Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
What is ITS?
ITS (Intelligent Transport systems) involves the applied use of various engineering disciplines, enabling technologies and management strategies to facilitate modern transport operations and policy development. At its core, ITS is about facilitating professional transport management based on information technology: there is no consensus on terminology.
ITS (Intelligent Transport systems) involves the application of information
communications technologies to transport infrastructure and operations in
order to deliver increased efficiency, safety and informed mobility of people
and goods.
The growth of electronics, computing and communications technologies, in
recent years, has facilitated new applications in the surface transport
sector, namely improved road safety, traffic management systems on road and
rail, the provision of information to and from vehicles (i.e. geographic,
navigational aids, goods condition, vehicle performance etc) and seamless and
efficient financial transactions (e.g. toll payment). It facilitates
behavioural monitoring (i.e. speed cameras, corridor monitoring etc),
effective policing and increased safety through various preventive (i.e.
collision avoidance, speed limitation etc) and
responsive measures (incident management, etc). It enables increased
transparency of transport operations through asset (i.e. vehicle) tracking in
fleet management systems. It realises increased mobility, efficiency and
capacity in existing physical infrastructure. It allows for intelligent
interactions between the infrastructure operators (i.e. road authority,
railway undertaking) and the vehicle involving seamless and unobtrusive
transactions for example, electronic toll fee collection, automatic fare
collection, dynamic speed limits and alternative routing etc.
Downloads
ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) - NRA
Intelligent Transport Systems in Ireland: A consultation paper
Transport Authorities
“…Intelligent transport systems are part of the wider infrastructure of the information society policy and involve the deployment of technologies which can contribute to a safer, more efficient and sustainable use of transport and to the development and effective management of an integrated transport network...."
Applications
All ITS applications arise through use by:-
1. Individuals, i.e. drivers and passengers, e.g. electronic tokens/ smart
card driver licences3, driver card for digital tachograph, or smartcards for
public transport ticketing, parking or road use payment.
2. Vehicles, i.e. intelligent vehicles incorporating intelligent speed
adaptation, automatic vehicle location, collision avoidance, asset tracking
etc.
3. Road or rail infrastructure for monitoring, sensing, providing
information, traffic management, regulation and enforcement e.g. through
Variable Message Signs (VMS), inductive loops, microwave detectors, ANPR,
DSRC etc.
Benefits of ITS
1. safer, more efficient, sustainable transport,
2. more effective management of integrated transport network,
3. contribution to the creation of an effective information society.