As the global population increases and megacities with populations of at least 10 million become the norm, municipalities around the world have to implement intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) in order to deal with the perpetual traffic congestion. The technology in ITS provides city managers, organizations with large fleets and individual drivers the ability to make smart travel decisions. While this technology will not solve all the problems related to transportation, it does provide the computer and communications abilities needed to alleviate some of the transportation difficulties cities around the world currently face. A new market report published by Transparency Market Research, titled "Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019," projects that the market will grow at a 11.1 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2013 to 2019 to $30.2 billion.

According to the report, the growth is driven by the increasing global congestion in metropolitan areas. Cities around the world are thus introducing ITS systems to reduce traffic, accidents, and vehicle emission levels, while improving quality of life for residents in these heavily populated regions. The technology also improves fuel consumption and reduces travel delays by using available resources more efficiently, instead of expanding transportation network systems.

Of course, the global ITS industry requires hardware, software, and end-use solution suppliers by domestic and multinational organizations. Major players highlighted in the report include Siemens (News - Alert) AG (Germany), Kapsch TrafficCom AG(Austria), Hitachi Ltd (Japan), Q-Free ASA (Norway), TomTom NV (Netherlands), Denso Corp (Japan), Xerox (U.S.) and others.

The market can be segmented into advanced traveler information systems (ATIS (News - Alert)), advanced transportation management systems (ATMS), advanced transportation pricing systems (ATPS), advanced public transportation systems (APTS), and cooperative systems. These technologies can be applied towards traffic management; road safety and surveillance; freight management; public transport; environment protection; automotive telematics; parking management; and road user charging.

The North American region controlled the largest market because of the investment it has made from the public and private sectors, but the fastest growing market looks to be Asia-Pacific, which is understandable considering the population density of many cities in the region.

Meanwhile, the largest revenue came from advanced transportation management systems (ATMS), with 42.1percent of the overall market, and this sector is expected to grow even further in the coming years. Electronic toll collection, congestion pricing, vehicle mile travel, and road user charging systems are also expected to grow as part of an advanced vehicle pricing system.