New Bill Pushes Intelligent Transportation Systems

Zach Rosenberg at Wired says, indeed, some of the technology is currently available:

"Electronic toll collection lets you pony up without slowing down, for example. In some cities, public buses transmit GPS data, allowing riders to plan trips with greater accuracy. And several automakers are developing cars that "talk" to us and to each other. But House Resolution 995 is a milestone because it is the first attempt to integrate several technologies simultaneously."

The bill is clearly timed to get ITS in front of Congress while the surface transportation bill is being decided.

The resolution, if passed, would establish "a Smart Communities Technology Initiative to provide grants to eligible entities to develop pilot programs to serve as model deployment sites for large scale installation and operation of ITS to improve safety, efficiency, system performance, and return on investment."