While the lower speed of inland waterborne transport may not be a serious disadvantage in competition with trucks suffering from road congestion, the lack of penetration of inland navigation is an important policy problem that can be solved by improved inter-modal organisation. The introduction of a River Information System (RIS) has the potential to increase the capacity of the waterways, increase safety, reduce noise and atmospheric pollution, avoid the use of Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) stations and drastically reduce their running costs.