Copyright to> IF AC Technology Transfer in Developing Countries,

Pretoria, South Africa, 2000

INTELUGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS (ITS)

- AN OVERVIEW

Jobann Andersen and Steve SutciifJe

Africon Engineering International Ltd

Trafficon

Abstract: Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) provide transport solutions by utilizing state-of-the-art
information and telecommunications technologies. It is an integrated system of people, roads and vehicles,
designed to significantly contribute to improve road safety, efficiency and comfort, as well as environmental
conservation through realization of smoother traffic by relieving traffic congestion. This paper aims to elucidate
various aspects of ITS - it's need, the various user services, technologies utilized - and concludes by
emphasizing the need for developing national ITS strategies: Copyright «12000 IFAC

Keywords: Integrated Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS), Intelligent Transport Systems, Transportation,
Systems Architectures, Communication Systems.

1. INTRODUCTION to the wider application of technology to public

Intelligent transport systems (ITS) is a global
phenomenon, attracting worldwide interest from
transportation professionals, the automotive industry,
and political decision makers. Early work in ITS
was carried out by the Japanese in the 1980s. At that
time, the Japanese had not coined a specific name for
ITS as it was considered part of traffic control. They
later referred to this work as the Japanese Intelligent
Vehicle System (IVS) programme. Siemens was
doing some pioneering work on route guidance
systems in Berlin in the 1980s, with the Europeans
referring to the subject as road transport informatics.
The United States picked up on the theme in the late
1980s, referring to the subject as Intelligent Vehicle
Highway Systems (IVHS).
transport systems as well as private cars and
highways. This name seems to have stuck, with
many international organizations adopting it. Lately,
in the literature and at various forums, ITS is often
used to refer to Integrated Transport Services, thus
with more of an emphasis on the user.
Wherever you live, and whatever you may decide to
call it, you are probably referring to ''the application
of information and communications technologies to
the planning and operation of transportation
systems." This paper will aim to address and
elucidate the role and functions of ITS, provide a
worldwide overview of developments and set the
framework for development of such systems,
focusing on first developing the ITS big picture.

The Europeans referred to the work they were doing
in application of information and communication
technology to transport as Advanced Transport
Telematics (ATT), only for the United States to
. come up with another term, ITS, giving recognition
2. THE NEED FOR ITS
Sustainable and efficient transport systems are
requirements for economic well-being. However,
there is a price to pay for good transportation. It is

