Smartphone Applications for ITS

Smartphone Applications for ITS Index Purpose Description Relevance for Large Scale Events Options Technologies Impacts Integration potential Implementation Best Cases and Examples 1 of 13

Purpose Smartphone has significantly changed people s daily life in many ways. Smartphone has also gradually been reshaping ITS industry. Use of Smartphone can improve quality of existing ITS services and save cost of existing ITS services, e.g. traveler information services. It also provides opportunities to a wide range of new services, e.g. pedestrian navigation, dynamic or real-time ridesharing. Description A Smartphone is a mobile phone built on a mobile operating system, with more advanced computing capability and connectivity than a feature phone. The first Smartphone s added the functionality of personal digital assistant (PDA) with a mobile phone. Later models added the functionality of portable media players, low-end compact digital cameras and GPS navigation units to form one multi-use device. Many modern Smartphone s also include high-solution touché screens and web browsers that display standard web pages and mobile-optimized sites. High-speed data access is provided by Wi-Fi and Mobile Broadband. The mobile operating systems (OS) used by modern Smartphone s include: - Apple s IOS - Google s Android - Nokia s Symbian - RIM s BlackBerry OS - Samsung s Bade - Microsoft s Windows Phone (the latest version is Windows Phone 7) - Hewlett-Packard s webos - Embed Linux Such operating systems can be installed on many different phone models, and typically each device can receive multiple OS software updates over its lifetime. Market sharing of the above OS has shown a great fluctuation since 2009. In 2009, Nokia s Symbian had the highest market shares globally with almost 50% of total market share. However, in 2010, Google s Android overtook Symbian and had gained the biggest market share worldwide. Android s market share also shows a continuous increase since 2012. Meanwhile, some OS has been gradually eliminated from the market, such Samsung s Bada, Hewlett-Packard s webos and Linux. Currently, Samsung and Nokia gave up their own operation systems but use Android or Microsoft s Windows Phone for their new model Smartphone s. This can be seen as a new market trend in next few years, i.e. Smartphone manufacturers will no longer develop their OS but use professional OS from software companies. 2 of 13

Figure 1 Global Smartphone OS market sharing from Q1 2009 Q3 2012 Relevance for Large Scale Events Smartphone can play an important role in large scale events. Smartphone has the potential to deliver realtime and personalized information to users. Smartphone has the potential to integrate various travel information, tickets for public transport and events, navigation and event guidance etc. Smartphone should be seen as a key information dissemination channel to deliver information for future large scale events. In 2012, a numerous apps related to London Summer Olympics Games were developed and used by thousands of spectators. ITS services provided by Smartphone apps include: - Public transport information - Transport ticket and taxi booking - Multimodal journey planning - Navigations (including pedestrian and cyclists navigation) The 19th ITS World Congress was held in Vienna in October 2012. An app was developed specifically for the congress that can be downloaded free-of-charge by all congress participants. The congress app integrated registration information, traveler information, congress programme, congress calendar, exhibition hall map and tourism information. Since all congress participants were entitled free public transport pass, the public transport pass was also integrated with the app. Rio 2016 Olympics Games was proposed as the first Ridesharing Olympics with implementation of ridesharing schemes, which would be based on use of Smartphones. 3 of 13

Options Smartphone has been used for the following ITS services and applications: - Ticket booking; - Navigation for motorists and pedestrians; - Traveler information including multi-modal journey planner; - Dynamic or real-time ridesharing; - Travel information dissemination and data collection through social media; - eco driving support; - Floating passenger data collection; Smartphone apps based online ticket booking Currently many transport operator such as airlines, airports, train companies, public transport companies provide Smartphone based e-ticket booking. To book a ticket, a user can use his/her Smartphone either to access an operators online booking website. Many transport operators have developed specific Smartphone apps for ticket booking (e.g Heathrow Express App). After payment is made, a purchased ticket will then be delivered to the Smartphone. Such a ticket often includes a 2D barcode. The user can then use the Smartphone to access the transport services and pass ticket inspection by scanning the 2D barcode. After purchasing tickets, such apps often also provide to travelers timetables and real time updates of any delays associated to a booked itinerary. Figure 2 An Apple App for Train Ticket Booking and Purchasing 4 of 13

