Collaboration strategies for the development of an integrated road transport information platform : stakeholders' network analysis and an attempt to overcome information integration barriers

Abstract

福利在线免费 related to road transport is not only vital for the efficient management of the road transport network, but is also essential for the different users having varying information needs, both in the private sector and in the public domain. The availability, accessibility, proper use and dissemination of road transport information addresses congestion; improves the quality of travel and transport safety; reduces road transport effects on the environment and facilitates traveller information. This thesis presents the results of a survey describing the views of road transport experts on user information needs and on barriers to the integration of road transport information. Non-collaborative individuals were identified by transport experts as barriers to information integration and sharing. This aspect merits a deeper understanding and consequently, two case studies are presented, where social network analysis is performed to determine the flow of road transport information, within networks of stakeholders on local and regional levels of road administrations. The application of social network analysis (SNA) to the flow of road transport information is the most important contribution of this study, to knowledge, both in the areas of road transport research and to SNA fields of application. Departing from the concept of an integrated road transport information platform (IRTIP} a prototype, GIS based, platform created for an area in the central region of the island of Malta, is also presented, where datasets from various stakeholders were collected and integrated, to illustrate the possibility of creating such a platform through collaboration between various stakeholders. An overview of stakeholder involvement and collaboration strategies for the development of an IRTIP are the final outcomes presented in this thesis. The strategies are based on the opinions and experiences expressed by the experts, on outcomes from research in similar fields, and on the results obtained from the various research tools dealt with in this thesis.