Appraisal and Evaluation of Interurban ITS: A European Survey

Intelligent transport systems (ITS) have at their core technological systems that work together to improve transportation performance. However, this performance becomes uncertain when the technologies themselves are scrutinized alongside the benefit they deliver. This paper reviews the background theory, issues, and gaps concerning the assessment of performance for ITS, as well as a review of frameworks proposed by various authors in the field. This paper provides an original contribution through (1) identifying twelve evaluation framework requirements, (2) proposing corresponding solutions to business, and (3) the introduction of four key performance areas for ITS. The key requirements of ITS from the literature include improved geographical focus, reducing conflicting stakeholder involvement, and consolidating elements of ITS that are currently calculated in isolation. Current indicators are biased toward economic benefit. The definition of four key performance areas are Adaptability, Sustainability, Standardization, and Data Management. To conclude, the introduction of technology requires a paradigm shift, in terms of reorganization and realignment of the scope of conventional transport system evaluation. This is needed, in order to maintain accuracy and more fully capture performance aspects when appraising ITS.