Page 287 - Big Data Analytics for Connected Vehicles and Smart Cities

268 Big Data Analytics for Connected Vehicles and Smart Cities Benefit and Cost Estimation For Smart City Transportation Services 269

11.12 Summary

The subject of benefits and cost for smart city transportation services is a chal-
lenging one. Detailed cost estimates are impossible to attain until a detailed de-
sign is conducted. This takes into account specific technology choices and the
unique attributes of the smart city. This chapter assumes that the definition of a
framework or approach toward a smart city transportation service cost-benefit
approach will represent a step in the right direction.
It is clear that a more rigorous approach is required in the conduct of
before-and-after studies to determine the effects of transportation investments
like smart city transportation services. European studies [1] have indicated that
in many cases the lack of a formal structured approach to before-and-after stud-
ies leads to a scarcity of suitable evaluation material. This points to the need for
standards that define the approach to before-and-after studies in smart cities
and those that define that require data. It is also obvious that the role of big data
and analytics will be crucial in the detailed understanding of the cost and effects
of smart city transportation services. It is hoped that the work described in this
chapter can act as a foundation for the application of big data and analytics
techniques toward the creation of a smart city benefit-cost model.
Another area for further work lies in the assignment of investments be-
tween the public and the private sector. This chapter makes no attempt to pro-
portion annual life-cycle costs to specific enterprises or entities. Neither does
it attempt to identify the overlap in synergies between the 16 smart city trans-
portation services, as this would be an important role for a detailed cost-benefit
model in the future.
The approach defined in the chapter could also form the basis for an
incremental planning approach toward the evolution of smart city services over
time, over geographic space, and by quality of service. The identification of
suitable departure points for smart city initiatives and the exact sequencing of
smart city service deployment to achieve optimum effects will very much de-
pend on prior investments and the priority of different policy objectives within
the smart city.
The approach identified and described here represents the very begin-
ning of a smart, data-driven, and scientific approach to the determination of
investment requirements for smart cities and an understanding of the effects of
smart city transportation services. It is hoped that a dialogue can be established
between both public- and private-sector enterprises associated with smart city
transportation with a view toward refining the approach, aligning the smart city
transportation services to available solutions in the marketplace, and making
progress toward a detailed cost-benefit model.