ITS applies new communication, monitoring, and computer technologies to improve our national transportation systems and to lessen the need to build new roads. ITS stands for Intelligent Transportation Systems. ITS can help people and goods move more safely and efficiently by providing information links between travelers, vehicles, and infrastructure. The goal of ITS is to apply modern computer and communications technologies in transportation systems, resulting in improved mobility, safety, air quality, and productivity. Traffic congestion costs the American people billions each year in lost productivity.
Crashes claim thousands of lives and injure millions.
Vehicle emissions are a major cause of air pollution. Trucks, buses, and cars idling in traffic emit millions of tons of pollutants each year and waste billions of gallons of fuel. For years, we have sought to solve many of these problems by merely building more highways. Pouring additional asphalt and concrete added capacity but did not address the underlying problems of our transportation system. Fulfilling the need for a national system that is both economically sound and environmentally efficient requires a new way of solving our transportation problems.