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Recent advances in computer and communications technologies have fostered significant developments in mobile information systems, not only to locate vehicles in distress situations but also to permit central monitoring of their positions for management purposes. This paper will focus on investigations carried out by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario on Emergency Location Systems with the prime objective to identify a functional and cost-effective solution for Metropolitan Toronto's taxi operations and other municipal fleets and to investigate as well, opportunities to enhance vehicle dispatching and real-time traffic data collection, using the location system's communications infrastructure. The approach taken was to investigate existing and upcoming commercial systems, evaluate them and recommend the appropriate course of action. The outcome of the study is a list of systems recommended for further investigations and small-scale demonstrations.

Automobile drivers are often faced with the need to drive in unfamiliar surroundings, find unknown destinations or select the best route on their travels. A variety of in-vehicle navigation and route guidance systems have been proposed, developed and demonstrated in the United States, Europe and Japan. Although the systems are certainly useful, sophisticated and attractive, they are also, at least at the moment, relatively expensive. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario is actively pursuing the assessment and possible development of TravElGuide, a route guidance system that will offer most of the benefits of more advanced systems but at significantly lower cost. The present concept of the system includes a portable device that provides advice to the driver, based on real-time traffic information, on the route to take from his current position to his destination.