of ITS related information such as vehicle position management data and the construction of systems allowing users such as road transportation businesses to utilize such information smoothly, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Construction will cooperatively determine the issues related to the above, conduct research and development on information utilization technology and other technological elements, and perform system demonstration experiments.
Also, efforts will be made to improve safe and efficient transportation by taxis. The efficiency of vehicle allocation will be improved to reduce empty taxi operation by introducing systems for real-time determination of the position of taxis in transit through the use of satellites, and operation management will be made more advanced through real-time determination of the transit situation of taxis. The necessary support will be provided for investigation and analysis of trends in international standardization from the standpoint of ITS users such as carriers. In addition, to ensure safe transport by business vehicles, investigation and study will be performed concerning operation management systems using ITS technology. There will also be research and development on the early introduction of ETC, mobility systems using ITS technology, and systems to optimize vehicular traffic management. |
2,642 (Twenty-First Century Special Framework) 1,631 (Included in it) 10 17 3,000 |
| Other Research and Development | Application collection and selection have been performed concerning candidate sites for ITS model area experiments, with the involvement of local governments and so on, and support has been provided for model area experiments. |
Support will be provided for the ITS model areas selected in fiscal 1998, and a feasibility study (FS) will be performed cooperatively by the five related government bodies to evaluate the early realization of ITS and its effectiveness. (Repeated) For the organic integration of ITS related information such as vehicle position management data and the construction of systems allowing users to utilize such information smoothly, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Construction will cooperatively conduct research and development on information utilization technology and other technological elements, perform system demonstration research, and so on. Clean energy vehicles equipped with ITS functions will be introduced to certain regions and businesses, and operation management experiments will be performed in order to overcome the problems of clean energy vehicles (trip distance, fuel supply infrastructure, load capacity, etc.). |
73
|
| Standardization Activities etc. | For the practical use of ITS in Japan, the five related government bodies have cooperatively promoted international standardization activities in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), along with enacting technical conditions in the wireless communications field and contributing to international standardization activities in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). These government bodies have also promoted surveys of trends related to ITS in the wireless communication field in Japan and abroad, as well as the testing of wireless communications technology. | For the practical use of ITS in Japan, the five related government bodies will cooperatively promote international standardization activities in the International Organization for Standardization, along with enacting technical conditions in the wireless communications field and contributing to international standardization activities in the International Telecommunication Union. These government bodies will also promote surveys of trends related to ITS in the wireless communication field, as well as the testing of wireless communications technology. | |
|
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry has performed evaluation testing and research for the standardization and international standardization of on-board equipment and the like, for the sake of the early and efficient introduction and popularization of ITS. The Ministry of Posts and Communications has performed technical testing to contribute to the determination of standards for the wireless communications technology of this system, by means such as demonstration testing for technical study of wireless communications technology with regard to the vehicle communications systems which are needed to improve the transport efficiency and comfort of road transportation. |
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry will perform evaluation testing and research for the standardization and international standardization of on-board equipment and the like, for the sake of the early and efficient introduction and popularization of ITS. The Ministry of Posts and Communications will perform technical testing to contribute to the determination of standards for the wireless communications technology of this system, by means such as demonstration testing for technical study of wireless communications technology with regard to vehicle communications systems. |
500
550 |
|
| International Cooperation | In alliance with each other, the five related government bodies have actively promoted international cooperation by means such as cooperating in the holding of an ITS world conference to promote international cooperation concerning the global exchange of information and practical use of research results concerning ITS, and supporting the holding of an Asia Pacific region seminar to deepen mutual understanding with Asia Pacific nations and promote international cooperation with regard to ITS. | In alliance with each other, the five related government bodies will actively promote international cooperation by means such as cooperating in the holding of an ITS world conference to promote international cooperation concerning the global exchange of information and practical use of research results concerning ITS, and supporting the holding of an Asia Pacific region seminar to deepen mutual understanding with Asia Pacific nations and promote international cooperation with regard to ITS. | |
| Following fiscal 1998, the exchange of information and so on will be accomplished through attendance at international conferences and the like. | 2 | ||
| Note 1 : | Twenty-First Century Special Framework: Special Framework for Improvement of Infrastructure in Communications, Science and Technology, and the Environment in the Twenty-First Century |
| Note 2 : | Underlining indicates the revised budget for fiscal 1998. |
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