A group including the Tokyo police and 50 big Japanese firms will start offering what it claims will be the world’s first on-line interactive traffic service in April. Advanced Traffic Information Service will supply real-time information on road congestion, closures and accidents, among other things, to personal computers or car navigation systems in the Tokyo area via Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp’s telephone lines or cellular connections. Sony Corp, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, Mitsubishi Corp and NEC Corp are members of Advanced Traffic, which is capitalized at $16.2m. Users need a modem and software to receive information on their computers and pay for telephone charges and the information. Car drivers will receive information on their navigation terminals through cellular phones. Advanced Traffic says it also has plans to transmit emergency medical information, weather, airline schedules and entertainment.
