As the Internet of Things (IoT) is evolving, one of its rapidly developing components is the transformation of standard Vehicle Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs) into the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). Due to the exceptional progress in computation and communication technologies, the IoV has attracted the attention of researchers and commercial companies. Nevertheless, the primary issue regarding the IoV, and in particular to Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), is establishing secure and instant payments and communications. To respond to this challenge, this work proposes a Blockchain-based solution for establishing secure payment and communication (PSEV) in order to study the use of Blockchain as middle-ware between different participants of intelligent transportation systems. The proposed framework employs Ethereum to develop a solution aimed at facilitating Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications and parking payments. Moreover, the solution includes Android auto and application modules for automating the communication process. It was experimentally tested to assess its computational costs, communication expenses and the real-time aspect (RTA). The results of computational tests revealed that the developed solution is faster and more scalable than the existing solutions.

The concept of smart cities has become prominent in modern metropolises due to the emergence of embedded and connected smart devices, systems, and technologies. They have enabled the connection of every “thing” to the Internet. Therefore, in the upcoming era of the Internet of Things, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) will play a crucial role in newly developed smart cities. The IoV has the potential to solve various traffic and road safety problems effectively in order to prevent fatal crashes. However, a particular challenge in the IoV, especially in Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications, is to ensure fast, secure transmission and accurate recording of the data. In order to overcome these challenges, this work is adapting Blockchain technology for real time application (RTA) to solve Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications problems. Therefore, the main novelty of this paper is to develop a Blockchain-based IoT system in order to establish secure communication and create an entirely decentralized cloud computing platform. Moreover, the authors qualitatively tested the performance and resilience of the proposed system against common security attacks. Computational tests showed that the proposed solution solved the main challenges of Vehicle-to-X (V2X) communications such as security, centralization, and lack of privacy. In addition, it guaranteed an easy data exchange between different actors of intelligent transportation systems.

Ever since the beginning of 2020, the mobility of people and goods all over the world has been extremely limited as a result of movement restrictions imposed by local authorities as part of several other efforts to stop the wide spread of COVID–19 pandemic. The Supreme Committee for Crisis Management in the State of Qatar adopted the policy of incremental preventive measures that were adjusted based on the pandemic status. These actions involved several restrictions, aiming a balance between reducing the pandemic spread and the typical daily activities disturbance. This paper assesses the impact of pandemic response measures on traffic mobility by quantifying the holistic impact of the incremental measures at different stages on traffic volumes and traffic safety. Daily traffic counts from 24 intersections were collected every 15-min for several days, representing the traffic before and after implementing each preventive measure. Besides, a screenline was used to represent the traffic entering and leaving the Central Business District (CBD) in the City of Doha. The results show that the daily traffic demand distribution over the course of day was not affected by those preventive measures. However, an overall demand reduction of 30% in baseline traffic was observed for all studied intersections and the screenline when all preventive measures were active. Moreover, the analysis of traffic violations and the total crashes indicated a drop of 73% and 37% respectively. The results from this assessment will assist decision and policy makers, and planners to prioritize traffic management actions for future needs. Further, the findings can also be utilized for mega–event traffic management in the post-COVID era, such as FIFA World Cup 2022 and 2030 Asian Games.