No. H021/05
For release February 10, 2005

GOVERNMENTS OF CANADA AND BRITISH COLUMBIA 
TO FUND INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

OTTAWA — David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry and co-Senior Minister responsible for British Columbia, on behalf of Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre, along with British Columbia Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon, today announced the signing of a contribution agreement between the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia for deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems in the province. 

Under the agreement, $713,000 of federal funding has been allocated for the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems in the province. The Province of British Columbia will contribute $1,013,000 to implement four projects. 

Intelligent Transportation Systems comprise a broad range of technologies designed to make transportation safer, more secure, more efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly.

"The systems funded by this agreement will enable the public to better plan trips, resulting in reduced travel times along key routes in British Columbia," said Mr. Emerson. "The agreement will also help improve the efficiency of commercial vehicle operations in our province."

"The agreement for the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems is a good example of cooperation between the provincial and federal governments to improve travel on Canada's roads," said Mr. Lapierre. "The application of these new technologies will make Canada's road network safer, more integrated and more efficient."

"These projects demonstrate a proactive, creative approach to transportation management resulting in increased mobility and safety within our province's transportation system," said Mr. Falcon. "Innovative sensing devices, information and communications systems will help us better monitor traffic flow and be more responsive to travellers' needs."

The first involves the development and installation of a weigh-in-motion server with links to Alberta and Washington State. The new technology weighs and measures commercial vehicles in advance of fixed weigh stations, and allows enforcement agencies to pre-screen for compliance. The second project involves deployment of an advance traveller data management system to collect and disseminate information on traffic flow to agencies in the Cascade Border region. The third involves the installation of a web cam network at four key congestion points and the high occupancy vehicle lanes on the provincial highway network in the Greater Vancouver region. The fourth project involves setting up a computer-aided dispatch centre for the Victoria custom transit system, a transit service for seniors and persons with disabilities.

Mobile data terminals and in-vehicle technology will be installed in the buses to automatically connect these buses to the regional dispatch centre, allowing for automatic transmission of customer pick-up and drop-off requests.

Federal funding will be provided under the Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program, a $600 million program to improve highway infrastructure across Canada. Part of this funding – $100 million – is for initiatives that better integrate the country's transportation system. One of these is the Intelligent Transportation Systems initiative, which includes applications such as advanced systems for traveller information, traffic management, public transport, commercial vehicle operations, emergency response management, and vehicle safety. 

Funding for this initiative was provided for in the March 2004 federal budget.

A backgrounder with further information on Intelligent Transportation Systems is attached.

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BACKGROUNDER

INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are a broad range of diverse technologies applied to transportation to make systems safer, more efficient, more reliable and more environmentally friendly, without necessarily having to physically alter existing infrastructure. Transport Canada has been promoting them aggressively and has provided more than $18 million in support of ITS projects and research in Canada.

The field of ITS encompasses new products and information and communications technologies for the development, operation and management of the transportation system. ITS includes applications such as advanced systems for traveller information, traffic management, public transport, commercial vehicle operations, emergency response management and vehicle safety. They all have in common the application of advanced technologies, including information processing, communications and sensing and control — technologies that put transportation systems at the core of an innovation revolution.

The Government of Canada's Intelligent Transportation Systems Plan for Canada: En Route to Intelligent Mobility (1999) sets out the strategy for stimulating the development and deployment of ITS across urban and rural Canada. More information on that plan can be found at 
www.its-sti.gc.ca/en/its_plan_for_canada.htm. The goals are to maximize the use and efficiency of existing infrastructure and meet future mobility needs more responsibly. The ITS Plan provides leadership and support to advance the application and compatibility of ITS technologies and to increase the safety, integration, efficiency and sustainability of Canada's transportation system.

For further information, please visit the Intelligent Transportation Systems website at www.its-sti.gc.ca.

February 2005