ANALYSIS OF POSSIBILITIES ANDPROPOSALS OF ITS (INTELLIGENT

TRANSPORT SYSTEMS) IMPLEMENTATIONIN MADURAI CITY.

YOGANANDHAN.UPost Graduate Student,

Department of Civil Engineering,Thiagarajar College of Engineering,

Madurai, TamilNadu, India.Email: uyoganandhan@gmail.com

SRIVIDYA.DAssistant Professor,

Department of Civil Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering,

Madurai, TamilNadu, IndiaEmail: dsciv@tce.edu

Abstract:

Madurai city is a historic andreligious landmark located in thesouth of TamilNadu, a southern statein India. This city is a businesshub which has a dedicated marketplace at the heart of the city,streets dedicated to variousbusinesses and consumer movement isquite significant. Such factors thatinfluence the traffic movement andoptions that are available for thebetterment of the present trafficscenario. The use of advancedtechnologies including informationand communication technologies (ICT)or telematics, data collection andstorage, navigation systems andothers fall under the aegis ofintelligent transport systems (ITS)will improve the existing roadnetworks. The main aim of using suchtechnologies in transport is toalleviate existing concernsincluding traffic congestion, airand noise pollution by enhancingdata collection for addressing the

transport-related concerns. ITScovers all modes of and considersall elements of the transportationsystem − the vehicle, theinfrastructure, and the driver oruser, interacting togetherdynamically. This attempt of studyshowing estimation of ITSimplementation in Madurai city, ITSvision, the conclusions of SWOTanalysis, possible technicalsolutions of ITS deployment inMadurai city.

Keywords: Traffic congestion, Madurai City, proposals and possibilities of ITS, traveller and traffic information, ITS subsystems,ITS planning. SWOT analysis.

I. INTRODUCTION:

Over the past two decades, Indiahas established itself as a leaderin information technology (IT).

India, the second most populouscountry in the world, and a fastgrowing economy, is seeing terribleroad congestion problems in itscities, including Madurai city.Building infrastructure, levyingproper taxes to curb private vehiclegrowth and improving publictransport facilities are long-termsolutions to this problem. However,the subsequent economic boom hasalso resulted in an exponentialincrease in motorization, urbantraffic congestion and deteriorationof air quality in the Indianmegacities. With a robust IT andtelecom infrastructure in place,India stands to gain from the use ofITS to alleviate many transportrelated urban issues. Use of suchtechnologies can be either at avehicular or infrastructural level.

Madurai hosts a population of15,45,4 29 persons approximately.The city in itself is a historicaland religious place which attracts agross 3lakh floating population onaverage. With this kind ofpopulation flow in and out of thedistrict, not to mention the flowswithin the city creates a trafficflow that is quite not handled wellby the public transport modesavailable. Madurai has its economyboosted by various small scalebusinesses such as flowers, fruitsand vegetables, jewelers and tourisminfrastructure such as hotels andresorts. Road transport is the mostefficient way of satisfying theneeds of these various businessesand causes.

Figure: 1 City map of Madurai city

1.1 Intelligent Transport Systems:

Intelligent Transport Systems andServices (ITS) refers to theintegration of information andcommunication technologies withtransport infrastructure to improveeconomic performance, safety,mobility and environmentalsustainability. Addressing trafficcongestion was one of the initialmotivations to look at intelligenttransport systems solutions for abetter utilization of transportcapacity through the exchange ofreal-time information oninfrastructure and trafficconditions. Since then, newtransport applications based oninformation and communicationstechnologies (ICT) have emerged andcontinue to emerge, ranging frombasic traffic management systems(e.g. navigation, traffic control)to management of containers; frommonitoring applications such asclosed-circuit television (CCTV)security systems to more advancedapplications integrating live dataand feedback from a variety ofinformation sources (e.g. parkingguidance, weather information).

II. APPLICATION OF ITS AND USES:

2.1 Advanced Traffic Management Systems(ATMS):

ATMS integrates various sub-systems(such as CCTV, vehicle detection,communications, variable messagedsystems, etc.) into a coherentsingle interface that provides realtime data on traffic status andpredicts traffic conditions for moreefficient planning and operation.Dynamic traffic control systems,freeway operations managementsystems, incident response systemsetc respond in real time to changingconditions.