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generally expensive to provide adequate transport
infrastructure, and other undesirable side effects such
as environmental impacts, land requirements and
energy consumption are also noted. There is also a
general trend to move away from just adding
infrastructure as part of capital intensive
transportation strategies - there is a trend towards
more balanced and sustainable transportation
solutions.
ITS holds the promise of sustainability. It presents
the opportunity for better management of existing
resources and infrastructure, through the provision of
information to travelers and transportation planning
professionals and offers new control possibilities.
Worldwide we face numerous transport challenges.
These include the need to:
• Improve road safety and security for all users
• Combat rising congestion, which is increasing
travel times and industry costs
• Enhance the attractiveness of public transport
• Reduce the environmental impacts of transport
• Improve the competitiveness and performance
of freightllogistics systems, and
• Ensure that populations worldwide have access
to safe and affordable transport.
Sensible use of emerging technologies is essential to
help meet these challenges. ITS provide
sophisticated multimodal tools, which integrate
advanced technologies and apply them to
transportation to develop solutions that will improve
the quality of life. ITS is about saving lives, time
and money and improving the environment.
3. WORLDWIDE ITS ACTIVITIES
Many leading industrialised countries are developing
comprehensive national strategies to accelerate and
integrate use of ITS into the task of modernising
their transport systems, to tackle major transport
problems, and to build a strong private sector ITS
industry. Two of the most advanced national
strategies are those of Japan and the United States.
In terms of investment, a total of over R8,4 billion
was budgeted for the Japanese ITS Strategy over the
next three years, of which some 13% was allocated
to research and development. In the US, the Federal
Government has allocated a total of at least R8
billion for ITS over the six years, 1998-2003, in
addition to considerable State funding.
Substantial benefits are anticipated. A range of
Japanese, US and European estimates suggest ITS
applications could reduce road accidents by 20-40%
or more, and cut urban travel times by around the
same amount, assisting travellers, industry and the
environment. In the US, for example, freeway
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management systems are reported to have cut crashes
by 24-50%, while handling 8-22% more traffic, at
average speeds 13-48% faster than existing
congested conditions. Estimates of US metropolitan
benefits suggest accidents and time savings could
have aggregate values of around R680 billion,
respectively for the 20 years, 1996-2015. Japanese
estimates suggest investment in relevant systems
could cut their road tolls by 20010 and expressway
congestion by 70%.
Comparisons between estimates of various countries
is not simple. An important lesson from overseas
experience, however, is that the size and extent of the
expected benefits and their overall value to society
and the economy, are related to the level and
targeting of investment, and improved national co-
ordination and co-operation. Without a national
strategic approach and commitment to ITS, not only
would opportunities for major transport improvement
be wasted, but problems might be made worse.
Uncoordinated ITS standards, for example, could
mean ITS impede, rather than assist, development of
an integrated national transport system.
4. WHAT IS ITS?
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is an
umbrella that covers a wide range of transportation
systems.
Since ITS is focused on transportation system
operations, its role may appear to be provision of
near-term measures in solving transportation
problems. However, in order for ITS to have
maximum impact, it must be planned, developed and
implemented in concert with medium and long term
measures such as land use planning, transportation
infrastructure design, transport system management,
etc. in a top-down approach.
Thus, for a full appreciation and appropriate
application of ITS, there must be a total system
approach. Hence, a diverse team of specialists needs
to be involved, from communications experts to
traffic engineers. System architecture and system
integration of ITS technologies needs to consider
user needs and benefits and the countermeasures to
institutional barriers. Note that ITS is not star wars,
although certain technologies and system concepts
are borrowed from space and defence industries.
The overarching ITS function is to improve
transportation system operations, which in turn
support the transportation objectives of increasing
efficiency, safety, productivity, energy savings and
environmental quality. These objectives are common
to all regions around the world even though their
relative priority may vary from one region to
another.
Relatively high on the priority lists of practically all Title Heading
countries is the increase of efficiency through ITS-
assisted operations to the extent that the capacity of Vehicles (CVO) Pre-clearance
existing road and rail systems can be increased 19. Commercial20.
substantially. In many countries, the current traffic Vehicle
congestion would only get worse since construction Administrative
of new roads has little hope of catching up with Processes
increasing traffic demand due to financial and 20. Automated
environmental constraints. In other words, they can Roadside Safety
no longer "build their way out of congestion" and Inspection
ITS offers a new approach to help reduce or 21. Commercial Vehicle
postpone construction needs. Even in countries On-board Safety
where major road construction programs are still in Monitoring
place, ITS offers the possibility of increasing 22. Commercial Vehicle
capacity per lane thus reducing the need for scarce Fleet Management
capital. Public Transport 23. Public Transport
(APTS) Management
Countries which have established ITS programs in 24. Demand Responsive
recent years share similar views on the range of Transport
possible ITS functions, as represented by the Management
following ITS user services. 25. Shared Transport
Management
Table 1 ITS User Services Emergency 26. Emergency
Management (EM) Notification and
Personal Security
Title Heading 27. Emergency Vehicle
Traveller I. Pre-trip Information Management
Information 2. On-trip Driver 28. Hazardous Materials
(ATIS) Information and Incident
3. On-trip Public Notification
Transport Electronic Payment 29. Electronic Financial
Information (EP) Safety Transactions
4. Personal 30. Public Travel
Information Security
Services 31. Safety Enhancement
5. Route Guidance and for Vulnerable Road
Navigation Users
Traffic Management 6. Transportation 32. Intelligent Junctions
(ATMS) Planning Support
7. Traffic Control 5. HOW DOES ITS WORK?
8. Incident
Management
9. . Demand 5.1 Combining Technologies
Management
10. PolicinglEnforcing The technical core of ITS is the application of
Traffic Regulations infonnation and control technologies to
11. Infrastructure transportation system operations. These technologies
Maintenance include communications, automatic control, and
Management computer hardware and software and the adaptation
Vehicle Systems 12. Vision Enhancement of these technologies to transportation requires the
(AVCS) 13. Automated Vehicle knowledge from many engineering fields such as
Operation civil, electrical, mechanical, industrial and their
14. Longitudinal related disciplines.
Collision Avoidance
15. Lateral Collision From a system perspective, the major components of
Avoidance transportation systems are the transportation
16. Safety Readiness infrastructure, the vehicle, and the people in the
17. Pre-crash Restraint system, including the system operator (for example,
Deployment in the traffic or transportation management centre) as
Commercial 18. Commercial Vehicle well as the traveller who may ride, drive, or just

