THE FUNCTIONALITY OF SMART INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE EFFECTS ON TRANSPORT OPERATIONS

Purpose of this paperThe purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the functionality of the Smart Infrastructure component of Smart Transportation Management (STM) setups, in the context of transport operations and its consequential environmental impacts.Design/methodology/approachTo prepare the paper a literature study was conducted to search for up-to-date literature within the relevant fields. A conceptual model based on literature was constructed for the data collection. The data collection was carried out by interviewing representatives from companies and organizations that are considered experts in various aspects of transportation operations.FindingsThe paper identifies the functionality of Smart Infrastructure within a STM setup. The various functions provided by Smart Infrastructure are found to be very useful for many areas of transport operations such as automatic identification, dynamic routing, road charging, and more.Research limitations/implications (if applicable)The paper identifies the functionality of Smart Infrastructure and is useful when analyzing the effects of these functions on transportation operation, including environmental impacts.Practical implications Practical implications are base on the capability of identifying the functionality and potential effects of possible investments made in advanced technology related to freight, vehicle and infrastructure on transport operation.What is original/value of paperThe effects of different functionality of Smart Infrastructure is often difficult to estimate and has to have its point of departure in identifying the functionality. The originality of this work is based on a structure that can be used to analyzing the various functions and based on that, further work on the effects that can be expected.