Analyst: $13.1 billion for smart transport

   A study by Pike Research, a market research and consulting firm, found that intelligent transportation systems (ITS) will continue to see increased investment worldwide despite tightening purse strings.
   Pike estimates global investments in smart transport technology will reach $13.1 billion from 2011 through 2017.
   ITS, also called smart transportation systems, includes electric vehicles, vehicles with advanced telematics systems, new and related government agencies, and management and taxation systems centered around these vehicles and supporting infrastructure. As this funding increases, ITS expands to cover commercial fleet vehicles and is currently being looked at for shipments in places like Taiwan.
   ITS provides embedded intelligence in vehicles and infrastructure, allowing them to communicate with each other and related assets. Cities, transit operators, fleet managers, and other owners of transportation assets see smart transportation technologies as tools to help them enhance mobility, reduce fuel consumption and emissions, improve safety, and strengthen economic competitiveness, Pike said.
   Domestic carriers in Taiwan and elsewhere expect government-driven ITS requirements during the next few years, opening the door for transportation management and asset tracking services to develop related technologies. If a single platform catches on, an industry supported solution could easily find its way to other countries as soon as they start taking ITS into consideration for national infrastructure projects.
   “Most of this investment will be in intelligent traffic management systems, as this is the sector with the broadest range of potential applications,” said Pike’s senior analyst Lisa Jerram. “It is also the sector that is applicable for all cities, and cities in the developed world are starting to deploy technology for traffic management, monitoring, and demand management. Cities in emerging markets will incorporate ITS as they build out their transportation infrastructure.”
   Pike said political leadership is required for the creation of comprehensive, multimodal transportation management systems, and more sophisticated forms of ITS such as vehicle-to-vehicle safety technology, and these will begin being deployed toward the end of its forecast range. — Geoff Whiting