Navigation for motorists and pedestrians Since most Smartphone s currently on market have a built-in GPS unit many Smartphone manufacturers provide free navigation software for both motorists and pedestrians. Different from navigation devices for motorists, all navigation devices for pedestrians currently available on market are Smartphone based. Smartphone manufacturers also often provide free map updates of their navigation software which is a different business mode. (It is often the case that in-vehicle navigation device manufacturers charge users for updates.) Smartphone s based navigation is often integrated with location based services which generate revenues for Smartphone manufacturers. Traveler information including multi-modal journey planner A user can use Smartphoneto access internet based traveler information services. A user can use his/her Smartphone to book a multi-modal journey, then information services can regularly update any delays or disruption to the booked itinerary. Personalized traveler information is delivered based on monitoring the execution of an itinerary such as location of traveler, and ticket inspection. The journey execution is: Reach the next travel mean -> enter it / do the check-in -> travel along the current travel segment -> get off the transport mean / do the check-out A Smartphone app can provide integrated services to help a traveler to through the journey by providing: - navigation to the travel mean; - automatically or manually check in (i.e. the journey starts) - during the journey, checking if there is any information on delays or disruption of the current or next transport modes - if unexpected event occurs, warning the users - re-booking Dynamic or real-time ridesharing Ridesharing is that both a driver and a traveler agree in advance on an itinerary and where the driver will eventually fetch the traveler at some pre-defined location which could be outside of the driver s normal itinerary to go to its destination. Ridesharing has been seen as an immediate mean to enhance mobility and reduce total traffic flow. In recent years, a number of commercial ride sharing services have been launched and in operation. Different from car-pooling (which is also a type of ridesharing, but often planned in advance and often with the same drivers and passengers), dynamic or real-time ridesharing is a service that arranges one-time shared rides on very short notice. This type of ridesharing generally makes use of three recent technological advances: GPS navigation devices to determine a driver s route and arrange the shared ride Smartphone s for a traveler to request a ride from wherever they happened to be Social networks to establish trust and accountability between drivers and passages. These elements are coordinated through a network service (a service provider s network), which can instantaneously handle the driver payment and match rides using an optimization algorithms. 5 of 13

Many of current services use Smartphone apps for registration and finding a match. A driver and a passenger can register his/her itinerary through the app. When a match is found, the driver and the passengers will be informed. The driver and the passenger can use the app to confirm if they accept the arrangement or not. The driver and the passenger can use the app to give feedback. Some apps can monitor locations of the execution of the ride sharing. The passenger can use app to confirm the start of the ride sharing, i.e. being picked up, and the end of the ride sharing, i.e. being dropped at the pre-defined location. Some apps allow both driver and passenger to know each other s positions, thus ensure a smooth execution of a ride sharing Figure 3 An example of Dynamic Ridesharing App from Avego Travel information dissemination and data collection through social media Smartphone s have been considered as a driver power to contribute the rapid growth of social media. Social media has been playing an increasingly important role as information sources for travelers. Many information providers, particularly public bodies, have use social media to disseminate travel information such as severe weather warning, traffic accident, road closure, congestion warning, disruption to public transport etc. Many car manufacturers believe that having social media available in cars will allow for more advanced traffic information. On other hand, many users report transport events through social media even though how to validate such information is still under discussion. eco-driving support It has been well studied that driving style can have significant impacts on fuel consumption. Aggressive acceleration and deceleration, improper gear changing, improper driving speed etc lead to waste in fuel consumption. Research shows that different driving style can make up to 20% difference in fuel consumption for the same car to carry the same trip in the same traffic condition. Therefore, many vehicle manufacturers have developed and installed in-vehicle eco-driving systems as a function of in-vehicle telemetric. However, with increasing market penetration of Smartphone s, many Smartphone apps for ecodriving (monitoring and support) are available on market. Many of the apps are free of charge since 6 of 13

providers are either telecommunication operators (e.g. T-Mobile in Germany), or motorist clubs (e.g. the AA in the UK etc.). Smartphone eco-driving apps estimate all forces related to speed using GPS measurements. The data then is transmitted by Smartphone s to internet platforms for online monitoring or post-trip evaluation. Such apps are able to provide feedback to drivers on improving driving styles. Floating passenger data collection Figure 4 T-System Smartphone-based Eco Driving Service Floating vehicle data collection has been available for more than a decade and widely used worldwide to collect real-time and historical traffic data for both cities and motorway networks. Applications of floating vehicle data collection were largely driven by applications of GPS. Its success is mainly due to rapid growth of in-vehicle navigation devices. Floating passenger data collection applies the same principle as floating vehicle data collection. Smartphone can report location of an individual passenger which can be used to estimate passenger flow. However, it must be noted that, similar to floating vehicle data, floating passenger data must be anonymous and does not violence privacy of individual passengers. Floating passenger data can be used to estimate passenger flow and usage of public transport, thus evaluate service levels. Such data cannot be collected through any traditional methods and it is a unique contribution made by applications of Smartphone s. 7 of 13

