An institutional deployment framework for intelligent transportation systems

Increasing traffic congestion around the world is limiting urban mobility and contributing to unsustainable environmental, economic, and social conditions. The concept of intelligent transportation systems (ITS), which is defined as the application of computing and electronics technologies to transportation, offers potential for alleviating the negative effects of traffic congestion. These negative effects include impacts on road efficiency, the environment, safety, and cost. Institutional obstacles, however, limit ITS deployment. This thesis presents a portfolio of ITS technologies that are relevant in combating congestion. Technologies studied include Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS), Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS), Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS), Advanced Vehicle Control Systems (AVCS), and many others. Each technology is analyzed on the basis of benefits and costs, real world examples, barriers to implementation, and social implications. From this portfolio, an institutional deployment framework for ITS is developed based on the barriers to implementation shared by many of these technologies. This framework addresses political, economic, organizational, financial, legal, and information issues. After developing this framework, it is applied to ITS institutions in the cities of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Three conclusions can be drawn from this comparison. First, ITS can make significant impacts on congestion, efficiency, safety, and the environment. At the same time, one must consider the social implications and costs of deployment. Second, deploying ITS in urban areas is a complex challenge, requiring the consideration of a wide range of factors. Finally, implementation of ITS must be specific to a particular region; the imitation of other cities without localized planning may result in unsuccessful deployments.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2003

Author dc:creator

• Lin, Sandi Shih, 1981-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Fred Moavenzadeh.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8036

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/8036