ITS need of the hour for state

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Technopark-based Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) solution provider ARS Software participated in India’s largest exhibition on traffic and transportation - ‘Inter-traffic India 2011’ in New Delhi. The exposition held for the first time in India focused on how roads could be made safer to bring down the number of traffic casualties from the current 1,20,000 per year using latest ITS technological advancements.   The expo was organised jointly by the International Road Federation (IRF) and Amsterdam RAI and was conducted along with the 6th IRF Regional Conference on ‘Road Safety Strategy in India - Action Plan’. The expo brought together major ITS players who used the platform to showcase the latest technological advancements and the beneficiaries of these advancements, the road authorities.Jan Linssen, CEO, ARS Software, pointed out how ITS can be made beneficial for Indian roads. One option is to implement the easily available and affordable quick win solutions like variable message signs for drivers, travel time information to road users, enforcement solutions and RFID-based licence plate identification for enforcement and tolling.  In keeping with the topic of the expo, states were given an opportunity to present their views and their proposed roadmap for the future.  T P Sen Kumar, Transport Commissioner, Kerala, while presenting the topic ‘Infrastructure for Safety’, pointed out that Kerala, which is seeing a massive increase in the number of road users without the corresponding increase in road infrastructure, is an ideal example of how ITS can help reduce traffic congestion and improve road user safety.The envisaged model should contribute to a significant difference in the traffic congestion, road safety, resultant pollution levels and the number of road fatalities.