An Overview of Intelligent Transportation Systems & Its Potentioal Applications in Jordan

SUBMISSION ID TP.45: AN OVERVIEW OF INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS & ITS POTENTIOAL APPLICATIONS IN JORDAN

Nada Aljaafreh1, Hanan Shorbaji2, and Nadeen Zatari3

1Affiliation University of Jordan Email address [email protected] 2 Affiliation University of Jordan Email address [email protected] 3 Affiliation Queens University Belfast Email address [email protected]

ABSTRACT Traffic congestion has been increasing worldwide as a result of increased motorization, urbanization, population growth & changes in population density. Congestion reduces efficiency of transportation infrastructure & increases travel time, air pollution and fuel consumption thereby hampering the countries, especially developing countries, to progress with already weakened economies. Therefore, the need of ITS (intelligent transportation system) comes from the problems caused by traffic congestion. Application of modern technologies like ITS in developing countries has to face a host of uncertainties owing to lack of knowledge about technological development, functionality, the acceptance of the envisaged systems and the impacts of these systems. The aim of this article is, therefore, to provide an insight leading to a better understanding of ITS; its evolution, applications, and technologies. The advantage of applying the experiences gained by the developed countries in ITS can help save a lot of money and efforts required for experimentation for these developing countries. Therefore, this article reviews and discusses the various aspects of ITS technologies. The reviewed technologies are in purview of their possible implementation in Jordan. The currently applied ITS technologies in Amman, the capital of Jordan, are presented and the possible implementation of the most acceptable technologies in Jordan is investigated using a questionnaire designed for this purpose.

1. introduction

Like many other parts of business and government around the world, the construction and operation of transportation systems is being transformed by computers, sensors, and communications technology – collectively called information technology (IT). The application of IT to surface transportation is called “Intelligent Transport Systems” (ITS). IT can be very helpful in conceiving, planning, and building new parts of the transport system. This use of IT is not specifically ITS, but it is very helpful in laying the groundwork for introducing ITS. Traffic congestion has been increasing worldwide as a result of increased motorization, urbanization, population growth, and changes in population density. Congestion reduces efficiency of transportation infrastructure and increases travel time, air pollution, and fuel consumption. Interest in ITS comes from the problems caused by traffic congestion and a synergy of new information technology for simulation, real-time control, and communications networks ITS has many capabilities. It provides the followings: The ability to gather, organize, analyze, use, and share information about transportation systems. In the modern world, this ability is crucial) to the effective and economical construction and operation of transportation systems and to their efficient use. Vital support in operating transportation systems, including traffic management, pavement monitoring, oversight of system maintenance, and more effectively and reliably managing public transport A wide array of in-vehicle technology is to improve the safety, productivity, and comfort of road travel. In addition, a new direction for ITS in developed countries is worth watching. This is a new focus on using wireless communications to help vehicles and the infrastructure cooperate with each other to enhance safety and the ability to manage the infrastructure well. [1] In addition, ITS also can store and evaluate archived data about the transportation system that is useful to planners who are evaluating transportation system improvements or to others evaluating safety aspects of the roadway. ITS is being incorporated by manufacturers in “intelligent equipment” that can be installed as part of the transportation infrastructure to gather and disseminate traveller information,

control traffic signals and variable message signs, electronically collect tolls, and help manage the system 2. Intelligent transportation systems technologies: There are various ITS technologies available. The following sections shed some light on the most common ones, provide an overview and briefly describe these technologies.

2.1. Floating Car Data/Floating Cellular Data The practicability of this method lies in its low cost, more coverage of streets, easy installation and maintenance and doesn't get affected by different weather conditions. Raw data is obtained by three methods, first is Triangulation Method which rely on travellers' mobile phones that transmit their location information to the mobile phone network to provide traffic flow info. Second is Vehicle Re-Identification in which a unique serial number for a device in the vehicle is detected at different locations along the road giving information about travel times and speeds. The third one is GPS based methods this uses the in-vehicle GPS system to track vehicles and compute their speeds.

2.2. Variable Message Signs An electronic traffic sign installed on roadways to provide specific information travellers need to warn them about congestion, accidents , roadwork zones and speed limits on the [2] roadway.

2.3. V2X Technology Vehicles are able to communicate with each other or with traffic signals using various communication technologies among them are Wireless Communications such as radio waves which can cover short or far distances. Bluetooth Detection where road Bluetooth sensors can detect Bluetooth from passing vehicles to provide necessary travel data, advantages of using Bluetooth are [3] low cost, no maintenance needed, and easy configuration. .

