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Within the framework of the H2020 project NEWBITS (New Business Models for ITS), a benchmark analysis of ITS innovation diffusion processes between Europe and the United States was performed, to ground an evidence-based categorisation of success determinants and barriers affecting ITS deployment as well as to formulate key recommendations for successful technology transferability.
The analysis was informed by an extensive review of project-based case studies and local deployment initiatives undertaken across Europe and in the United States, specifically addressing the following innovation areas:
‘¢ Sharing Mobility,
‘¢ Mobility-as-a-Service, and
‘¢ Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
Sharing mobility
The emergence of attitudes towards sharing a product or consuming a service in replacement of ownership and purchases has both a social and economic dimension, since it provides users with increased convenience and improved access to certain products and services. Within the mobility sector, sharing forms of mobility have the direct beneficial effects of reducing car ownership and usage, therefore contributing to reduce traffic congestion within cities; the use of these types of mobility services are being pushed by the belief that cars are an underused and under-optimised asset, by the large city space required to accommodate parking demands and the low levels of vehicle occupancy realised during commuting trips.
Mobility as a Service
According to Kamargiann et al. (2015), a natural progress of multi-modal travel planning applications is represented by MaaS, which can be defined as: “The term “Mobility as a Service’ stands for buying mobility services based on consumers’ needs instead of buying the means of transport. Via “Mobility as a Service’ systems consumers can buy mobility services that are provided by the same or different operators by using just one platform and a single payment. The platform provides an intermodal journey planner (providing combinations of different transport modes: car’sharing, car rental, underground, rail, bus, bike-sharing, taxi), a booking system, a single payment method (single payment for all transport modes), and real-time information. MaaS users can use the Service either as Pay-As’You’Go or they can purchase mobility packages based on their or their family’ s needs’.
The MaaS ecosystem is made up of many actors, i.e. customers, mobility management players, telecommunication companies, payment processors, public and private transport providers, MaaS provider, data providers and local authorities with responsibilities in city planning and transport planning, who strive together for a holistic, integrated mobility ecosystem.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV’ s) incorporate a range of increasing connectivity technologies allowing vehicles to communicate with each other and the surrounding environment and provide valuable information about road, traffic and weather conditions.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has come up with a taxonomy and classification system for autonomous vehicles, with levels 0 ‘“ 5, with 0 and 5 being ‘˜no automation’ and ‘˜full automation’ respectively; the four key stages of technology on the autonomy roadmap are often referred to as feet off (SAE level 1), hands off (SAE level 2), eyes off (SAE level 3), brain off (SAE levels 4 and 5).
To find out about the existing barriers of the above innovation areas and the recommended actions to overcome them, you can read the whole NEWBITS 6th Press Release here.