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walk. All of these people make decisions based on
available infonnation and their decisions often affect
one another.
Many of the transportation problems arise from the
lack of timely and accurate infonnation and from the
lack of appropriate co-ordination from the people in
the system. The positive contribution of infonnation
technology is to provide better information to assist
people involved in the system to make synergistic
decisions.
There is a plethora of existing technologies which
can be or have been applied to ITS. As the
capabilities of ''high tech" continue to increase and
their costs continue to decrease in the future, so will
the capabilities and costs of ITS functions. However,
it is not necessary for any traffic agency to master all
the high tech electronics to begin applying ITS to
solve some of their most urgent problems.
5.2 ITS Enabling Technologies
There is a range of information and communications
technologies that are applied in combinations to
transportation problems. These are referred to as
enabling technologies because their existence
enables the development of ITS. These are advanced
technologies such as fiber optics, CD-ROM,
electromagnetic compasses, global positioning
systems, laser sensors, digital map databases and
display technologies such as cathode ray tubes and
LCDs that enable ITS applications.
Elements pertaining to enabling technologies have
two primary roles:
• They enable ITS deployment by providing
functionality and capability
• They act as elements in the various development
areas, allowing one to address defined market
needs and service requirements.
Enabling technologies can be grouped into broad
categories, as discussed hereafter.
5.2. J Data Acquisition. Many ITS services have, as a
prerequisite the collection of timely and accmate
information about traffic and road conditions.
Traffic surveillance is achieved in various ways:
• Inductive loop detectors have been used for
many years
• Traffic sensors such as ultrasonic, radar and
infrared traffic sensors are installed on overhead
gantries making their installation and
maintenance less disturbing to traffic flow than
loop detectors
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• Video image detectors (VID) acquire images by
video cameras and are then processed to obtain
various traffic parameters
• Visual images from closed circuit television
(CCTV) provide live images to help the traffic
centre operator monitor complicated traffic
situations and make appropriate decisions.
On the vehicle side, data regarding vehicle
conditions can be acquired through in-vehicle
sensors. Surveillance of commercial vehicle weights
through weigh-in-motion (WIM), an ITS technology
based on load cell, bending plate, and peizoelectric
principles, has become common practice to catch
overweighted heavy vehicles without requiring all
vehicles to stop, resulting in substantial time savings
for all concerned.
5.2.2 Data Processing. Traffic information obtained
at the traffic management centre need to be
processed, verified, reconciled and consolidated into
a format that is useful for the operator. This is done
through a process known as data fusion, providing a
formal framework for efficient use. Another
important data processing technology on the
infrastructure side is Automatic Incident Detection
(AID). To determine whether an incident has
occurred, the input data from the detection system
are tested against an algorithm - in this way assisting
the traffic centre operator in alerting him or her about
an incident, thus assisting in reducing incident
detection time and in speeding up rescue operations
and traffic diversion around incident sites.
On the vehicle side, data processing is needed for
navigation. The most important progress in
navigation technology has been the global
POSIUOning system (GPS). In-vehicle data
processing is done so that the receiver's three-
dimensional co-ordinates can be determined, based
on the time of arrival principle. Information on the
location of the vehicle is then provided to where
required e.g. the traffic centre, dispatch centre or the
bus stop. A digital map is a prerequisite for advance
travel information systems, such as route guidance.
A digital map showing all the major roads of the
larger area, are typically stored on a single compact
disk (CD).
5.2.3 Data Communications. A range of
communications technology is available in order to
"pass on the message". This can be wireline or
wireless, within which there are also variations in
technology. In order to minimize cost and to
capitalize on the continuing technological
development in the telecommunications industry, all
existing and future telecommunication infrastructure,
both stationary and mobile, can and should be used.
Data communications costs generally increase with
bandwidth requirements in terms of frequency band
or bits per second. Traffic parameters obtained from
traffic sensors are transmitted through relatively low-
bandwidth wireline (e.g. telephone line) or low
bandwidth wireless communications, since these
parameters contain relatively few bits per unit time.
10 contrast, live video images include many bits of
information per unit time and thus require a broad
bandwidth of communication media (e.g. coaxial
cables and optical fibres) for transmission.
Fibre optics are a medium for transmitting
information from one point to another. The cost of
fibre optics is so low that the major capital cost lies
in their installation (right of way and labour cost)
rather than the materials. Therefore, a number of
traffic authorities have found it desirable to share
their right of way with the telecommunications
industry and have the optical fibres installed along
the highway during road construction rather than
retrofitting them at a later stage. In exchange, the
traffic authorities would get to use a portion of the
communications system at low or no cost or through
some other metered compensation.
On the vehicle side, wireless communications are
increasingly being used in various ITS functions.
The cellular phone can be either an analog or digital
device for data transmission within this context. It is
also expected that, with the ever-expanding
development of technologies, widespread wireless
data communications can be expected to become
more capable and less costly in all areas.
ITS IS not only concerned with mobile
communications on a wide area basis (i.e. the
transmitter and receiver are far apart), but also with
dedicated short range communications (DSRC). The
ITS services based primarily on DSRC include
electronic toll collection (ETC), commercial vehicle
operations (CYO), parking management, signal pre-
emption, in-vehicle signing, in-vehicle traveller
information, and beacon-based route guidance
systems.
An ETC system consists of a vehicle with an on-
board unit, a two-way microwave or infrared link,
and roadside equipment. The in-vehicle equipment
is a transponder or tag, an integrated circuit card with
a card holder, or a combination of the two. The
roadside equipment consists of three parts: a
transceiver (transmitter and receiver), a lane
controller (which monitors activities occurring in a
toll lane), and a primary processing computer
system. Further aspects related to ETC applications
within the DSRC environment, are active tags and
backscatter tags. Active tags contain a battery or
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external power source to power the internal circuits
and transnuSSl0ns. Backscatter tags send
information back to the reader by changing or
modulating the amount of microwave or infrared
energy reflected back to the reader antenna from a
continuous-wave signal beamed from the reader.
Authorities around the world are beginning to
recognise the benefits of smart card technologies,
taking ITS into a new era. It is a generic term for a
credit card-sized device that contains several
semiconductor units, including memory and
associated microprocessor, so that the value stored in
the card can be used for multiple types of payments -
tolls, parking, bus and taxi fares, telephone and even
small purchases. This offers the prospect of the
transport operator taking over the role that is
traditionally held by banks and credit card
companies, where multiple organizations participate
in the smart card application, with transactions
cleared through the transport operators' system.
5.2.4Data Distribution. Traffic and other related
information can be distributed in various ways in
order to improve transportation efficiency, safety,
and environmental quality. This information is
distributed through fixed terminals and mobile
terminals. Fixed terminals refer to telephones, radio,
television, desktop computers, fax machines and
variable message signs (VMS). Mobile terminals
include car radios, cellular telephones, lap top
computers and hand-held digital devices.
Applications in the ITS environment include the
following :
• Yariable message signs (VMS) are road signs
with messages that can be changed. The
changes can be initiated by nearby traffic or road
sensors to warn drivers of hazardous conditions
ahead or from parking garages to show the
number of available spaces.
• The intemet is used as a medium to show their
real-time traffic flow maps, camera pictures,
weather and road conditions, and static
information such as traffic legislation and
technical papers.
• Traffic information is broadcasted by means of
car radios. This is aimed at the motorist in
general and covering a wide area. 10 order to
provide traffic information at the time and
location a motorist needs it, highway advisory
radio (HAR) is installed along road segments for
wireless transmission to the local area.
5.2.51nformation Utilization. Within the context of
ITS it is important to utilize traffic information in an
intelligent and co-ordinated manner and also to
support control. Applications include the following :