2.2 Advanced Traveller Information systems(ATIS):

Provide to users oftransportation systems, Travel-related information to assistdecision making on route choices,estimate travel times and avoidcongestion. This can be enabled byproviding different informationusing various technologies such as:

o GPS enabled in-vehiclenavigation systems

o Dynamic road messaged signsfor real time communication ofinformation in trafficcongestion bottlenecks,accidents and alternate routeinformation.

o Website to provide a color-coded network map showingcongestion levels on highways

2.3 Advanced Vehicle Control Systems (AVCS): These are tools and concepts

that enhance the driver’s control ofthe vehicle to make travel safer andmore efficient. For example, invehicle collision warning systemsalert the driver to a possible

imminent collision. In more advancedAVCS applications, the vehicle couldautomatically break or steer awayfrom a collision, based on inputfrom sensors on the vehicle. Bothsystems are autonomous to thevehicle and can provide substantialbenefits by improving safety andreducing accident inducedcongestion. The installation of high techgadgets and processors in vehiclesallow incorporation of softwareapplications and artificialintelligence systems that controlinternal operations, ubiquitouscomputing, and other programsdesigned to be integrated into agreater transportation system.

2.4 Commercial vehicle Operation (CVO): It comprises an ensemble of

satellite navigation system, a smallcomputer and a digital radio, whichcan be used in commercial vehiclessuch as trucks, vans, and taxis.This system affords constantmonitoring of truck operations bythe control office and providestraceability and safety.

2.5 Advanced Public Transportation systems (APTS):

Here it applies state of arttransportation management andinformation technologies to publictransit systems to enhanceefficiency of operation and improvesafety. It includes real timepassenger information systems,automatic vehicle location systems,bus arrival notification systems andthe systems providing priority ofpassage to buses at signalizedintersection (Transit signalpriority)

2.6 Advanced Rural Transportation systems(ARTS):

It provided information aboutremote road and other transportationsystems. Examples include automatedroad and weather conditionsreporting and directionalinformation. This type ofinformation is valuable to motoriststravelling to remote or rural areas.This has been widely implemented inthe United States and will be avaluable asset to countries likeIndia, where rural areas are widelydistributed.

III. TECHNOLOGICAL COMPONENTS OF ITS:

o Various forms of wirelesscommunication for both short-range and long-range dataexchange (UHF, VHF, WiMAX,GSM, etc.);

o Computational technologies –the present trend is towardsfewer and more costly

o Microprocessors, allowing formore sophisticatedapplications such as model-based process control andartificial intelligence;

o Sensing technology – employingsensors to feed controlsystems with both vehicle-based data (from devices suchas radar, RFID readers,infrared- and visible-bandcameras) and infrastructure-based data (from similardevices, as well as inductiveor pressure sensors installedor embedded in and around theroad).

To meet the challenges of achievingvirtually accident-free, clean andefficient mobility through ITS, it

is crucial that all elements oftransport systems are able tocommunicate and cooperate inexchanging real-time information.Bi-directional communication isneeded from vehicle to vehicle (V2V)and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I).This requires the development of acommunication architecture thatprovides a common frame forcooperative systems to worktogether. Examples of applicationsbased on cooperative systems thatare currently under development are:traffic control and management,intersection collision warning,weather and road conditions warning,and route guidance to avoid trafficcongestion.

3.1 Data Acquisition: Rapid, exhaustive and accurate

data acquisition and communicationis critical for real time monitoringand strategic planning. A good dataacquisition-management-communicationsystem combines tested hardware andefficient software that can collectreliable data on which to basefurther ITS activities.

3.2 Sensing: To handle any road

application, the first thing that weneed is information from the road.Sensors on roads can provide suchinformation. There are severalexisting modes of sensing:

static sensing, where sensorsare statically placed on the road,mobile sensing, where sensors areplaced in the moving vehicles andhybrid sensing, where both in-vehicle and on-road infrastructureare needed. In this section, wediscuss the key technologies in eachcategory and outline some open

questions in the context of Indianroads.

