Towards Integrating Public Transit Bus Systems into Urban and Intelligent Vehicular Networks

Public transit is a cornerstone of urban mobility, yet very little research is focused on its integration and potential roles as part of Intelligent Transportation Systems. Vehicular networks, for example, can greatly benefit from services provided by bus-based mass transit systems. The capillarity of bus-based transport systems and close proximity to other road vehicles further signal for integrative solutions. In this work, we perform an in-depth discussion of bus-based transit systems into VANETs not only as participating members but as service providers and official agents. We discuss the roles buses can take as part of vehicular networks and associated challenges. Then, we analyze and discuss public-transit-based network coverage in the urban environment using real-world data. The results obtained demonstrate that buses can achieve over 20% city-wide network coverage during significant portions of the week and complete coverage of central regions during specific time-frames, evidencing the potential that public transit has to provide services in vehicular networks.