• Ramp metering controls the flow of vehicles
merging onto an expressway by means of a
traffic light on the entrance ramp that turns
green for short periods of time, allowing a
limited number of vehicles to proceed onto the
freeway at a time. In this way, the density of
vehicles on the freeway can be kept below
saturation and also allows for smoother merging
and traffic flow.
• The co-ordination of traffic control within large
urban areas takes place at the traffic
management centre, where traffic information is
usually conveyed to the operators on a large
display board, supplemented by multiple CCTV
monitors. Operators at these centres also
maintain voice communications with patrols and
operators in other centres, which is particularly
important during emergency situations where
information can be provided for co-ordinated
rescue operations.
• The traffic control centre also need to be linked
to other centres, such as public transport and
commercial vehicle operation centres.
• On the vehicle side, several applications exist:
- dynamic route guidance, allowing the user
to make strategic decisions on a minute-by-
minute basis
- adaptive cruise control, allowing the driver
to automatically reduce vehicle speed m
Figure I: Example of Physical Architecture
Efficient system architecture can provide short-term
benefits, saving time and money in the development
of an ITS project; and provide long-term benefits
through interoperability, increased competition,
future expandability, user costs, and increased
system integration.
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order to keep a safe headway from the
vehicle in front
automated highway systems, defined as
hands-off and feet-off driving
5.3 System Architecture
The amalgamation of the many technologies requires
that all the current and future ITS technologies work
in concert with one another. System architecture is a
framework for ensuring the interoperability and
synergistic integration among all the ITS functions,
regardless of the specific technologies to be
deployed. System architecture provides rules to be
used from the very beginning of ITS implementation.
System architecture is needed at all national,
provincial and local levels. The national architecture
provides an overall framework for ITS integration
and interoperability and provides a template for
building regional architectures. The regional
architecture defines the functions that must be
performed by components or subsystems, where
these function reside, where interfaces and
information flows between subsystems.
An example of the physical architecture at the
national level is the one which has been developed
for the USA as shown below:
6. ITS DEPLOYMENT SUCCESS STORIES
It has been shown that for future implementation of
ITS to be successful, appropriate marketing and
publicising of the real benefits should take place.
Hence, the following success stories offer a

