Newcastle University

Intelligent Transport and e-Services

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This course introduces delegates to Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) international research, and how this technology may be used globally. The policy drivers and business cases for the implementation of ITS are discussed as are the likely future developments of the technologies and systems and the likely impacts this may have on how we operate transport systems in the future. Key areas and case studies considered include charging and payment systems, traffic management systems, safety systems, electro-mobility and the provision of innovative pre- and on-trip information.

The course will provide:

• timely information on many of the key state of the art ITS and e-services being adopted by the transport industry
• an understanding of the philosophy of why technology has been developed to support the management and control of the transport sector and how the systems and services have an influence on transport policy development
• an understanding of the basic techniques used in the delivery of ITS systems and services including the main communications and information backbones developed for the UK
• an understanding of the processes in the development of a business case for investment in ITS from different viewpoints and the subsequent cost benefit and economic appraisal of proposed projects from both the private and public sector perspectives as well as the end users' willingness to pay for many of the optional services
• an understanding of the building blocks of ITS systems and services and, through examples, critically examine a range of ITS deployments and the policies they are designed to support.

Learning outcomes

The course will help delegates to:

• achieve an understanding of why ITS and e-services have developed in the way they have within transport and the potential benefits of their use
• foster familiarity with the main systems, services and techniques that practitioners and local authorities may be tasked with implementing and running over the next decade or so
• have an appreciation of the policy drivers, financial/investment issues and the social and economic impacts of introducing new technologies and service delivery channels in the transport sector
• understand the role ITS can play and its limitations in the current economic environment of low-spending on transport infrastructure and the effects austerity may have on travel and the investment in technology to better manage travel demand and all its disbenefits (congestion, pollution, climate change and energy use).

Upon completion of the course, delegates will:

• understand the applications and services that could be delivered and the underlying technologies utilised by these
• understand the effects of implementing such applications and demonstrate the application of techniques
• understand and be able to apply new and emerging ITS systems and services to a range of transport problems and situations with an appreciation of the benefits that such deployments could derive
• be able to critically assess ITS and e-Services from cost-benefit and generalised economic analysis.

Course Outline

• Introduction to ITS research programmes from across the world
• Main ITS technologies in communications and computing
• Putting ITS in the political content of European white papers and the UK Integrated Transport White paper and subsequent 10 year plan for transport
• Charging and Payment Systems (congestion charging, tolling, smartcards and e-commerce)
• Traffic Management Systems (UTMC, NCMS, TCS, data collection and dissemination)
• Provision of Information (in-vehicle, roadside VMS, mobile platform delivery, digital TV and the internet, e-kiosks and public assessable information points)
• Safety systems that deploy ITS in different ways
• e-Mobility - the use of ITS to support electric vehicles and their associated re-charging infrastrucure
• Standards and need for interoperability
• A sample of key application areas (freight and fleet management, safety systems, public transport, design for all/accessibility and citizen centric traveller-support applications)
• Understanding how to develop a business case and financial plan for ITS and e-services investment

It should be noted that the range of examples, applications and services may change from year to year to reflect the political realities of ITS deployment and the topicality.

Presenters

School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

• Prof Phil Blythe (Course Leader)

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