Fig 1: V2X Technology Source: Ref [4]

2.4. Inductive Loop Detection Inductive loops can be placed in a roadbed to detect vehicles as they pass through the loop's magnetic field. Loops can be placed in a single lane or across multiple lanes, and they work with very slow or stopped vehicles as well as vehicles moving at high- [5] speed. . 2.5. Toll roads A toll road is a designated public or private roadway where a fee is required for transiting, toll roads are intended to help regain the cost of construction and maintenance of roads and also to reduce congestion by diverting traffic from a certain road. The idea of toll roads has always been used even when there weren't even any automatic vehicle when people used to take money from walking or on carriage passengers. Fees of toll roads are collected using toll stations toll booths or gates..etc., a more advanced and lower cost manner of collecting fees is by using electronic toll collection equipment which is called (E-ZPASS).

Fig 2: E-ZPass transponder Source: Ref [4]

2.6. Emergency Vehicle Notification System In this method a signal is emitted from the emergency vehicle which is received by detectors in vehicles along the road. Other type of warning can be done by what is called an e-Call which is an emergency call generated either manually or automatically when activating in-vehicle sensors to communicate data related to accident time, location and the direction of the emergency vehicle.

2.7. Automatic Road Enforcement By allocating various modes of vehicle monitoring like speed cameras, red light cameras, bus lane cameras or level crossing cameras..etc., to automatically ticket offenders based on their [6] license plate number.

2.8. Variable Speed Limits This method can ease the flow of traffic simply by changing [7] speed limits according to the condition of congestion.

Fig 3: Variable message sign in Europe Source: Ref [4]

2.9. Collision Avoidance System An automobile safety system or collision mitigating system that uses radar and sometimes laser and camera sensors to detect an imminent crash and then this system provides a warning to the driver when there is an imminent collision or take action autonomously without any driver input (by braking or steering or both)

2.10. Dynamic Traffic Light Sequence The RFID (Radio-frequency identification) uses radio- frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data. The proposed RFID traffic control avoids problems that usually arise with standard traffic control systems. This RFID technique deals with a multi-vehicle, multilane, multi road junction area. It provides an efficient time management scheme, in which a dynamic time

schedule is worked out in real time for the passage of each traffic column. The real time operation of the system emulates the judgment of a traffic policeman on duty. The number of vehicles in each column and the routing are proprieties, upon which the calculations and the judgments are based. 3. Challenges facing the transportation system in Amman The main focus of transportation system in Amman was mostly on infrastructure, like roads, bridges and tunnels, rather than public transportation. This resulted in underdeveloped and unreliable public transportation which also led to more car ownership that continues to increase at an alarming 20% per year. Currently, the public transportation system is fragmented and lacks high-order public transportation services, such as bus rapid transit. Another main obstacle that faces the system is the rapid growing in population which will lead to more demand for transportation. This, in turn, will require careful planning to develop a comprehensive and sustainable transportation strategy for Amman that would provide its citizens with the mobility and accessibility they will need in the years to come. To that end, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has commissioned the Transport and Mobility Master Plan (TMMP). The TMMP will develop detailed strategies that are centred on improving mobility and sustainability in the city. Moving from a car-dependent system with a weak public transport network that relies mostly on small vehicles towards an integrated, multimodal transportation system that includes a rapid transit backbone will establish the necessary framework and conditions for significantly reducing the environmental impacts of transportation and allowing for a more sustainable growth of the city.

Fig 4 Congestion caused by improper parking

4. Current Applications 4.1. Traffic Adaptive UTC using SCATS method Unlike fixed time system that is unable to cope with unpredictable traffic conditions SCATS employs detection inductive loops to provide real-time traffic data and uses logic and algorithms to analyze this data to produce signal timings that are suitable for the prevailing traffic conditions. Inductive loops are important to provide Flow, Occupancy and Speed parameters. It should however be noted that the SCATS loop sites are at junction stop lines and not placed in free-flow [8] traffic positions.

