Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs), a subclass of Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs), are expected to play a crucial role in the future of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). A key objective of VANETs is to enable efficient and cost-effective communication among vehicles while supporting a large number of network participants and minimizing infrastructure dependency. However, the highly dynamic nature of vehicular networks poses significant challenges to their deployment. Clustering techniques are employed to address these challenges, with a strong emphasis on stability, as they directly influence the routing process and enhance the quality of service (QoS). This paper explores the feasibility of reducing reliance on roadside units (RSUs) in metropolitan areas while improving cluster stability. We propose an efficient clustering algorithm tailored for urban environments, leveraging existing metropolitan infrastructure to compensate for the absence of RSUs. Our approach designates public transportation buses as primary cluster heads (CHs), minimizing reliance on additional infrastructure, while stand-alone vehicles (SAVs) dynamically select additional CHs. Through comprehensive case studies and comparative analysis with existing algorithms, our results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed method across different transmission ranges (TRs).

翻译：车载自组织网络（VANETs）作为移动自组织网络（MANETs）的一个子类，预计将在未来智能交通系统（ITSs）中发挥关键作用。VANETs 的一个核心目标是实现车辆间高效且经济可行的通信，同时支持大量网络参与者并最小化对基础设施的依赖。然而，车辆网络的高度动态性给其部署带来了重大挑战。分簇技术被用来应对这些挑战，并特别强调稳定性，因为它直接影响路由过程并提升服务质量（QoS）。本文探讨了在大都市区域减少对路边单元（RSUs）依赖并同时提升分簇稳定性的可行性。我们提出了一种专为城市环境设计的高效分簇算法，利用现有的大都市基础设施来弥补 RSUs 的缺失。我们的方法将公共交通巴士指定为主要簇头（CHs），从而最小化对额外基础设施的依赖，同时独立车辆（SAVs）动态选择额外的 CHs。通过全面的案例研究以及与现有算法的对比分析，我们的结果表明，所提方法在不同的传输范围（TRs）下均表现出优越的性能。