There is a continuous need to design and develop wireless technologies to meet the increasing demands for high-speed wireless data transfer to incorporate advanced intelligent transport systems. Different wireless technologies are continuously evolving including short-range and long-range (WiMAX, LTE, and 5G) cellular standards. These emerging technologies can considerably enhance the operational performance of communication between vehicles and road-side infrastructure. This paper analyzes the performance of cellular-based long-term evolution (LTE) and 5GTN (5G Test Network) in pilot field measurements (i.e., vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure) when delivering road weather and traffic information in real-time environments. Measurements were conducted on a test track operated and owned by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Finland. The results showed that 5GTN outperformed LTE when exchanging road weather and traffic data messages in V2V and V2I scenarios. This comparison was made by mainly considering bandwidth, throughput, packet loss, and latency. The safety critical messages were transmitted at a transmission frequency of 10 Hz. The performance of both compared technologies (i.e., LTE and 5GTN) fulfilled the minimum requirements of the ITS-Assisted Road weather and traffic platform to offer reliable communication for enhanced road traffic safety. The field measurement results also illustrate the advantage of cellular networks (LTE and 5GTN) with a clear potential to use it heterogeneously in future field tests with short-range protocols, e.g., IEEE 802.11p.

The objective of this study was to consider evaluation methods for intelligent transport system (ITS) investments, to point out some shortcomings of traditional methods (mainly benefit-cost analysis), to develop alternative methods, and to make recommendations for how the profitability of ITS investment should be evaluated. The results can be used when ITS investments are compared with each other and also when ITS investments are compared with road building investments. This work identifies the fundamental differences between ITS and road infrastructure investments and how they impact on the profitability evaluation. The conclusion is that traditional cost-benefit analysis (BCA), which was developed for investments in physical infrastructure, does not capture all the benefits or costs related to ITS. Economic evaluation methods for ITS investments need improving. This work illustrates how BCA could be used to take into consideration the option value of ITS investment and risks caused by, for example, different time horizons of investments. The work also discusses and demonstrates the use of multicriteria analysis in profitability evaluation. It illustrates how a method called analytical hierarchy process could be utilized to evaluate other risks that do not have specific monetary values and to compare the results of different profitability analyses. These evaluation methods can be used within the project assessment framework in the transport sector to highlight different aspects of the profitability and efficiency of transport investments. None of the methods themselves can reflect all aspects in decision making, but by using a suitable set of different methods depending on the decision situation and by comparing the results, a wider and more realistic picture of investments can be obtained.

Smart or intelligent mobility has been the founding concept to address new technologies needed to develop future transport systems. The development of intelligent mobility has traditionally been much driven by the automotive industry. Research in this domain has traditionally focused on providing safe, comfortable, and affordable mobility to drivers and passengers. As the awareness of the effects of emissions released to the environment by transportation has been increasingly acknowledged, transport systems have since then expected to be “intelligent” also in terms of sustainability. Furthermore, social issues, such as transport poverty and social exclusion, have emerged as key topics. By performing a bibliometric analysis of scientific literature, reviewing inter-governmental policy documents, and analyzing national (Finland) government programs, this paper shows how there has been a shift of thought at conceptual and semantic levels regarding what we perceive as smart mobility. The findings quite clearly suggest that the policy debate as well as research topics have taken the shift first from traffic safety toward technology orientation, and thereafter further toward a more holistic perception of sustainability. “Inclusiveness” appears to be the latest theme in the transport policy debate at the European Union level, although research on it is still marginal.