Intelligent Transportation Systems

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) combine leading-edge information and communication technologies used in transportation and traffic management systems to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of transportation networks, to reduce traffic congestion and to enhance drivers’ experiences.

Developments in technologies present road administrations around the world with the opportunity to transform the way that they manage and operate their highway networks. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is a combination of leading-edge information and communication technologies used in transportation and traffic management systems to improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of transportation networks, to reduce traffic congestion and to enhance drivers’ experiences. There are many possibilities.

• Activities that were traditionally undertaken through human intervention can be automated.

• Road network performance can be monitored and adjusted, in real-time.

• Data that was previously collected by costly physical infrastructure can be provided through new, richer data sources.

• Analysis that was undertaken from historic data can now be undertaken by systems delivering intelligence through real-time data analytics.

• Road users choices, previously influenced only through road signs, can be influenced through a wide array of publication channels such as mobile devices/in-car systems.

These possibilities will only happen if road administrations have a clear and considered strategy for bringing existing disparate systems, services, and operational approaches together over time.

ITS Can Solve Real Problems

At WSP, we provide highway and transit agencies with creative and innovative solutions that meet their transportation objectives. Our Intelligent Transport Services business provides expertise in the planning, design, implementation, and operation of solutions that focus on maximizing system performance.

We have worked with local, state, and national governments around the world, leading or participating in projects of all sizes and in multiple disciplines of system operations. Our collaborations have ranged from traffic signal optimization to revolutionary connected-vehicle demonstrations. We have developed ITS master plans, updated regional ITS architectures, and provided plans, specifications, and estimates (PS&E) for deployment of field equipment. Additionally, WSP has managed system integration and telecommunication projects in virtually every configuration.

Through a joint venture, WSP manages the National Traffic Information Service (NTIS) network for Highways England. Our scope of services includes the day-to- day operation and maintenance of the service through a 10-year contract. We have also completely upgraded and transformed the Traffic Management System, which collects and processes data for traffic conditions (planned and current events) to provide a real-time national view of traffic conditions on the whole 7,000 km of England’s strategic road network.

By understanding the root causes of issues, and by working with clients to analyze the numerous options and their likely outcomes, we are able to help them implement the right solution to ensure the operational benefits of their systems and services.

WSP is collaborating with public, private, and academic institutions at the forefront of research, innovation, and emerging technology to improve network performance. Our concept-through- operations approach ensures well-planned and well-engineered projects that are both environmentally and community sensitive. We are helping to create a sustainable society through the safe, efficient, and effective movement of people, goods, and data.

Intelligent Transportation System at Work

WSP is an international leader in all aspects of the ITS lifecycle, from feasibility to design, implementation, operation and evaluation of field devices, tolling technology, managed lanes, communications, travel information, and transit technology.

Considering how roads are used today and how they will be impacted with the introduction of connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AV), transportation agencies need to prepare for the future. Imagine if every vehicle transmitted a signal when it hit a pothole, relaying detailed information about road conditions to transport agencies. In the short term, it will provide information that helps fix immediate problems. In the longer term, this information may contribute to building better roads.

In the U.S., WSP has established the industry’s strongest track record in the development of connected vehicle technology and the deployment of intelligent transportation systems, and is a thought leader in the planning and policy impacts of C/AV on our cities.

WSP completed an ITS Master Plan update for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, which included a long-term statewide ITS communication plan to support the future ITS system vision. It also provided a detailed assessment of the Transportation Systems Management & Operations (TSM&O) capabilities of the Agency and identified steps to make MnDOT a fully capable and mature TSM&O organization. 

We continue to raise the bar in terms of safety risk assessment, performance analysis, infrastructure design, and operational approaches. Our expertise extends to rapidly growing sectors of ITS, including smart traffic management, connected vehicle research, performance measurement and Transport Management Centres (TMC)/ Transport Operations Centres (TOC) efficiency.

Road administrations need to carefully assess future scenarios of technological developments and make sure that assets, some with up to a 100-year design life, will be able to harness the potential that technology provides, with minimized cost and maximized benefit.