The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has set up a national level committee having members from various Ministries and States for developing and implementing Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for better and smarter mobility in the country.
ITS depends on technology to provide inputs to improve traffic flow, for better monitoring and management of the roads, CCTV surveillance and road information arrangement to assist commuters, and a more efficient operation of public buses and metro trains, including a public transport information system.
ITS is also considered as a major component to decongest the roads of Delhi. ITS would also reduce the need for a policeman to be present on the road while increasing flow of traffic. ITS has been partially implemented in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Surat and Bhopal.
According to Anil Srivastava, Advisor, (Infrastructure) NITI Aayog, the national level committee will have various stakeholders including Central, State, foreign ITS companies and private partners active in sector along with several working groups which will develop the National ITS policy and set uniform standards to implement it in various parts of the country including major cities.
NITI Aayog and the International Road Federation, (IRF) the Geneva-based global road safety body had recently signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to cooperate in the field of ITS in India.
A high-powered committee of the ministry of housing and urban affairs (HUA) has earlier proposed the setting up of an ITS to decongest the roads of Delhi. Among the 10 prescriptive measures of the high-powered panel, it is ITS that could be put into implementation immediately.
Officials of HUA Ministry said that ITS would be essential for providing commuters with real-time information in case of accident , road repairs and diversions. It would also monitor parking space and guide commuters on the efficient use of empty slots.
"Such a system could also deal with an integrated fare management setup for buses, metros and feeder carriers, while facilitating reliable monitoring to catch and track traffic rule violators," officials said.
According to NITI Aayog, a control centre equipped to monitor feeds from the cameras and GPS systems across the city could eventually provide live data access to Delhi Police. Smart road projects abroad involve measures to control, monitor and ensure smooth traffic flow.
For instance, in the US and Canada sensors are installed every few hundred metres along the roads to track traffic flow.
Data from these helps an electronic monitor sets the most suitable speed limit and the signage is adjusted accordingly to inform motorists.
In other places, to reduce congestion, ramp metering devices halt vehicles on slip roads and release them one at a time to the main road.
The committee will include Traffic management, parking management, electronic enforcement of traffic rules, fleet management and monitoring, setting up ITS technical standards, generating awareness for acceptance by public and initiating,encouraging pilot projects and developing affordable ITS suited to Indian driving conditions.