Evaluation of Intelligent Transportation System Integration for Sustainable Urban Mobility

Paratransit system is a public transportation mode, commonly operated by private transportation enterprises. In many countries minibuses considered as paratransit systems and they often criticized for their inability to integrate with smart fare payment systems. Their revenue model is competitive, so it creates security vulnerabilities, and their sustainable service quality, which lags behind other modes of transport in terms of driving characteristics and transport system integration, is a significant disadvantage that sets minibuses apart from other modes of transport. However, given society's usage habits, minibuses emerge as an indispensable mode of mobility, especially in certain areas and for specific individuals. This situation shows that minibuses need to be made infrastructure-compatible, controllable, and sustainable. This study examines the applicability of smart fare collection systems in minibuses using a multi-criteria evaluation framework. And, it considers economic, technological, operational, and legal criteria holistically. Within the scope of the study, a pilot application evaluated, comparing the cash-based structure with the option of using a digital payment system from the operators' perspective. Thus, the system's transformation potential analytically assessed. The findings indicate that adopting an electronic fare collection infrastructure is perceived to improve sustainable service quality, strengthen control mechanisms, and support revenue transparency.