Intelligent Transport System Unit-III-B

ITS USER NEEDS AND SERVICES

The needs and services of ITS can be categorised under different headings based on their
common technical functions and they are briefed below:

Travel and traffic management:

The main objective of this group of services is to use real time information on the status of the
transportation system to improve its efficiency and productivity and to mitigate the adverse
environmental impacts of the system. This group of user service is further divided in 10 user
services. Most of these services share information with one another in a highly integrated
manner for the overall benefit of the road transportation system. These services are described
as below:

1. Pre-trip information 6. Traffic Control

2. En-route driver information 7. Incident Management
3. Route guidance 8. Travel Demand Management
4. Ride matching and reservation 9. Emissions Testing and Mitigation
5. Traveler Services Information 10. Highway Rail Intersection

1. Pre trip information

This user service provides information to the travelers about the transportation system before
they begin their trips so that they can make more informed decisions regarding their time of
departure, the mode to use and route to take to their destinations. The travelers can access
this information through computer or telephone systems at home or work and at major public
places. Pre travel information can be accessed through mobile phones as shown in Figure.
Different routes and respective travel time durations indicated on VMS are shown in Figure.
The information include real time flow condition, real incidents and suggested alternate
routes, scheduled road construction and maintenance tasks, transit routes, schedules,
fares, transfers, and parking facilities.

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2. En-route driver information

This user service provides travel related information to the travelers en route after they start
their trips through variable message signs (VMS), car radio, or portable communication
devices. Figure shows the various congested and non congested routes shown on display
screen. VMS indicating different routes and travel time is shown in Figure. This helps the
travelers to better utilize the existing facility by changing routes etc to avoid congestion. This
also provides warning messages for roadway signs such as stop signs, sharp curves,
reduced speed advisories, wet road condition flashed with in vehicle displays to the travelers
to improve the safety operating of a vehicle. The information can be presented as voice
output also.

3. Route guidance
This service provides information to the travellers with a suggested route to reach a specified
destination, along with simple instructions on upcoming turns and other manoeuvres. This
also provides travellers of all modes the real-time information about the transportation

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system, including traffic conditions, road closures, and the status and schedule of transit
systems. The benefits of this service are reduced delay and drivers stress levels
particularly in an unfamiliar area.

4. Ride matching and reservation

This user service provide real-time ride matching information to travellers in their homes,
offices or other locations, and assists transportation providers with vehicle assignments and
scheduling. Travellers give information to the service center and get number of ride sharing
options from which they can choose the best.
5. Traveler Services Information

This service provides a business directory of information on travel-related services and

facilities like the location, operating hours, and availability of food, lodging, parking,
auto repair, hospitals, gas stations and police facilities. This also makes reservations for
many of these traveler services. The traveler services information are accessible in the
home, office or other public locations to help plan trips. These services are available en-route
also.

6. Traffic Control

This service collects the real time data from the transportation system, processes it into usable
information, and uses it to determine the optimum assignment of right-of-way to vehicles
and pedestrians. This helps in improving the flow of traffic by giving preference to transit
and other high occupancy vehicles or by adjusting the signal timing to current traffic
conditions. The information collected by the Traffic Control service is also disseminated for
use by many other user services.

7. Incident Management

This service aims to improve the incident management and response capabilities of
transportation and public safety officials, the towing and recovery industry, and others
involved in incident response. Advanced sensors (close circuit TV cameras), data processors
and communication technologies are used to identify incidents quickly and accurately and
to implement response which minimizes traffic congestion and the effects of these incidents
on the environment and the movement of people and goods. The occurrence of incident
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and its detection by the center and decision implemented responding to the incident on a
highway pertaining to incident management are shown in figure below.

8. Travel Demand Management

This user service develop and implement strategies to reduce the number of single occupancy
vehicles while encouraging the use of high occupancy vehicles and the use of more efficient
travel mode. The strategies adopted are:

1. Congestion pricing 2. Parking management and control

3. Mode change support 4. Telecommuting and alternate work schedule.

9. Emissions Testing and Mitigation

The main objective of this service is to monitor and implement strategies to divert traffic
away from sensitive air quality areas, or control access to such areas using advanced sensors.
This also used to identify vehicles emitting pollutants exceeding the standard values and to
inform drivers to enable them to take corrective action. This helps in facilitating
implementation and evaluation of various pollution control strategies by authorities.