background to the achievable benefits that have been
obtained around the world.
During the 1992 Olympic Games, Barcelona
implemented an access control system to prevent
unauthorised access by motorists into residential
areas. Electronic permits controlled access barriers
and, using video cameras, it was possible to lower
traffic volwnes and increase parking availability.
Since 1990, the inhabitants of Oslo have had to pay a
toll to enter a cordon SurrOlUlding the central area.
The money raised through this process is being used
to finance a nwnber of transportation projects.
Drivers either stop to pay the toll manually or drive
straight through using an electronic tag inside their
vehicle which communicates with a roadside beacon.
Should the vehicle or tag be invalid, video
surveillance is used to record and, subsequently,
penalise offenders.
During peak periods, congestion is often exacerbated
by motorists circulating to find a parking space.
Cologne introduced a parking guidance scheme by
automatically counting entering and exiting vehicles
in their major parking garages. The resultant
information was displayed in real time on 74
dynamic direction signs located on major roads and
intersections leading into Cologne.
The city of Turin has implemented a system which
offers roadway priority to public transport vehicles at
traffic signals. The subsequent improvement in travel
time reliability has led to a greater usage of public
transport with no adverse effect on private traffic.
Vaasa in Finland have implemented a smart card,
thereby minimising the need to carry cash. It is a
multi-functional card, providing access to a wide
range of services around the city such as transport,
theatre, public phones and sports facilities. Indeed,
transport has been hailed as the future 'killer
application' which could facilitate the future success
of smart card technology.
Travellers in the British Midlands are benefiting
from the Matisse real-time traffic and travel
information system. This system offers information
on road traffic congestion, road works, weather
conditions and public transport operations. The
details are collected from nwnerous agencies and
broadcast to terminals, TV and the intemet.
7. DEVELOPMENT OF THE ITS BIG PICTURE
Road infrastructure building and maintenance has
had to compete for a long time against health,
\05
education and welfare but ITS must compete for
funds alongside the benefits of traditional road
building schemes. However, the ITS alternative
could be viewed as a means of law enforcement and
revenue generation, without which, there will be no
further development (or maintenance) of the road
network. Furthermore, the real issues of personal
safety and security (ranging from car-hijacking to
unacceptably high levels of vehicle theft) could
themselves be the motivation behind introducing
ITS.
Following on from this, it is logical that the need for
'interoperability' standards for future ITS projects
would offer benefits from a financial 'economies of
scale' perspective. The term 'interoperability'
essentially states that user services (shown in the
above table) need to be available to users seamlessly.
The suppliers should be able to offer applications,
and their component parts, which share compatible
technologies at all functional and technical levels.
Finally, the management of information to enforce
systems and permit financial transactions to occur
via smart card technology and a clearing house,
should operate with in a similar seamless manner.
The essential element to successfully developing a
national ITS strategy is through effective co-
operation between Client, User and Developer. Any
system should be 'needs' driven and its long-term
success depend on gaining full understanding and
support from current stakeholders and future
roleplayers who, as yet, may not be involved in the
process but should certainly be party to discussions
and determination of the future needs.
The Needs Model is thus derived through the
following process:
• Determine the needs, objectives, problems and
issues.
• Produce an ITS objectives statement
• Produce an ITS vision - what would life be like
after the introduction oflTS?
• Produce ITS User Services needs i.e. what the
system has to provide in order to be viewed a
success by the Client and users.
• Produce a Big Picture.
The ITS Future Big Picture should describe the
physical architecture (or layered framework) of the
system showing how all the technologies, products
and services interact. The development of a
Standards Application Plan should provide a clear
understanding of how systems and interfaces need to
interact if the ITS is to function correctly. In this
regard., technical standards will be essential and in
order to ensure efficient ITS deployment.
Finally, overseas research has clearly identified that
some of the greatest challenges facing the effective
deployment of ITS stuTound the issue of institutional
re-structming. This will be necessary to facilitate
successful Private Public Partnerships (PPP's) and
encourage innovation, while maintaining the
interests of the general public.

