Commercial Operations

This paper presents the methodology for Mobile IP Trial Evaluation at California’s Capital
Corridor Inter-City Rail project [1] [2]. The goal of the project is to pursue Pilot
Demonstrations to provide Wireless LAN, High speed Internet connectivity and Info-centric
Services on trains and this started with an initial co-operation in California’s Capitol
Corridor’s AMTRAK service subsidized by California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) managed by the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority with similar efforts at
SNCF in France and co-operation between French technology center of excellence INRETS,
GLOCOL USA and the University of California (Berkeley). The Trains Connected
Partnership Project Work Group was set up to focus on emerging standards, technologies and
evaluations which have received interest from various Rail Authorities. The focus is to
understand the best ways to incorporate satellite communication, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Mobile IP
and various promising technologies into broader applications such as passenger service, train
operations, safety and security. This paper reports seamless roaming simulations over
different systems using Mobile IP.

California Center for Innovative Transportation, UC Berkeley, USA

Presented at the 12th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, November 6-10, 2005, San Francisco, California

Regional ITS Architectures have been developed across the nation. In most states there has been a desire to unify the statewide ITS assets into a statewide architecture, but there has been little published on the best way to do this. In some regions of the country, the same problem presents a challenge to metropolitan planning organizations covering multiple counties, cities or even states. The goal is to develop ITS architectures which can be used effectively as planning tools and which can be maintained over time as new projects are implemented and ITS inventory is added or upgraded. Unfortunately, some areas have ended up with an architecture which can’t be effectively used after having spent significant funds toward its development. Further maintenance of these architectures only confounds the problem by creating a configuration nightmare.

Three approaches for addressing this challenge are described and a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches are presented. An example of a hierarchical architecture scenario is also presented to illustrate the concepts. A recommendation and proposed solution is presented for areas with complex institutional, geographical, and/or systems issues.

Iteris, Inc.

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 26 - 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas

Ramp signaling, a relatively low-cost traffic management technique, that has been used to alleviate congestion due to bottlenecks and mainline traffic flow being disrupted by entering platoons in the past two decades. As part of an overall long-term strategy of integrated initiatives to improve the safety, throughput and reliability of mobility within South Florida, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) implemented the first Ramp Signaling (RS) system along the I-95 corridor in this region. This RS system is operated by FDOT District VI Transportation Management Center (TMC) located in Miami-Dade County, FL. This paper presents the start-up and the initial operation of the RS system. It provides practical experiences in RM system implementation and operation from a TMC perspective.

AECOM USA, Inc.

Florida Department of Transportation

On average, 7,400 people are killed each year in vehicle crashes that are associated with adverse weather conditions. The U.S. Department of  Transportation (USDOT), through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), has invested in two major initiatives,  Clarus and Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII), whose products will help to reduce the impacts of adverse weather conditions on surface transportation users. In addition  to the high-level goals associated with improving safety and traffic operations, these programs will address the concern that most of today’s weather forecasts are primarily driven by atmospheric data and are therefore unable to accurately address the complex interactions that occur at the land surface-atmosphere interface  (the lowest portion of the atmosphere from the driver level to the pavement and down into the subsurface). This shortfall results in part from a lack of plentiful, high-quality surface and subsurface observations. Moreover, there is a limited amount of information regarding how weather affects pavement conditions, as well as what roles pavement and subsurface characteristics play in determining the factors that directly impact roadway safety and mobility. This paper will provide details regarding the latest developments on both the Clarus and VII initiatives and describe activities ranging from a new generation of quality checking  algorithms to research based on data from both passenger vehicles and long haul trucks.

USDOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration

USDOT Federal Highway Administration

Noblis, Inc.

Presented at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York

Since the 1990s, there has been significant emphasis placed on the research, planning, design,
deployment and systems integration of ITS infrastructures within metropolitan regions
throughout the USA. As these systems come on line and expand, the emphasis has shifted to
providing efficiency in ITS operations. Recent trends in ITS operations contract procurements
feature performance measures including a combination of incentives and penalties. Furthermore,
agencies have used different approaches in considering pricing and qualifications as part of the
selection process. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the various strategies that
transportation agencies are utilizing in procuring ITS operations services and provide
recommendations for the future.

DMJM Harris / AECOM, USA

Presented at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York