3.3 Static sensing: techniques

(1) Loops and magnetic sensors - Vehicledetection and counting usingmagnetic sensors or loops under theroad surface, has been explored inresearch and deployed systems

(2) Images and videos - Videosurveillance to monitor trafficstates and detect incidents andhotspots is fairly common gives acomprehensive survey of the majorcomputer vision techniques used intraffic applications

(3) Acoustic sensors - Some recentresearch is being done to useacoustic sensors for traffic stateestimation, especially in developingregions, where traffic being chaoticis noisy

(4) RF sensors - Wireless radios placedacross the road have communicationsignals affected by vehicular movement in between.There are commercial products andresearch efforts using this fortraffic monitoring.

3.4 Mobile sensing techniques:

(1) GPS on public transport or fleet vehicles – Many public transport and

fleet companies have GPS installedin their vehicles for real timetracking. Several research projectshave tried to exploit these as asource of road information was oneof the early papers to analyze GPStraces from buses to classify roadsegments as free-flow and congestedusing threshold based

classification. The MobileMillennium Project at Berkeley usedGPS on a fleet of taxis andestimated travel times in Londonover 6 months is a recent largescale study of GPS traces of a taxifleet in Singapore, to know fare andtravel delays in real time. Anothercategory of work using GPS on publictransport has been to predict busarrival times.(2) GPS on smartphones –

With the recent proliferationof smartphones, smartphone GPS isbeing studied for hotspot detectionand travel time estimation, afterhandling noise in GPS readings. (3) Sensors on smartphones

Other than GPS, smartphonesalso have sensors that can provideinteresting information solved theproblem of reorienting theaccelerometer of a smartphone tomatch the car axes. Theaccelerometer readings were thenused to detect road events likebumps and brakes. A lot of braking,accompanied by honking (detected bysmartphone microphone) wasinterpreted as congestion improvesupon the accelerometer reorientationmechanism by using smart phonemagnetometer uses smartphoneaccelerometer to detect if the phoneis in a transit vehicle and if so,uses GPS to know travel times andarrival times of the vehicle usesthe smartphone microphone for urbannoise mapping and uses thesmartphone camera to predict thetraffic signal ahead for automaticspeed control of vehicle.

(4) Using ordinary phones - Someresearchers have tried usingordinary cell phones, instead ofsmartphones, for traffic sensing.

Localizing ordinary phones based ononly cellular tower and Wi-Fiinformation and adding sensors toordinary phone hardware are two mainresearch focus in this area Thissensing using phones, popularlycalled crowdsourcing or participatorysensing, has related research onprivacy and power issues, as thesewould affect user participation.

(5) Specialized hardware on vehicles - Someresearchers have used specializedhardware in vehicles which detectsroad anomalies and which tracksstolen properties are examples whichuses ultrasound transceivers to findempty parking spaces and whichcalculates fuel usage, areapplications for individual vehicleowners using customized hardware.

(6) Social networking- New trend took afresh perspective of gettinginformation from crowd through blogs posted viasmartphones. And smart applicationand social websites like Facebook,Twitter etc.

3.5 Hybrid sensing: techniques

There are a set of techniques thatuse both static infrastructure andmobile sensors to gain trafficinformation. (1)Teledensity - Cell phone operatorscan give approximate vehicledensities in the neighborhood of agiven cell tower, based onsubscribers seen at that tower.There are commercial systems likeand research efforts based on this. (2) Bluetooth - is a system whereroadside Bluetooth detectors senseBluetooth radios in phones insidevehicles. Correlating the sensed

Bluetooth addresses among differentdetectors, gives travel times of thevehicles between the detectors. (3) RFID - Similar systems are beingexplored using RFID tags on vehiclesand RFID readers on roads

IV. IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS ININDIA:

The ITS program in India is aimedat ensuring safe, affordable, quick,comfortable, reliable andsustainable access for the growingurban and rural population to jobs,education, recreation and such otherneeds. A few ITS application havebeen introduced in India inmetropolitan cities like New Delhi,Pune, Bangalore, Chennai etc.focusing on stand-alone deploymentsof area wide signal control, parkinginformation, advanced publictransportation, toll collectionetc.. However, all of these aresmall scale pilot studies limited tomajor cities and are in beginningstage of deployment. Thus, atpresent, there are no exhaustivefully developed ITS applicationswith traffic management centers inIndia

