ABSTRACT
Traffic management in recent times has faced numerous challenges such as a steady increase in the traffic volume annually, traffic jams, etc. However, in previous years; this problem has been solved by the construction of more transportation infrastructure (such as increasing the number of lanes) but in the face of the world’s energy crisis and limited land resources, this method has proven to be ineffective and costly in the long term. Hence the need for a more robust approach/method of traffic management which is The Intelligent Transportation System as captured in this study.
This study evaluates the role played by Intelligent Transportation System in developed countries in solving problems in Traffic Management, Enforcement, and other related issues. Traffic conditions with the aid of Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) software, an ideal condition was compared and contrasted with the prevailing traffic condition in Benin City (Akpakpava axis specifically) gotten from daily traffic count conducted during this research in terms of average travel time, average travel speed, vehicle waiting time, fuel consumption, and also emission of pollutant into the environment.
From the analysis using Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO), it was discovered that the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) is indeed very effective and useful in traffic management in terms of its reduction of the average travel time by 20.57 %, vehicle waiting time (which equates to reduced fuel consumption) by 69.01%. Also, ITS with the aid of SUMO has shown that Carbon II Oxide from vehicles will be reduced by 31.05%, Carbon IV Oxide by 13.30%, Hydrocarbons by 21.14%, Oxides of Nitrogen by 11.56%, and Motor Vehicle pollutant by 14.71%. The study provides recommendations and implementation strategies for the deployment of Intelligent Transportation System in light of these challenges to improve traffic conditions.
