Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Market - Transporting The World Towards The Future

An ‘Intelligent Transportation System’ improves the performance of a transportation network, enables multimodal transport, optimizes fuel consumption and helps reducing risk of road accidents. It achieves this by integrating the transportation network with ICT (Information and Communications Technology). The system can also be extended for rail, water and air transport and navigation systems. Real-time data is collected through sensors, video surveillance devices, navigation systems and vehicle probes and it is further analyzed and communicated to the user via internet, dynamic sign boards, mobile telephony, etc. These systems are used for boosting the overall safety as well as increasing the efficiency of the operation of public transit systems. Application areas of Intelligent Transportation System include traffic management, parking management, automotive telematics, road user charging, road safety and security, freight management (commercial) and environment protection.

The promising growth of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) market comes down to the following factors:

• The usage of ITS in reduction of road accidents is a major driving force for the market.

• Demand for vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication which help in enhancing road safety is expected to gain momentum over the next few years. These systems help to reduce carbon dioxide concentration and greenhouse gases in densely populated areas through traffic management and consequently help in reducing exhaust emissions.

• Excessive fuel consumption is avoided by reducing traffic congestion which is one of the key focus areas of this system. Reduction of exhaust emission and efficient utilization of fuel are the two main factors which contribute to the growth of the market.

• The financial burden on regulatory authorities is also reduced since the investment required in enforcing traffic congestion control decreases.

• Another major growth factor is the rapid IoT adoption aimed at changing the transportation sector by automating the major modes of transportation systems and providing better user experience.

We can take the example of Glasgow, where Intelligent Transportation Systems send timely information to daily commuters with regards to public buses, their timings and seat availability, current location of the bus, the next proposed destination, as well as the total number of commuters onboard the vehicle. The buses have sensors so that they reach the stops at the expected time, neither early nor late. The most vital component of the system is the Traffic Management Centre (TMC). The data collected is analyzed here for management and operation of real-time traffic, or knowledge regarding the local transportation vehicle.

One of the restraints to the market in the near future possibly could be interoperability issues in between the user and the road or control unit. Additionally, effective communication can be achieved only by establishing a standardized and a unified technology, which is a tedious task. Also, in the case of developing and emerging economies, there is presence of vulnerable road users (VRUs), consisting of pedestrians, handcarts, animal transports and such others, which necessitates ITS technologies to respond effectively to this traffic mix.

North America is expected to dominate the market over the forecast period. ITS is also expected to be implemented in many countries of the Asia Pacific region which is expected to result in it being a fast-growing market. Regulatory initiatives and R&D activities in countries such as Japan and India are also estimated to impact the industry positively.

Major industry participants include:

• Lanner Electronics Inc

• Q-Free ASA

• TransCore Inc

• EFKON AG

• Kapsch TrafficCom AG

• Iteris Inc.

• Thales, &

• Denso, among others.

Several important developments have taken place in this market in the past few years. Some of them are:

• In September 2019, Iteris, Inc. received a USD 1 Million contract from Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) to update their ‘Statewide Intelligent Transportation System Architecture’ as well as 7 ‘Regional Intelligent Transportation System Architectures’ in order for them to adhere to the National ITS Architecture’s latest version, as well as to stay consistent to the envisioned plans for the future system as well as advanced technology solutions. This development demonstrates Iteris’ continued role to agencies across the country, as well as their growing importance in the Florida market.

• In August 2019, NEC Corporation, headquartered in Japan, announced that it had received an order from the Modern Bus Company, situated in Makkah, Saudi Arabia to implement ITS in order to improve the city’s bus traffic performance, with a scheduled launch in 2020. With the number of pilgrims visiting Makkah on a constant rise, and the number of pilgrims expected to go over 4 million in the coming 15 years, NEC will work with the Modern Bus Company for managing the operations of around 2000 buses in the next 5 years.

• In August 2019, Q-Free ASA, headquarted in Trondheim, Norway, unveiled the ‘Intelight Device Manager’ at the IMSA Forum & Expo held in New Orleans. The product is free for current and future operators of their ‘Intelight MAXTIME’ local controller software, and allows bulk firmware updates to be scheduled remotely, without the involvement of on-site traffic technicians or putting the intersection in flash, which puts both motorists and technicians in potential danger.

• In April 2019, Kapsch TrafficCom, headquartered in Vienna, Austria and partner EVOCON secured a contract to provide the urban mobility management solution EcoTrafixTM for the city of Santo Domingo In Dominican Republic. The project involves a 17-month period for infrastructure implementation, along with technical operation for 4 years. Local authority ‘Instituto Nacional de Tránsito y Transporte Terrestre’ (INTRANT) awarded the contract, whose value is roughly EUR 18 million.

  In-depth report on global intelligent transportation system (ITS) market by Grand View Research:

https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/intelligent-transportation-systems-industry