Magazine

For as long as there have been cities, there has been traffic congestion. And for almost as long, cities have been looking for ways to solve these problems with technology, installing everything from the lowly traffic light to electronic real-time congestion tolling. Most recently, plans to equip vehicles and roads with sophisticated electronics that allow them to communicate with each other — dubbed intelligent transportation systems (ITS) — are poised to help motorists avoid continually worsening traffic jams (often by taking control away from the motorist).