4.2. Radar Speed Measuring And Camera Systems Traffic Police uses some radar speed measuring and camera systems to aid traffic rules enforcement, first Fixed Radar/Speed Camera sites that Operate by emitting a radio signal at a set frequency which is then reflected by the target vehicle. The reflected signal's frequency is shifted in direct proportion to the vehicles speed and this shift is used by the Radar equipment to calculate the vehicles exact speed. Then there is Mobile Speed Cameras in police cars that work like fixed cameras but are [9] moving in vehicles from one location to another. We also have Fixed Red-light violation cameras which may be mounted beside or over a road to detect traffic regulation violations, including speeding, vehicles going through a red traffic light, unauthorized use of a bus lane..Etc. It may be linked to an automated ticketing system. A Before & After study was conducted by GAM ten months after the installation of the red light cameras concluded that red light running violations decreased by 71% after the installation of the cameras. And the last one is Traffic Surveillance CCTV which is used widely in Urban Traffic Control Centres in UK and all around the world to provide the ability to view video images from surrounding highway network which aids in an efficient disaster planning as in the case of an incident closing a highway and causing traffic to divert through

the city centre Traffic operation teams in Amman Municipality has connected 18 new traffic locations using CCTV by this the total amount of

surveillance sites has risen to 56 in different municipality sites. [10]

Fig 5: Radar camera Source: Ref [11]

4.3. Shuttle Bus Downtown of Amman is now witnessing a new service called "Al-Makkoky Bus/Shuttle Bus" adopted by GAM with the collaboration of Comprehensive Multiple Transport -Plc company , this service is released under the motto " tour the downtown with a quarter ". This new service is going to link the bus stops with the commercial centres along with the nearby touring places, which in turn is expected to play a huge role in encouragement and [12] revival of the tourism and commercial activities in the area.

5. Social Survey Questionnaire Now that the ITS subject has become very evident, it is necessary, however; to evaluate the travel behaviour of road users, their understanding of the congestion phenomenon and their attitudes towards selected ITS strategies. A questionnaire was designed for this purpose which included questions related to the opinion of road user toward the current condition of transportation system and the attitude of the sample to the selected ITS strategies. The selection of the strategies was based on the anticipation that they are the most acceptable and effective to road user. The acceptability was judged on the basis of effectiveness of the

8 strategy and its favourability for application as perceived by road users. The Questionnaire was distributed to a limited random sample of 100, 53 males and 47 females. The feedback about the current transportation system is as follows: - About 31% of the sample considered it to be good rather than very good or excellent. -80% thought it is not keeping up with the advanced technology. -Results about the quality of traffic signs were inconsistent but showed a high percentage of people that are satisfied with the existing ones. Based on the same study the following conclusions are obtained: -The highest percentage (38% of the sample) encouraged the use of toll roads in Amman. -Blurry results are obtained about the BRT due to lack of information people have about this technology and among those who are familiar with it they didn’t quite encourage it due to lack of confidence in the commitment of the responsible authorities. Various solutions were suggested to mitigate the congestion problem. The results of the attitudinal survey showed that the following solutions received most of people's acceptance:  Putting strict traffic violations for illegal parking  Obligating truck drivers to use the roads at a specific period at night  Providing public transportation parking

Fig 6 GAM potential strategies and recommendations

6. Acknowledgements We would like to express our deep appreciation to our supervisor, Professor Khair Jadaan. For his generosity in sharing his knowledge and experience. And His understanding and encouragement throughout our studying journey. Appreciation goes to Greater Amman Municipality especially Directorate of Transportation and Traffic for their help in providing necessary data for the study. References [1] Yokota,T.,“ITS for Developing Countries”, World Bank,2004. [2] AL-Deek,H., “Intelligent Transportation System”, ITS Workshop at the Fourth Jordan International Conference and Exhibition for Roads and Transport, Amman, Jordan, 2014. [3] http://www.globaldenso.com/en/newsreleases/120313- 01.html (accessed July 2014). [4] http://www.google.com (accessed July 2014). [5]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_transportation_system (accessed July 2014). [6] http://66its.com/en/pedia/677.html (accessed July 2014). [7] http://maximatelkomits.blogspot.com (accessed July 2014). [8] Central Traffic Department, Amman, Jordan. [9]http:// www.itsoverview.its.dot.gov (accessed November 2014). [10] Greater Amman Municipality, “Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Working Paper, 2010. [11] Zaier,S.M., Zaidi,A., “Evaluation of ITS Benefits, Cost, Deployment and Lessons Learned in USA and Application To A Developing Country, Pakistan”, M.Sc report, University of Central Florida, USA,2009. [12] http://www.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=208916R. J.