Application of Blockchain Technology in the Transportation Industry

Blockchain technology is a form of digitalization that has driven the growth of the transportation industry over the past few decades by increasing transparency, heightening security, and making operations more efficient. Like most new and innovative technology, however, its use has been challenged by its cost, the public's and professionals' lack of knowledge, resistance to change, and scalability. Numerous studies have been published on the topic, but none have extensively reviewed the specific applications for using blockchain technology in transportation. To fill this research gap, this study aims to identify the applications of blockchain in the transportation industry. We comprehensively reviewed 80 papers to achieve this objective and identified 43 of the most beneficial applications, among which are smart contracts, tokenization, efficient supply chains and logistics, decentralized data management, traffic management systems, and cargo transportation. The findings from this study will help those responsible for the operation of cargo and other transportation and road management to reduce fraud, increase transparency, build a greater level of trust among employees and the public, and increase the efficiency of their operations.