8. CONCLUSION

Many leading industrialised countries have embarked

on major national ITS strategies to ensure that they
integrate ITS successfully into modernising their
transport systems. Capturing the potential of ITS to
facilitate social, safety, economic, environmental and
commercial objectives is involving these countries in
higher levels of co-operation, research and
development and investment, across both the public
and private sectors.
ITS need to be brought into mainstream planning to
ensure that transport challenges are addressed in the
most efficient way. National strategies for ITS need
to be developed to establish the direction, policies
and framework to achieve the gains from using ITS.
Deployment of ITS should then focus on the major
areas of benefit from the use ofITS - safety, security,
improving urban living, and improving transport for
regional and rural populations.

9. BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Austroads (1999). E-transport - The

National Strategy for Intelligent Transport
Systems. Austroads Incorporated, Sydney.
2. Chen, K. and J.C. Miles (1999). ITS
Handbook 2000 - Recommendations from
the World Road Association (PIARC) .
Artech House, Boston.
3. ITS City Pioneers Consortium (1998).
Intelligent City Transport - A Guidebook to
Intelligent Transport Systems. Ertico,
Brussels.
4. McQueen, B and J. McQueen (1999).
Intelligent Transportation Systems
ArchiteclUres Artech House, Boston.
5. Page, E (2000). One ticket-several uses
Intelligent Transport Systems 2000. p. 55.

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