4.1 Trial of Automatic Traffic managementsystem in TamilNadu: (Sep 2009)

This involved a trialrun of the fully automated TrafficRegulatory Management system (TRMS)involving usage of surveillancecameras in the city of Chennai; thisproject involved installingsophisticated cameras, wirelesstowers and poles, under the 3-crore-state government-funded project.Automatic number plate readercameras were installed in 28 out of12 busy junctions identified. Thee

traffic police also plan to install40 CCTV cameras at variousjunctions. This is to warn motoristswho blatantly violate rules andmonitor traffic on arterial roadduring peak hours.

4.2 Automated Traffic Control:

ATC has been setup in many cities inIndia including Delhi, Pune, andMumbai etc.

Mumbai: The Area Traffic Controlproject of Mumbai Traffic ControlBranch focused on synchronizingmajor junction and was implementedthrough MMRDA and MCGM withfinancial aid from World Bank.

Modern gadgets such as speed checkgun and multi radar comprising smartcameras, radar sensor, screen manualcontrol unit, flash light were usedin this project

Chennai: The city Traffic police setup 26 Automatic Traffic Controlsystems at major traffic signalsaround the new secretariat complex,the system monitors and regulatestraffic without any manualintervention and helps policeregulate VIP routes.

4.3 Advanced Traveller Information Systems:

Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore andHyderabad: This project provides aplatform for the public to check thereal time traffic situation atimportant junctions and arterialroads, through SMS, FM radios,Internet, Application software (e.g.The Traffic People-Delhi).

4.4 Bus Rapid Transport (BRT):

BRT systems are best alternatives

to Light rail public transport.Instead of train or metro rail, BRTsystems use buses to ply a dedicatedlane that runs lengthwise along thecenter of the road. At specificlocations, passengers can embark ordisembark at conveniently locatedstations, which often feature ticketbooths, turnstiles, and automaticdoors. Studies have shown that a BRTis not only cheaper to build, but isalso profitable for bus to operateand relatively inexpensive forcommuters to use. The citiesselected for implementing BRTinclude Ahmedabad, Pune, Rajkot,Bhopal, Indore, Visakhapatnam,Vijayawada and Chennai.

1. PUNE(Dec 2006)The city of pune was the firstto experiment with a BRT. Theproject consists of 13 kms ofbus lanes along the punesastra road, Under the JnNURMfunding.

2. Ahamadabad: Ahmadabad BRT is a highlyambitious rapid transportsystem developed by Gujaratinfrastructure developmentboard. A part of firstcorridor connecting Pirana toR.T.O was opened to public onOctober 14 2009.

3. Chennai: It is a part of themedium term and long termTransport Scheme proposed inthe Second Master Plan byCMDA. This is not a part ofChennai BRTS which is proposedon a separate elevated roadthat is to be constructed as15 circular corridors.

4.5 Advance Parking Management:

APM was set up by New Delhimunicipal council at Palika Bazar,with the capacity for 1050 cars and500 scooters

V. IMPLEMENTATION OF ITS IN MADURAI CITY:

The rapidly increasing vehiclepopulation in Madurai, spurred bythe population boom and economicupturn lays a critical burden ontraffic management in the city.While India has already made a forayinto intelligent transport systemsin organizing traffic, now its turnfor the Madurai city. The adoptionof location and information basedtechnologies into vehicles,infrastructure , traffic managementand traveller information serviceshave shown dramatic improvements insafe, efficiency in mobility andfreight all over the world. So wecan adopt to ITS.