Technologies Smartphone app is a unique feature provided by Smartphone only. It is a piece of software which can be downloaded from either mobile phone manufactures or third parties app stores (e.g. Apple s app store, Google s Android Market) or individual websites. Smartphone apps provide a wide range of ITS services including e-ticket booking, navigation, public transport information, eco-driving support. Mobile web browser for standard web pages or mobile optimized site is similar to ordinary service through internet. Smartphone allows users to access internet websites during their journeys which allow for delivery real-time information to users. 2D Barcode Barcode can be one-dimensional and two-dimensional. A 2D (two-dimensional) barcode is a graphic image that stores information both horizontally as one-dimensional barcodes do and vertically. As a result of that construction, 2D codes can store up to 7,089 characters, significantly greater storage than is possible with the 20-character capacity of an one-dimensional barcode. 2D barcodes are also known as Quick Response (QR) codes since they enable fast data access. 2D barcodes are often used in conjunction with smartphones. A user can simply photograph a 2D barcode with the camera on a phone equipped with a barcode reader. The reader interprets the encoded URL, which directs the browser to the relevant information on a web-site. This capability has made 2D barcodes useful for mobile marketing. Some 2D barcode systems also deliver information in a message for users without web access. Figure 5 Traditional (1-D) barcode Figure 6 2-D Barcode, also known as QR (quick-response) barcode 8 of 13

Impacts Large scale usage of Smartphone only started from 2010. Therefore, there is not much academic research into impacts of Smartphone on ITS. However, it is widely acknowledged by the ITS professionals that Smartphone s have made a revolution in transport ticket booking, navigation, traveler information dissemination and data collection, and will continue make significant impacts on development and deployment of new technologies in ITS. End users feedbacks on Smartphone for ITS are also positive. Integration potential Integration potential includes: - Different type of tickets, e.g. train ticket, public transport ticket, event ticket etc - Different information (travel information, event information, tourism information) - Ticket and information - Multi-modal navigation, e.g. in-vehicle navigation with pedestrian navigation - Multi-modal payments, e.g. road charging, parking fee, public transport ticket, etc Implementation Implementation must consider current market share of various operation systems. Ideally the implementation should be able to be used by all main stream operation systems, e.g. Apple s ios and Google s Android. If an app is developed, the app should be uploaded to main app stores, e.g. Apple s app store and Google s Android Market, to enable users download (with or without charging) it from the app stores. For an app or a website, a 2-D barcode should be generated. Examples case studies describing use of the tool: a) in previous large scale events London Olympics Games 2012 Many apps for the London Olympics Game were developed by different organizations such as the London Olympics Committee, Transport for London or private providers. London Transport, an official app provided by Transport for London. At price of 1.99, it provides the following functions: London tube map with fare zones TfL journey planner Nearby stops and stations 9 of 13

Live departure boards Bus and tram timetables Licensed taxi booking Real time cycle hire map Oyster card balance and top-up points Live traffic cameras Step by step walking directions Tube statues Now, Later and Weekend Details of roadwork and accidents Figure 7 London Transport app: journey planner London Transport Pro (Android), at price of 1.49, it provides the following functions: Walking direction in journey planner; Real-time bus and tube information; TfL traffic cameras; Full bus route map views; Favorite and nearby locations; 10 of 13

Figure 1 London Transport Pro (Android) Next Bus (IOS) provides users with information about all bus routes in London. At price of 1.99, the app have the following locations: - Live bus times for 20,000 TfL bus stops; - Track your bus journey over 1,400 routes; - Search by stop name, address or landmark - Plan ahead with up-to-date timetables; - See live traffic disruptions along any routes; Next bus also has a feature called Wake me Up which vibrates your phone at your destination or notifications can be personalized with different sounds. 11 of 13

Figure 2Next Bus (IOS) Get Taxi (ios& Android) is a free app, and integrates taxi booking and payment. Figure 3 Get Taxi (ios and Android) b) Example of Brussels public transport information Brussels public transport operation, STIB, provides mobile passenger information to smartphone users. The information can be accessed through: 12 of 13

An Apple app; An Android app; Mobile internet m.stib.be Information from STIB website is shown below: 13 of 13