Prerequisites for Further Deploying ITS Systems: The Case of Greece

The deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) is a strategic decision for the European Union (EU). Through the integration of ITS in their transportation national strategy, the EU Member States can move decisively towards the achievement of the targets that have been set for a cleaner, safer and more efficient transport system. Moreover, the adoption of systems and services, that have been developed in other countries, and their induction in the national ITS frameworks can facilitate the interoperable and coordinated deployment of ITS and ensure the effort for the targets’ achievement. This paper examines the possibilities of transferring in Greece the knowledge gained by three systems which have been developed in other three South East Europe (SEE) countries and defines guidelines for their future deployment in Greece

Current status and future prospects of Intelligent Transport Systems deployment in South East Europe

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is a powerful vehicle, not only for gaining traffic and transport benefits, as for example less congestion and shorter travel times, but also for economic growth. The European Union (EU) has already published a Directive (2010/40/EU) in order to regulate the coordinated and coherent deployment of ITS in all member states. However the deployment in different EU member states has yet to be integrated. According to the European Commission, South East Europe (SEE) is an area, where ITS deployment is very “fragmented and uncoordinated and cannot provide geographical continuity of ITS services throughout the region”. This paper provides information on the current status of ITS deployment and implementation in SEE Area through the status of nine SEE countries. The results demonstrate the assets and drawbacks for further deployment in these countries and the level of harmonization of their national laws to the European Directive, a prerequisite that could alleviate the fragmentation of the ITS provisioning along different regions within the nations but also at cross-border areas. Afterwards, the methodology for creating national roadmaps on ITS deployment is presented as well as the final roadmaps for each of the nine countries. The findings of these roadmaps are crucial for future ITS deployment in SEE considering that the level of maturity of ITS deployment in each country has been taken into account

Current status and future prospects of Intelligent Transport Systems deployment in South East Europe

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is a powerful vehicle, not only for gaining traffic and transport benefits, as for example less congestion and shorter travel times, but also for economic growth. The European Union (EU) has already published a Directive (2010/40/EU) in order to regulate the coordinated and coherent deployment of ITS in all member states. However the deployment in different EU member states has yet to be integrated. According to the European Commission, South East Europe (SEE) is an area, where ITS deployment is very “fragmented and uncoordinated and cannot provide geographical continuity of ITS services throughout the region”. This paper provides information on the current status of ITS deployment and implementation in SEE Area through the status of nine SEE countries. The results demonstrate the assets and drawbacks for further deployment in these countries and the level of harmonization of their national laws to the European Directive, a prerequisite that could alleviate the fragmentation of the ITS provisioning along different regions within the nations but also at cross-border areas. Afterwards, the methodology for creating national roadmaps on ITS deployment is presented as well as the final roadmaps for each of the nine countries. The findings of these roadmaps are crucial for future ITS deployment in SEE considering that the level of maturity of ITS deployment in each country has been taken into account

Requirements for interoperable Intelligent Transport Systems in South East Europe

Transport integration in South East Europe (SEE) is a fundamental pre-requisite for regional cohesion and development. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) applications can play an important role in transport infrastructure management and traveler information provision throughout the SEE area. This paper presents the results of study focused on the identification and description of the requirements for interoperable ITS for integrated traffic management and ITS deployment. The key outcome of the study is the identification of the requirements for interoperable ITS along regional, national an urban transport networks

Requirements for interoperable Intelligent Transport Systems in South East Europe

Transport integration in South East Europe (SEE) is a fundamental pre-requisite for regional cohesion and development. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) applications can play an important role in transport infrastructure management and traveler information provision throughout the SEE area. This paper presents the results of study focused on the identification and description of the requirements for interoperable ITS for integrated traffic management and ITS deployment. The key outcome of the study is the identification of the requirements for interoperable ITS along regional, national an urban transport networks

The sensor location problem: methodological approach and application

The sensor location problem is of particular importance when planning the allocation of limited field equipment intended to be used for advanced traffic management systems and traveller information services. The locations within a network that satisfy specific goals need to be carefully selected, based on predefined goals related to the effective collection of data and the subsequent estimation of traffic related information. The detection of traffic volumes is mainly associated with two purposes, the travel time and the Origin–Destination (O–D) trip matrix estimation. In this context, this paper presents a quadratic programing model, able to determine the optimal location of tracking sensors. The model is implemented in the urban road network of the city of Thessaloniki (Greece) in which specific number of sensors is installed and utilized for real-time travel time information provision. The proposed methodology models the sensor location problem under the general framework of a set covering problem, which is one of the most popular optimization problems and has been applied in many industrial problems. The results of the case study in Thessaloniki reveal that the proposed model defines the optimal location of the limited number of sensors in such a way that the network, which is created having all sensors as origin or destination of all possible paths, represents to great extent (87% of the traffic flow along the major paths) the traffic volumes of the whole road network of the city. First published online: 11 Jan 201

Intelligent transport systems deployment in Thessaloniki: Assessment of costs and benefits

Transportation projects often require large initial investments and are expected to generate benefits extending far into the future. Thus, there is a need to compare benefits and costs that occur at different periods over time. Since money has a time value, the same amount of money at different time periods does not have the same value. Therefore, it is important to convert costs and benefits into equivalent values when conducting a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA). A special category of transportation projects is that of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). ITS comprise innovative solutions for travel demand and traffic management, and it is expected to play a key role in future sustainable urban development plans. Compared to other transportation projects, ITS have a lower initial investment. In this paper a framework based on a CBA is presented, assessing costs and benefits of three ITS projects implemented in Thessaloniki, Greece. The paper refers to future developments of ITS in the city of Thessaloniki. The examined systems have already been developed as demonstration systems in various regions throughout Europe. The benefits of the systems have been transferred and scaled up, so as to be in line with the specific characteristics of the Greek environment