5.1 Possible Application of ITS for Madurai city:

5.2 Automatic Traffic Management systems:

Most of the signaledintersection in the city is operatedmanually by traffic police, and manyare not signalized. The system canadopt in Kalavasal signal,Arasaradi, and Guru theatre signal,Goripalyam-simmakal network whenthese signals are synchronize witheach other the intersections canmaintain congestion free trafficflow, The city in itself is ahistorical and religious place whichattracts a gross 3lakh floatingpopulation on average, using theseroutes for in and out towards Theniand Dindukal district. Since Maduraiis being a central hub for the

southern districts of the state,it’s been heavily motorized andurban sprawl is at its peak, for itseconomic development throughManufacturing, Tourism, Agriculture,Education and Small and MediumIndustrial sectors.

Figure: 2 Goripalyam-Simmakal Roadnetwork

Figure: 3 Arapalayam signal

Advanced Traveller Information systems (ATIS):

ATIS can provide the usersTravel-related information to assistdecision making on route choices,estimate travel times and avoidcongestion inside the CBD of theMadurai city, The iconic MeenakshiAmman temple is being located insidethe CBD of the city, often thetourist vehicle had struck insidethe CBD and creates a heavy trafficcongestion, This dilemma can beaverted when the remote commuterknew about the real time traffic

scenario in the network. Real timeTraffic information can bedisseminated through F.M Radio,Internet, Facebook, Mobileapplication for the daily commuteras well as occasional commuter. Fig4 shows the sketch of MeenakshiAmman temple and the closelycompacted central business district.

Figure: 4 CBD of Madurai city

5.3 Advanced Public Transportation systems(APTS):

Here it applies state of arttransportation management andinformation technologies to publictransit systems to enhanceefficiency of operation and improvesafety. It includes real timepassenger information systems,automatic vehicle location systems,and bus arrival notification systemsproviding priority of passage tobuses at signalized intersectionsand main Bus terminal in the CBD,Dynamic display board which willgive real time information about themunicipality buses can be installedin the main bus stops, since thecity hosts a middle class pilgrimsfrom all over the country, thevisitors will be utilizing thecorporation buses to move along thetemples in and around the citylimit. Real time information about

the buses and travel time willimprove the efficiency in thenetwork and will improve the SocioEconomic state of the city.

5.4 Advance Parking Management Systems(APMS):

The rate at which a city’seconomy grows is very closely linkedto the rate at which the transportsector grows. As road transportgives personal mobility to persons,the vehicle ownership rate has beenincreasing at a fast rate. Due toincrease in car ownership, theproblem of parking is becoming moreand more acute day by day in thecity. Vehicles may be parked on thekerb side but it creates lot ofproblems like congestion, jams, andaccidents and also reduces effectiveroad width. Traffic influencingfactor analysis for the city showsthat illegal and on street parkingis at the first place. An advanceparking management systems will givethe real time information to thecommuter about the space availablein the particular facility and E-payment systems, parking guidance,advance parking reservationfacility.

5.5 SWOT Analyais for implentationo of ITS in madurai:

Figure: 3 SWOT analysis

5.6 Positive factors: urban and regional communities

and society are more and more awareof the advantages given byapplication of solutions ofIntelligent Transport Systems interms of efficiency, safety andenvironment safety. However it isimportant to have in mind that ITSalone are not able to solve urbantransport problems in full. They cancreate valuable packages ofinstruments enabling a significantreduction of such problems. Itshould be noted that for furthergeneral development it is extremelyimportant to have truthfulinformation on ITS advantages thatare inducing progress and on theactions that should be undertakenfor ITS deployment, and on theorganisation methods of theirwide propagation.

5.7 Future Work:

For the Main thesis of theMasters program, Application of ITSin parking management is been taken,Analysing the existing parkingscenario of the city’s on and offstreet parking, Because its beenidentified that the Parking issuecausing severe environmental issueswith respect to air as well as noisepollution, increased fuelconsumption and economy loss.Identifying new potential sitesinside the CBD for multileveladvance parking facility will beproposed along with the appraisal ofthe facility will be carried on.

5.8 Conclusion:

India’s ITS cannot beentirely modeled on the existingsuccessful ITS of other nations due

to basic cultural, geographic andpractical differences amongst thecountries. The existing conceptshave to be thoroughly understood inorder to modify them to fit theIndian traffic scenario. The designof an intensive ITS program hingeson the following developments:

1. Technology: The development andimplementation of advancedtechnologies is important to thesuccessful management and operationof ITS in India. These technologiesinclude electronic equipment such assensors. Detectors and communicationdevices and application of globalnavigation satellite system(GNSS).This in turn hinges n cooperativework between the government,academic research institutions, andindustry.

