applied transportation analysis intelligent transportation systems in ireland

Applied Transportation Analysis

Intelligent Transportation Systems in Ireland

Background of ITS in Ireland

“Ireland requires a modern safe, efficient and sustainable transport system. Technology is a key tool through which we aim to improve the movement of people and goods to meet the evolving needs of our economy and society.”Accordingly, one of the Department of Transport’s objectives, set out in the Statement of Strategy, is “to use ITS to contribute to the development of the transport system”. ITS is a technology toolkit, involving a systems approach to transport, that facilitates effective infrastructure management encompassing improved road safety. There is provision in Transport 21 for significant investment in ITS.Reference: DOT Ireland consultation paper on ITS

ITS applications

All ITS applications arise through use by: 1. Individuals, i.e. drivers and passengers, e.g.

electronic tokens/ smart card driver licences, smartcards for public transport ticketing, parking or road use payment.

2. Vehicles, i.e. intelligent vehicles incorporating intelligent speed adaptation, automatic vehicle location(AVL), collision avoidance, asset tracking etc.

3. Road or rail infrastructure for monitoring, sensing, providing information, traffic management, regulation and enforcement e.g. through VMS, inductive loops, microwave detectors, ANPR, DSRC etc.

Key features of ITS applications

1. A policy-led ITS development is encouraged compared to a technology-led ITS development.

2. ITS applications involves working with multiple stakeholders involving the exchange of data so as to provide the relevant services. E.g., data exchange between public transport operators for an integrated ticketing system.

3. ITS applications involve the transfer of data (e.g. data on vehicle positions and data on card or token transactions) to a central database for processing. E.g., vehicles with on-board units are identified at various points on the road network e.g. toll plazas with DSRC.

Key features of ITS applications

4. Needs of data protection are essential requirements and involves legislative complexities.

5. A multidisciplinary engineering approach is often required involving systems engineering, telecommunications, electronics, civil and mechanical engineering. The projects involve multiple stakeholders and require extensive project management skills.

6. The capital cost of ITS are not as significant as the ongoing operations and management cost.

7. The benefits of ITS, relative to costs incurred in its provision and operation, are often not very transparent to transport users.

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Policy Context

Possible ITS applicationsPayment Transactions

- Public transport fare payment - Motorway tolling, - Congestion charging - Parking and Park n Ride

Safety - Variable Speed Limits - Cameras for speed, red-traffic light enforcement - Incident Management i.e. e-Call - Environmental Monitoring and Control - Cameras at Road or Rail Junctions /Automatic Level

Crossings

Intelligent Vehicle Technology - Electronic Vehicle Identification - Collision Avoidance, SATNAV

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Possible ITS applications

Information Provision to Travellers - Driver Information and Route Guidance - Real Time Passenger Information - VMS, Kiosks, text and email alerts - Internet based Journey Planning Services

Traffic Management

- Urban Traffic Control on roads i.e. SCATS, SCOOT - Centralised Train Control - On street priority of bus and light rail at junctions - Motorway Management

Improving Efficiency - Fleet Management - Asset Tracking - Automatic Vehicle Location

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Typical ITS Applications

According to NRA,• “Intermodal” transportation systems, which will make it

easier for travellers to switch from one mode (e.g., private car) to another (e.g., bus or rail travel) at certain interchanges.

• Intelligent traffic control systems which automatically adapt to the flow of traffic and reduce unnecessary stop-time for drivers at red lights.• In-vehicle technologies, such as traveller information and

route guidance systems.• Safety enhancement technologies, such as “smart” cruise

control systems that take into account the location of surrounding vehicles.

• Traveller advisory systems, including variable message signs and advisory radio.

Current Applications of ITS 1

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Current Applications of ITS 2

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Current Applications of ITS 3• Use of ITS by the private sector be it in car park

management, asset tracking and management or navigational assistance.

• Limited deployments by local authorities (e.g. temporary VMS, traffic controllers for individual junctions, loops etc).

• Research and application development work is also undertaken by academics and industry e.g. in satellite positioning for road use payment, e-ticketing, VMS etc.

• Journey planning tools on various organisations’ websites e.g. the DTO and AA Ireland, Google maps etc.

• Insurance risk mitigation tools involving the deployment of on-board units to record driver activity.

• Individual use of intelligent vehicle and satellite navigation technologies.

• Taxi fleet control and management and freight fleet management

Applications by NRA

• Automatic Vehicle Counter/ClassifiersAutomatic Vehicle Counters provide information on the

volume of traffic by hour of day and vehicle class, i.e., motorcycle, car, goods vehicles distinguished by number of axles etc. with up to twelve vehicle classes being identified.

• Road Ice Monitoring System - ICECASTThe NRA has implemented an Ice Monitoring system for

National Roads that allows local authorities to predict, to a certain degree, whether specific sections of the roads network are likely to encounter snow or ice conditions during the colder months. The road surface is monitored by a series of Ice Monitoring stations.

http://www.nra.ie/Publications/DownloadableDocumentation/GeneralPublications/file,3508,en.PDF

Applications by NRA

• N7/N8 Congestion Monitoring/Alternative Route

An “Alternative Route” system has been set up along theKildare-Portlaoise section of the N7/ N8 corridor betweenDublin and Cork/Limerick. Using traffic loops embeddedin the road pavement at strategically chosen locations,it is possible to sense traffic movement and ascertainqueue levels at the “bottlenecks” of Monasterevin andKildare town.This information is processed using software systems andan automatic message is generated to provide road userswith information on queues and, if necessary, a suggestedalternative route to avoid queues.


Applications by NRA

Current Projects1. M50: SCATS2. Automatic Incident Detection (utilising CCTV

+SCATS)3. STREETWISE: Seamless TRavel Environment for

Efficient Transport in the Western ISles of Europe. (Journey Time Estimation, Freight/Fleet Management Study, Traffic Data Exchange)

4. INSTANT: Information and Management System for Multimodal Transport in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (ITS for Dublin-Belfast route)


Conclusion on ITS development

•The growing and strategic importance of ITS as a change agent is not yet widely understood in the transport sector in Ireland.

•Construction will be important role in improving the transport infrastructure currently, but in future the focus on transport investment may move from infrastructure provision to smart or ‘intelligent’ management measures.

•However ITS is not the solution to all transport problems and it is important to have infrastructure development to achieve required results in certain circumstances.

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