RHD plans to launch ITS on nat'l highways

FT ONLINE

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has taken a move to introduce Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) for ensuring smooth and secured traffic movement on the national highways.

According to the officials concerned, the department has already started using the system in Meghna and Meghna-Gumti bridges in a limited scale to speed up the toll collection process.

"The ITS will help increase the efficiency of highway traffic management," said an official involved with its planning.

He said the ITS is a new concept in Bangladesh. However, it has been widely used in different countries to prevent accidents, control traffic flow, and ensure speedy toll collection through sharing information on display boards.

Among many components, the ITS has ramp metering, which helps the transport operators to be alert at different points of a highway in selecting routes, and controlling speed on roads and bridges according to the information.

Sources said the RHD has held planning-level meetings, based on the proposal of a Korean IT (information technology) firm - Korean Express Corporation, to launch the system.

"The RHD is working to introduce the system on the highways, as there is no such facility," the official said.

He further said the ITS will be initially introduced on the national highways, which have been turned into four-lane ones.

Besides, it is planned to be introduced in the mass rapid transit and bus rapid transit systems, which are being constructed in the city's different corridors.