Collaborative Transportation Systems

We propose a new class of applications for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs), called collaborative transportation applications that aim at solving transportation problems such as congestion and parking. Specifically, we define two applications: SmartPark and SmartRide that leverage short-range wireless communication. We quantify the potential benefits these collaborative transportation applications can offer to an individual and to the public. To this extent, we conduct both the realistic simulations and the analysis of the performance of a taxi cab fleet from San Francisco. Our analysis shows that both collaborative transportation applications can provide with significant savings in travel times, fuel consumptions, etc. Finally, we discuss the functional requirements of collaborative transportation applications and we present the challenges that these applications are facing.