A comprehensive view of intelligent transport systems for urban smart mobility

Mangiaracina, Riccardo; Perego, Alessandro; Salvadori, Giulio; Tumino, Angela · 2016 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1080/13675567.2016.1241220

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Summary

This paper presents a comprehensive literature review examining the role of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in supporting urban smart mobility. Motivated by rapid urban population growth and the significant environmental impact of city transport, the authors aim to categorize existing research and identify gaps in the field. The study specifically addresses the fragmentation in current literature, where freight and people transport are often analyzed separately despite their strong interdependence in urban environments. The primary objectives are to classify research based on topics and methods and to propose future research directions. The methodology involved a systematic review of 71 peer-reviewed papers published between 2006 and 2015. The authors selected articles from major journals and conference proceedings using keywords related to smart mobility, ITS, and urban logistics. The selected papers were categorized by research method, type of transport (people vs. freight), and data analysis type (qualitative vs. quantitative). The review found that case studies (34%) and simulations (21%) were the most prevalent methods. While 58% of the papers provided quantitative evidence, there was a notable lack of integrated approaches considering both passenger and freight flows simultaneously. The findings reveal distinct patterns in how ITS is applied to different transport modes. For people transport, research focused primarily on traffic management (e.g., adaptive traffic lights), public transport optimization (e.g., bus priority systems), and parking management (e.g., real-time availability sensors). Specific results highlighted include the SURTRAC system in Pittsburgh, which improved traffic flow efficiency by 25–40% and reduced emissions by over 20%, and analytical models showing that ITS-enabled public transport could decrease user time by 57%. For freight transport, studies largely focused on city logistics and last-mile delivery, often extending analysis to the upstream supply chain. The literature on freight relied heavily on case studies and literature reviews, with less emphasis on simulation compared to people transport. The significance of this work lies in its identification of critical gaps in ITS research. The authors conclude that while technology-focused studies are abundant, there is a general lack of quantitative models assessing value creation and a scarcity of contributions that integrate both people and freight transport. The paper argues that approaching urban mobility fragmentarily is no longer appropriate, as freight and passenger vehicles compete for infrastructure and impact each other’s efficiency. Consequently, the authors call for future research to adopt integrated approaches and develop robust quantitative models to better evaluate the holistic benefits of ITS in urban smart mobility.

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