1. General Information

The Journal of Innovative Transportation (JIT) publishes original, high-quality, and innovative research that advances knowledge and practice across all modes of transportation.

All manuscripts must be written in English and prepared using Microsoft Word according to the official manuscript template available on the journal website.

2. Submission and Manuscript Requirements

The first page must contain:

Submit manuscripts in .docx format via the online submission system.

Figures and tables must also be uploaded separately as editable files (e.g., .xlsx, .tiff, .svg).

The manuscript should include the following sections in order:

• Full title
  
• Full names of all authors (without academic titles)
  
• Affiliations (institution, city, and country)
  
• ORCID iDs for all authors
  
• Corresponding author: name, institutional e-mail, and phone number
  
• Highlights
  
• Abstract and Keywords
  
• Main Text
  
• Statements
• Acknowledgement
• References
  

3. Manuscript Preparation

3.1 Highlights

Provide 3–6 concise highlights summarizing the key contributions.

• Each highlight ≤ 80 characters (including spaces).
  
• Insert the highlights after the title page.
  

3.2 Abstract

The abstract must summarize the purpose, methodology, key results, and conclusions.

• Word count: 100–200 words
  
• Abbreviations: not permitted
  
• Font: Calibri 9 pt, justified alignment
  

3.3 Keywords

Provide 3–6 keywords in alphabetical order, separated by semicolons.

3.4 Main Text Formatting

• Font: Calibri 10 pt
  
• Spacing: Single
  
• Alignment: Justified
  
• Paragraph spacing: 18 pt before / 12 pt after
• Level 1 Heading - Uppercase, bold 1. INTRODUCTION
• Level 2 Heading - Bold, first word capitalized 1.1 Study area
• Level 3 Heading - Normal, first word capitalized 1.1.1 Data sources
• Level 4 Heading - Italic, first word capitalized 1.1.1.1 Study limitations

Headings must be numbered sequentially.

3.5 Equations

• Use the MS Word Equation Editor.
  
• Align equations left, with numbering on the right (e.g., (1)).
  

3.6 Figures

• Refer to all graphics as Figures only (no “Graphs,” “Images,” etc.).
  
• Max width: 8.2 cm for double-column layout or 17 cm for single-column layout.
  
• Acceptable formats: editable (Excel) or ≥ 300 DPI image files.
  
• Captions: below the figure, justified, Calibri 9 pt.
  Example: Figure 1. Caption text here.
  
• No blank lines between figures and captions.
  

3.7 Tables

• Prepare using the Word Table tool (no screenshots or image tables).
  
• Font: Calibri 9 pt, single-spaced.
  
• Headings: above the table, formatted as
  Table 1. Table title text here.
  

3.8 Units and Symbols

• Use the International System of Units (SI) consistently.
  
• Use a decimal point (.), not a comma.
  
• Keep symbols, subscripts, and superscripts uniform throughout.
  

4. References

• Cite references as numbers in square brackets, e.g., [1], [2].
  
• Number references in order of appearance.
  
• Follow APA reference format, including author(s), year, title, journal, volume, issue, pages, and DOI (if available).
  

Example:
[1] Smith, J., & Lee, K. (2023). Traffic signal optimization using AI. Journal of Transportation Science, 45(2), 115–130. https://doi.org/xxxx

5. Post-Main-Text Sections

5.1 Funding Acknowledgement

Provide a separate section before the references specifying funding details, including the agency name and grant number.

Example:
This research was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) under Grant No. 123456.

5.2 Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors must declare all potential conflicts of interest or confirm none exist.

No conflict:
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

With conflict:
The authors declare the following financial or personal relationships that may be considered potential competing interests: [details].

5.3 Author Contributions

Each manuscript must include an Author Contributions section based on the CRediT taxonomy.

List the specific contributions of each author using the following standardized roles:

CRediT Roles: Conceptualization; Methodology; Software; Validation; Formal Analysis; Investigation; Resources; Data Curation; Writing – Original Draft; Writing – Review & Editing; Visualization; Supervision; Project Administration; Funding Acquisition.

Example:
Author Contributions:
E.E.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft;
D.T.: Formal Analysis, Visualization, Writing – Review & Editing;
Ö.T.: Supervision, Project Administration, Funding Acquisition.

5.4 Acknowledgements

List individuals, institutions, or organizations that contributed to the research but do not meet authorship criteria.
This section appears before the references.

5.5 Data Availability Statement

Authors are encouraged to include a brief statement such as:

Data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

6. Ethical and Editorial Standards

6.1 Authorship Criteria

All listed authors must have contributed substantially to:

• The conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
  
• Drafting or revising the work critically for important intellectual content; and
  
• Final approval of the version to be published.
  

All authors share collective responsibility for the published work.

6.2 Ethical Compliance

All submissions must adhere to the ethical principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Higher Education Institutions Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Directive (YÖK, Türkiye).

Misconduct such as plagiarism, duplicate submission, or data fabrication will lead to rejection and may be reported to the author’s institution.

6.3 Plagiarism Screening

All manuscripts are checked using iThenticate. Papers exceeding 20% similarity (excluding references) will be returned for revision or rejected outright.