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Intelligent Transport System Unit-III-B

10. Highway Rail Intersection

This service is to provide improved control of highway and train traffic to avoid or decrease
the severity of collisions between trains and vehicles at highway-rail intersections. This also
monitors the condition of various HRI equipments.

Public Transportation Management

This user service collects data through advanced communications and information systems to
improve the operations of vehicles and facilities and to automate the planning and
management functions of public transit systems. This offers three tasks:
1. To provide real-time computer analysis of vehicles and facilities to improve transit
operations and maintenance by monitoring the location of transit vehicles, by identifying
deviations from the schedule, and offering potential solutions to dispatchers and operators.

2. To maintain transportation schedules and to assure transfer connections from vehicle

to vehicle and between modes to facilitate quick response to service delays .

3. To enhance security of transit personnel by providing access management of transit

vehicles.

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Intelligent Transport System Unit-III-B

En-Route Transit Information

This service is intended to provide information on expected arrival times of vehicles, transfers,
and connections to travellers after they begin their trips using public transportation. This also
provide real-time, accurate transit service information on-board the vehicle, at transit stations
and bus stops to assist travellers in making decisions and modify their trips underway.

Personalized Public Transit

The aim of this service is to offer public transport facility to travellers by assigning or
scheduling vehicles by

1. diverting flexibly routed transit vehicles.

2. assigning privately operated vehicles on demand which include small buses, taxicabs, or
other small, shared-ride vehicles.

Under this service, travellers provide information of their trip origin and destination to service
station. The center then assigns the closest vehicle to service the request and to inform the
travellers regarding arrival of such vehicles well in advance to reduce their anxiety
Public Travel Security

This user service creates a secure environment for public transportation operators and
support staff and monitors the environment in transit facilities, transit stations, parking lots,
bus stops and on-board transit vehicles and generates alarms (either automatically or
manually) when necessary. It also provides security to the systems that monitor key
infrastructure of transit (rail track, bridges, tunnels, bus guide ways, etc.).

Electronic Fare Collection

An electronic fare collection is a system in which electronic media (cards or tokens) are used
in place of paper tickets, to pay for transit fares. The objective of an electronic fare
collection system is to offer convivence to the customers as they are not required to purchase
the ticket for every journey. Electronic fare collection system also reduces the expense of
handling and protecting transit revenues. In an automated fare system, different types of
media can be used in a variety of ways including shopping at retail outlets. The types of

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Intelligent Transport System Unit-III-B

electronic media include magnetic stripe cards, credit or debit cards, or smart cards which
can be contact or contact or contactless. For example, some systems may use these media
for transit, retail purchase, and banking while other systems may use them for transit only. The
benefit of an electronic fare system is a reduction in the cost of handling, fare processing
and arresting revenue leakage.

Commercial Vehicle operations

The aim is to improve the efficiency and safety of commercial vehicle operations. This
involves following services:

1. CV electronic clearance
2. Automated road side safety inspection
3. On-board safety monitoring administrative process
4. Hazardous material incident response
5. Freight Mobility

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Intelligent Transport System Unit-III-B

Commercial Vehicle Electronic Clearance

This service allows enforcement personnel to electronically check safety status, vehicle’s
credentials, and size and weight data for the commercial vehicles before they reach an
inspection site. The authorities send the illegal or potentially unsafe vehicles only for
inspection and bypass safe and legal carriers to travel without stopping for compliance
checks at weigh stations and other inspection sites.

Automated Roadside Safety Inspection

At inspection station the safety requirements are checked more quickly and more accurately
during a safety inspection using automated inspection capabilities. Advanced tools are used to
check brake, steering and suspension performance and also the driver’s performance pertaining
to driver alertness and fitness for duty.

On-board Safety Monitoring

This service monitors the driver, vehicle, and cargo and notify the driver, carrier, and, also to
the enforcement personnel, if an unsafe situation arises during operation of the vehicle. This
is user service also assures freight container, trailer, and commercial vehicle integrity by
monitoring on-board sensors for a breach or tamper event.

Emergency management

This service has two functions:

1. Emergency notification and personal security - This is to provide travellers the ability to
notify appropriate emergency response personnel regarding the need for assistance due to
emergency or non-emergency situations either by manually or automatically from the vehicle
on the occurrence of an accident.
2. Emergency vehicle management - This user service is to reduce the time from the receipt of
an emergency notification to the arrival of the emergency vehicles at incident location thereby
reducing the severity of accident injuries.

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