Transportation

partner- ing with the private sector
An important lesson from the success of Japan’s VICS and Smartway travel information systems is the need to view intelligent transportation systems platforms as “multi-use infrastructure.” VICS and Smartway were designed and built using a strategic roadmap that envi- sioned multiple use cases for the intelligent transporta- tion systems infrastructure, including of course safety applications and the public provision of real-time traf- fic information, but also viewing the infrastructure as a platform for the private sector to introduce value- added ITS applications. For example, while the “VICS Consultative Liaison Council” was convened in March 1990 by the National Police Agency, Ministry of In- ternal Affairs and Communications, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Tourism and Transport, within eighteen months industry and academia were enrolled