ICT Solutions for Smart Urban Mobility: A Review

An important driver of smart urban mobility is represented by Information and Communication Technologies. This is particularly relevant to tackle the issues represented by increasing economic societal and environmental pressure. A report by the EU Commission (ICT concepts for optimization of mobility in smart cities. EU Commission, 2012) has listed the possible dimensions in which ICTs can strategically be used to facilitate more efficient mobility patterns towards an overall smart development of cities: (a) new trends and policy changes in urban environments; (b) accessibility of transport systems; (c) improved safety and security of the users of urban transport networks; (d) reduced energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and air and noise pollution; (e) improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the transportation of persons and of goods; (f) enhancement of the attractiveness and quality of the urban environment. In order to fulfil the above-mentioned objectives of smart mobility, several aspects of urban mobility can benefit from ICTs. Some of them are related to public management of transport, while others attain the private dimension. The present paper aims at reviewing the main theoretical models and practical solutions that have been proposed in each of the possible dimensions where ICT interacts with smart mobility. The last section is comparative, and it proposes a discussion of the main similarities and heterogeneities that characterize the various models and solutions and of the possible future developments of the issues discussed in the chapter.