Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is the application of computer, electronics, and communication technologies and management strategies in an integrated manner to provide traveller information to increase the safety and efficiency of the surface transportation systems. These systems involve vehicles, drivers, passengers, road operators, and managers all interacting with each other and the environment, and linking with the complex infrastructure systems to improve the safety and capacity of road systems.

The aim of using such technologies in transport is to alleviate existing concerns including traffic congestion, air and noise pollution by enhancing data collection for addressing the transport-related concerns.

Broad categories of ITS technologies-

• Automated speed enforcement.
• Incident management.
• Electronic toll collection.
• Traveller information.
• Vehicle control technologies like intelligent cruise control
• Speed alerts.

As the Indian economy grows and urbanisation in Indian cities increases, the use of ITS and its importance will increase commensurately. Critical areas of ITS use will be air quality, road safety, traffic congestion, and communication methodologies.

Benefits

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) has the potential to provide three key benefits for road users and society.

Safety

Road crashes cause suffering and loss of life. ITS technologies can be used to smooth traffic flows, reduce congestion and hence reduce certain types of accidents. Information which is provided through ITS can also be used to direct traffic away from accidents and alert emergency services as soon as an incident occurs.

Productivity

Congestion lowers productivity, causes flow-on delays in supply chains and increases the cost of business. ITS can increase productivity by finding innovative ways to increase the capacity of our current infrastructure.

Environmental

ITS helps to reduce congestion and stop-start driving can also reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions compared with normal driving conditions.

Challenges

The ITS market is very nascent in India. Some of the challenges in successful implementation of this technology are as follows-

• Lack of definite guidelines and regulations and difficulties in physical implementation.
• Developing a nation-wide ITS data archive.
• India’s ITS can’t be entirely modelled on the existing successful ITS of other nations due to basic cultural, geographic & practical differences among the countries.
• High cost for ITS safety systems does not allow high penetration.
• Few people are willing to pay extra for safety systems and only few technologies are sufficient to ensure safety.

Conclusion

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) provide a set of strategies for addressing the challenges of assured safety and reducing congestion, while accommodating the growth in transit ridership and freight movement. ITS improve transportation safety and mobility, and enhance productivity through the use of advanced communications, sensors and information processing technologies. When integrated into the transportation system’s infrastructure, and into vehicles themselves, these technologies relieve congestion, improve safety, and enhance Indian productivity.