ITS and sustainability Chapter | 13 149incorporating environment-friendly technologies (Lopez-Ruiz & Crozet, 2010).
These strategies and policies are indeed helpful to create a sustainable trans-
portation system that seeks a proper balance between transportation needs and
available resources within and between current and future generations. The
author agrees with Haque et al. (2013) that a clear vision of a transport system
is needed for identifying and developing appropriate strategies and policies to
build an efficient, long-lasting, and safe transport system.
13.3.1 Implementing sustainable ITS
Because of its social, technical and economic components, implementing
sustainable transport system is a complex process. According to Haque et al.
(2013), planning of transport system is usually framed by articulating principles
and desirable attributes. May et al. (2001) suggested that there are six over-
arching objectives of a sustainable transport system. These are (1) economic
efficiency, (2) liveable streets and neighborhoods, (3) protection of the environ-
ment, (4) equity and social inclusion, (5) health and safety, and (6) contribution
to economic growth. Castillo and Pitfield (2010) using these objectives have
developed an evaluative and logical approach to identify and rank sustainable
transport indicators based on measurability, availability, and interpretability. In
their paper, these authors have several indicators showing that managing traffic
volume, encouraging cycling trips, promoting public transport, reducing CO 2
and other air pollutant emissions, and lowering traffic accidents were the key
indicators of sustainability.
According to ECMT (2001), a sustainable transport system is one that:
- allows for the safe and environmentally harmless basic means of access and
development on the individual, business, and societal level, while promoting
equity within and between generations; - is reasonably priced and runs efficiently, providing choice of transport mode
as well as support for a competitive economy and good regional development; - keeps production of emissions and waste within the carrying capacity of
the natural environment and keeps the consumption of renewable resources
and nonrenewable resources respectively within the rates of generation and
development of renewable substitutes, while minimizing the impact on the
use of land as well as production of noise. This has three major targets: (1)
economic development, (2) environment protection, and (1) social equity.
Haque et al. (2013) argue that smart technologies can be used to promote
sustainability. Their work in the Singapore experience shows that smart tech-
nologies help to implement or escalate various policies and strategies related to
sustainability. They mentioned that smart technologies like bus priority signal
system, bus lane enforcement system, availability of real-time service informa-
tion and an integrated multimodal fare payment technology have been helpful
to promote public transport as a viable alternative to private transport. Traffic