World ITS market expected to grow at a steady rate to 2020

The global market for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) is expected to reach US$38.68 billion by 2020, according to a new study by Grand View Research. Growing demand for optimising fuel consumption and reducing emissions is expected to be the key driving force for the market. ITS aids in reducing incidents such as road accidents and boost safety, which is estimated to positively impact demand over the next six years.

Increasing need for enhancing existing transportation networks coupled with demand for alleviating traffic congestion is expected to fuel market growth during the forecast period. However, interoperability and standardization issues may restrain the market over the next few years. Technological advancements have led to enhancement in wireless communication technologies, which is an opportunity for market participants.

Advanced transportation management systems (ATMS) accounted for the largest market share of 39.9 per cent in 2013; it is expected to continue dominating the overall industry over the next six years. Advanced public transportation systems (APTS) is expected to be the fastest growing segment, at an estimated CAGR of 13.7 per cent from 2014 to 2020. APTS deal in the use of IT and transportation management in order to boost the safety and effectiveness of public transit systems.

Traffic management is expected to remain the largest ITS application through the forecast period and was valued at US$5.16 billion in 2013. Road user charging (RUC) also accounted for considerable market share in 2013, driven by technological advancements in electronic toll collection (ETC). Environment protection is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 18.2 per cent from 2014 to 2020, due to increasing focus on reducing pollution and emission levels.

North America accounted for 43.8 per cent of the global market in 2013 and is expected to remain the most dominant ITS market over the next six years. This can primarily be attributed to favourable regulatory initiatives from transportation authorities for increasing driver safety and reducing traffic congestion. Asia Pacific ITS market is expected to register the fastest growth of 14.0 per cent from 2014 to 2020, as a result of need for improvement of transportation networks and high growth expected in India and China.