2. Modeling of Indian traffic: A proper understanding of thetraffic system is important in thesuccessful implementation of anyreliable ITS systems. The existingmodels developed for the westerntraffic condition may not besuitable for the Indian traffic andhence there is a need to modify ordevelop models that can characterizethe Indian traffic in a better way

3. Supply Chain: Seamless interconnectivity ofthe various branches of thetransportation sector is essentialto provide effective, efficient andsecure movement of goods andservices while improving theconservation of natural resourcesand reducing environmental impactssuch as the effects of carbonemissions.

4. Energy and Sustainability: The ITS in India shouldclosely work with the energy sectorin the promotion of fuel efficienttransport policies and practices,including the use of alternativetransport fuels. Fuel efficientpolicies and practices will assistthe country in achieving sustainableeconomic and environmental benefitsthrough the application of ITS.

5. Human Capital Development: Human skills are importantto ensure the development ofseamless transportation systems.Given the population density ofIndia and the varied skill setsavailable in the country, theability of the work force todevelop, manage and safely implementexisting and emerging technologiesis essential for ITS design andimplementation.

5.9 References:

i. http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/˜riju/kyunqueue.ii. Synthesis report on intelligent transport systems, by

Lelitha Devi, Gitakrishnan Ramadurai, IIT-M, Center ofExcellence in Urban transport.

iii. Rijurekha Sen, Bhaskaran Raman {riju,br}@cse.iitb.ac.in, Intelligent Transport Systems forIndian Cities.

iv. Sarah Hasan, Edwin Yaz, (May 1999), Development ofan ITS course, for Mack-Blackwell Transportationcenter, AR.

v. Aldona Jarašūnienė, (Sep 2006), Analysis of possibilitiesand proposals of intelligent transport system (its) implementation in Lithuania,ISSN 1648-4142 print / ISSN 1648-3480 online,TRANSPORT – 2006, Vol XXI, No 4, 245–251QureshiIntikhab Ahmed *, Huapu Lu, Shi Ye, Urbantransportation and equity: A case studyof Beijing andKarachi

vi. Dmitry B. Efimenko , ITS-related aspects of developmentof Urban transport systems, Moscow State Automobileand Road Technical UniversityDepartment «Telematics for Transport

vii. Dinesh Mohan, Transportation Research and InjuryPrevention Programme, Indian Instituteof Technology Delhi, India INTELLIGENTTRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS (ITS) ANDTHE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. InformationTechnology and CommunicationsResources for Sustainable Development, [Ed. AshokJhunjhunwala], in Encyclopedia of LifeSupport Systems (EOLSS)

viii. George Dimitrakopoulos and Panagiotis Demestichas,ITS- Systems Based on Cognitive Networking Principlesand Management Functionality,IEEEVEHICULARTECHNOLOGYMAGAZINE

ix. Nancy Deboroh, Velkenndedy,’Road traffic factoranalysis for Madurai city using Interpretive StructuralModeling’, National conference on Recent Innovation inScience Engineering and Technology, march 8,2015,Pune, India, ISBN : 978-93-82702-76-4

x. Miles, J.; Chen, K. The intelligent transport Systemxi. Handbook. PIARC, 2004. 387 p.

Converge. Guidelines for the development andassessment of ITS architectures. TR 1101 (Jesty P. H.;

xii. Gaillet J. F.; Franko G.). European Commission DG XIII,Brussels, 2004. Jetsy, P. H. and Bossau, R. A. P. Involving stakeholdersin ITS architecture creation. ITS word Congres, Madrid,2003.

xiii. Sage, A. P. System engineering. J. Wiley Sons, New York,1992.

xiv. OSI is Open System Integration, a 7-layer modeldevelopment for digital communication in the early1980s by several standards organisations, including theInternational Standards Organisation (ISO).

xv. Intelligent transportation system in work zones. A casestudy. USA. 2004. 44 p.