A method to assess and plan applications of ITS technology in Public Transport services with reference to some possible case studies

摘要

The paper deals with ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) for Public Transport (PT) services\udmanagement, as key component of the wider “smart mobility” concept.\udIt is mainly a methodological contribution and describes the risks and motivations for which\udthe introduction of ITS in PT could result (partially or completely) unsuccessful since some\udof the planned objectives are not achieved in terms of performance, cost savings and\uduser/citizen benefits. This can be caused by an overestimation of the role and positive impacts\udof technology of some component and by poor user requirements analysis carried out in\udfeasibility phase. In fact, functionalities of ITS should be defined according to the specific\udobjectives of PT Operators or Authorities and adapted to the specific operational scenarios\udand organization contexts in which the system must work. It is further shown that ITS are\udgenerally made up by some subsystems and the overall performance is the result of\udinteraction between them.\udThe paper firstly analyses the current technology scenario for urban mobility and transport,\udand underlines that the technology alone may be often insufficient to cope with transport\udservices requirements; secondly, highlights the key role of the feasibility study and user\udrequirements analysis for singling out the sub-systems making up the overall system and for\udthe design of technical, functional and operational specifications for any ITS application.\udFinally, some relevant possible case studies in order to show composition of some ITS\udapplications, encountered problems and how to cope them are described and discussed.