Due to many Special Issues (SI) in progress and a backlog of papers for publications, the IEEE Transactions on ITS is not accepting any new Special Issues proposals indefinitely until further notice (no earlier than December 2023.) Only then could we determine if there is room for additional Special Issues to be considered. Please monitor this website for updates in 2023 if you are interested in proposing a new SI topic.

We highly recommend considering submitting your vehicle-related proposals to the IEEE Transactions on IV, another high-quality Transaction of the IEEE ITS Society.

Associate Editor Guidelines for Special Issue Papers

  • The organizer(s) of a special issue should have the credentials to serve as Associate Editor for Special Issue (AE-SI) and handle the review process and make publication recommendations to the Editor in Chief. The credentials require a PhD awarded more than 5 years ago with experience in reviewing papers and publishing in ITS Journals.
  • The AE-SI should never contact the authors directly.
  • The AE-SI should be able to handle any paper submitted for the special issue. The AE-SI cannot refuse to handle a paper submitted to the special issue claiming busy schedule or personal constraints.
  • The AE-SI can recommend rejection of any paper whose topic is not relevant to the special issue.
  • For papers that are relevant to the special issue the AE-SI cannot reject the paper without sending it for reviews and getting at least 3 reviews.
  • Every publication recommendation should have comments to the authors justifying the recommendation especially when there are conflicting reviews.

​Azim Eskandarian
Editor in Chief
IEEE Transactions on ITS

Current and Upcoming Special Issues

Proposing a Special Issue and Instructions for Guest Editors

Prospective guest editors are encouraged to submit a proposal for a special issue to the Editor-in-Chief. Include a brief description of the main theme. A collaboration of editors from different regions are strongly encouraged.

For proposals that have been accepted, please follow the procedures below.

  • For issues with more than one guest editor, please indicate the corresponding editor who will be responsible for coordinating the work of the group and communicating with the Editor-in-Chief and his/her editorial assistant.
  • Develop a timetable for the special issue and discuss it with the Editor-in-Chief, keeping in mind that it takes a minimum of 3 months for an issue to be published once all final manuscripts are submitted to IEEE Headquarters.
  • For issues with invited authors only, guest editors should send letters of invitation to the selected authors. For refereed issues, the guest editors will be responsible to create a call for papers and distribute it to appropriate websites, journals, email lists, etc.
  • The guest editor(s) handle all correspondence with authors until a final publication decision is determined for each paper. To decrease delays in publication, papers requiring major modifications will be removed from consideration for the special issue and will follow the normal procedures for regular papers.
  • Once the guest editors make their final decisions for each paper, the corresponding guest editor must notify the Editor-in-Chief of the final decisions for papers. The Editor-in-Chief then sends final acceptance/rejection letters to the authors.

The submission/revision process will be completed using the standard website.

For final publication, the guest editor(s) must provide an editorial or introduction for the special issue.