Seminar on ITS and Traffic Management in Tokyo
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[Distinguished guests], ladies and gentlemen,
I would first like to thank the organisers for inviting me to open this seminar.
Japan has a great history in ITS.
The fact that we are celebrating four hundred years of trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands has added an additional festive element to this visit.
As I see it, today we are sharing the past and the present and looking to the future together. In this way we are adding a new chapter to the deep and historic relationship between our countries.
That there is an urgency about ITS was demonstrated last week at the ITS World Congress in Stockholm.
Many Japanese and Dutch parties were present.
Several of you were present as key players. The new Honda Insight was presented.
Nissan showed the advances it has made in vehicle-infrastructure cooperative systems. Toyota, Subaru and Mitsubishi were also notably present.
ITS Japan is also working in Sweden on further researching and developing ITS.
This is just a small selection of the many Japanese companies that shared their knowledge and know-how at the exhibition.
In Stockholm, the ITS World Forum was officially launched.
I am proud that the Netherlands is in the vanguard of this initiative.
Many national ITS organisations are working closely together in the World Forum for the benefit of their members.
I trust that we will very soon be able to welcome ITS Japan as a member.
Japan has a great deal of experience in thinking about and implementing ITS.
Your strong and advanced collaboration between public and private partners in particular is highly admired throughout the world.
It is a great pleasure for me to be here today with a large Dutch delegation that includes world-class companies.
We can make use of one another’s knowledge.
And we will do so.
Experts from my ministry have visited your country several times.
Most recently in November 2008 with a large government/business delegation led by Mr Joris Al (RWS).
Many of you were involved in that visit.
In February this year, we took part in a delegation of the European Commission that visited your ITS Safety 2010 demonstrations in Tokyo.
Our experts meet regularly to apply Japanese lessons learned in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has high ambitions in the field of ITS.
We have to.
The Netherlands is perhaps not as busy as Tokyo but our country is also densely populated, as well as being an ideal distribution country.
The Netherlands is making its way in the world with a mere 16 million inhabitants. We are 16th on the world economy rankings, the sixth exporter and the sixth foreign investor.
We have an open economy and there is increasing pressure on the environment.
ITS plays an important role in continuing to realise our ambitions as a distribution country and the gateway to Europe.
I have therefore formulated an ambitious policy framework that focuses strongly on innovation in the field of ITS.
In addition, we have to approach things differently than we are used to.
Improving not only the organisation of logistics flows but also cooperation with all stakeholders.
This is something we can learn from Japan.
Apart from the current promising policy developments, there are five innovative initiatives I would like to tell you about.
They are very relevant for the aggressive development of ITS in the Netherlands and in Europe:
1. This year, I set up a strategic consultation committee for traffic information and traffic management.
This group is examining how public and private parties can together increase the effectiveness of their efforts regarding traffic information and traffic management.
This contributes to fast and reliable travelling times from door to door, to road safety and to the sustainability of mobility and thus the optimum use of available road capacity.
2. The introduction of network pricing: the Netherlands is preparing an ambitious scheme for network pricing.
The goal is to introduce road pricing for the whole of the Netherlands.
As has been shown in Japan, cooperative systems can play an important role in facilitating forms of electronic and dynamic, variable pricing.
3. The introduction of Dynamic Speed Limits. In January 2009 four pilots were started in the Netherlands, to investigate the possibilities of dynamic speed limits.
This is another instrument that might be very effective in trying to realise goals for accessibility, safety and the environment. And it could be facilitated by the use of cooperative systems.
4. Showcase 2010. This is a large-scale demonstration of cooperative systems in the Netherlands in 2010.
It will have a positive effect on the further development of promising and innovative instruments, like variable network road pricing and dynamic speed limits.
Another large event in the Netherlands is the World Congress of IT, in May 2010.
The central theme is Challenges of Change and one of the focus areas is ICT & Mobility. There is a lot going on in this field in my country.
5. The Netherlands not only desires to make advances in the field of ITS.
We wish to do the same regarding electric cars.
This too will add considerable impetus to sustainable mobility.
We are creating the necessary limiting conditions and encouraging the market for electric cars.
The Netherlands would like to serve as the international testing ground for electric cars. This is interesting for you as well because you will be able to test your electric cars in our country.
Subsequently, our admission authority for motor vehicles can approve the cars for the European market.
In this way too, the Netherlands will be a gateway to Europe.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have a somewhat a different approach.
As a country that has already made great strides in the field of safety, the Netherlands is focusing more on traffic efficiency.
In Japan safety has the highest priority.
Our policy is ambitious and we are taking ITS very seriously.
The Netherlands has one of the most innovative policy approaches in Europe regarding ITS.
Japan has the most innovative and holistic ITS approach in the world.
We can thus learn a lot from one another, and it will certainly be worthwhile to seek cooperation in the years ahead.
And let us not forget, the government has experienced Dutch traffic and technology-related companies at its side.
Together with you we would like to seek opportunities for both Japan and the Netherland.
I hope that in the future we will exchange much information in the field of cooperative systems and that we will share ideas about and examine each other’s projects.
I believe you will enjoy the presentations given by the Dutch companies today.
I trust that at the close of this round table seminar you will have a good impression of the innovative approach of the Dutch government in the field of traffic management and ITS.
We are looking forward to hearing the contributions from the Japanese side.
I am very curious about the state of affairs and the latest news about developments in Japan regarding traffic management and ITS.
And so today we will be laying a series of small paving stones along the path to further cooperation. I would like to wish everyone an interesting and successful seminar.