Exploring Blockchain - Technology Behind Bitcoin and Implications for Transforming Transportation

Blockchain is a distributed ledger of transactions, developed originally as the accounting platform for the virtual currency, Bitcoin. The technology is used to verify transactions, creating records that cannot be changed or deleted. Verification is accomplished in a decentralized manner through a network of participants, or distributed nodes, rather than through a third party, such as a bank or credit card company. One of the promises of blockchain is that it can reduce the administrative costs of that third-party validation, or potentially eliminate them altogether. This report examines various blockchain applications in transportation. Potential benefits of those applications include the following. -- Increasing transparency and efficiency in supply chain routes, particularly with documents that change hands numerous times between shippers, carriers, customs agents, banks, and ports; -- Preventing cyberattacks on connected vehicles, since their presence in the Internet of Things exposes them to such attacks on multiple surfaces, including Wi-Fi, cellular networks, and toll transactions. Gaining unauthorized access to a single vehicle may be of little value, but access to the uploading of information from vehicles to broader networks likely would be of value. -- Reducing tolling costs by eliminating the fees that tolling agencies pay on credit card transactions, estimated at more than $300 million annually nationwide. Blockchain could also facilitate the adoption of a nationwide interoperable system in which customers could use a single account to pay tolls on any toll road in the nation.-- Facilitating automated payments from vehicles for things other than toll transactions, including fuel purchases, vehicle registration renewals, routine maintenance, etc.-- Introducing the possibility of true peer-to-peer ride sharing and fractional ownership of vehicles, which could reduce the role of, or eliminate the need for, third-party providers currently operating as companies such as Uber and Lyft. -- Improving the architecture of the Internet of Things devices deployed at transportation facilities, by providing a decentralized alternative to the server-client model; the decentralized blockchain alternative could eliminate bottlenecks which are unsecured and subject to single points of failure which could result in entire system failures. Researchers have also identified three barriers to widespread application of blockchain technology in transportation: Scalability issues – One strength of blockchain lies in the robustness of its validation capability, which depends upon the continued accumulation of blocks in a ledger. This accumulation then requires ever growing computing resources. Business challenges – The novel nature of blockchain will likely limit its implementation to innovative idea projects and demonstration projects, delaying its use in government-funded transportation applications. Perception issues – The assumption that validation of transactions will fall to a network of computers rather than a traditional third party is a foreign one, and may prompt many people to simply disregard it.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Edition: Final Report
  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 52p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01663387
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: PRC 17-13 F
  • Files: NTL, TRIS, USDOT
  • Created Date: Mar 21 2018 10:12AM