Rise of Intelligent Transportation Systems Industry

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) has evolved many aspects of transportation to create a safe and more efficient place to move around. We’ve seen bids and RFPs increase over the years, specifically with solicitations requesting, for example, Intelligent Transportation System Devices and Communications, coming out of Arizona, and Atlanta Traffic Control Center Intelligent Transportation Systems, published from Georgia.

This industry has been growing for some time now thanks to the demand for safer ways and more efficient transportation systems. This push allowed for other ways of communication during mass transit, as well as, more efficient ways of measuring capacity in a parking garage. ITS contains a variety of different devices and technology to make it work and transform a regular city into a smart one.

Partnerships

The need for ITS can lead to collaborations between transportation groups. In Florida, Lyft and a privately owned intercity passenger rail company, Brightline, have decided to partner with each other in order to reduce congestion and provide varied transportation options to commuters. These types of partnerships may become more common as the push for efficiency streamlines older processes and people try to find new solutions. The public and private sector will start looking at each other for answers to this need.

Parking Efficiency

Development of parking space sensors has shown to be a great way to inform drivers of the amount of vehicles in a parking facility; as well as to collect data to be used by the owners of the garage to improve how they deal with parking duration and the capacity of vehicles in the garage.

There are different methods for how they work, depending on what location you’re putting them in and for what purpose. Some companies install a sensor at the entrance of the parking garage so they can count how many cars are passing through; while others install them individually in each spot to provide a more accurate count. The sensors usually run from $300-$500 each, so they’re quite an investment to take on for a private company or city.

In the long run though, this technology provides data to people who can improve driving conditions and decrease the time from driving to parking. Parking space sensors can also provide a better way for government entities to more accurately account of the vehicles in the parking areas and garages, which they oversee. The sensors will benefit cities with numerous parking meter options as well.

In addition, this can be used by government agencies to notify customers and visitors that their time is almost up. The meter maids can have this data synced up from the Cloud and monitor a block of parking spaces with better efficiency. This data can also be to the benefit of the driver through apps that notify drivers on which parking spots are available in the area in which they are traveling.

Benefits of Data & the Cloud

The vast amount of data that can be collected from transportation interactions and uploaded to the Cloud can be used to improve existing infrastructure. Information regarding the hotspots in the area are will be easily accessible by urban planners and city developers alike. This can allow for smart city development through mixed use parking and decreased area of unused parking lots. This can improve the city’s overall traffic and make it adaptable to present traffic situations.

Autonomous cars also benefit from ITS by providing areas for ride-sharing throughout cities. This helps with congestion as well as air quality throughout the city. With these cars comes the implementation of charging stations stationed in areas around the city. These can be mixed use areas in order to share space and facilitate more activities and commerce in the area.

Looking towards the Future

Intelligent Transportation Systems are able to turn any city into a smart city for those allocating the time, commitment, and investment to guide the process in the right direction. Every opportunity we take to improve our transportation infrastructure benefits us now and in the future.

BidPrime will continue to be here monitoring the industry and identifying the business opportunities for those involved in the ITS industry.

For information on the relevant ITS bids/RFPs, and associated documents, call us at 888.808.5356 or visit BidPrime.