Cross-cutting Issues

In order to understand how ITS is affecting rural economies, interviews with representatives from firms in the recreational transportation equipment industry in northwest Minnesota were conducted. The primary goal of this research is to analyze ITS use from the industry cluster perspective developed by Michael Porter rather than at the individual firm level. It is hoped that this analysis will lead to recognition of regional transportation, communication, and technology concerns and reveal avenues of further ITS development and implementation to keep rural economies competitive. This report has three primary objectives: 1. Assess current ITS use in a rural industry cluster 2. Analyze ITS use to determine if there is an effect on the rural industry cluster 3. Explore future potential roles of ITS in a rural industry cluster or rural economy.

University of Minnesota

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, May 19-22, 2003 Minneapolis, Minnesota

As history has shown, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) deployments are extremely vulnerable to budget cuts, which can result in crippling effects on mission success. Unexpected reductions in budgets can cause an ITS deployment to delay planned expansion. This delay may impact downstream decisions, since technology and market shifts may occur which cause equipment to become end-of life, leaving the deployment in further financial distress. This paper describes several concepts that can mitigate the risk of technical obsolescence at not only the initial design phase but also throughout the lifecycle of the infrastructure. It also illustrates the financial and political leverage gained by applying these concepts regionally across agency boundaries. Published by the Southwest Research Institute.

This paper proposes that the quality of an Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Innovation is ultimately about the quality of its “value proposition” to stakeholders, that is, the researchers, consultants, the Transportation Agency, the private sector and the traveller. It further proposes that to achieve quality by this definition, an ITS innovation requires much more conscious management than is customary in current engineering practice if only because ITS experience to date is not as rich and practice has not yet matured. To get to a framework of “best practices” the paper identifies seven generic components of the innovation process. The paper is theoretical in that a framework is developed rather than a synthesis of case studies. On the other hand, it is practical in that the approach to each generic component is in narrative form rather than model-building. Practitioners are invited to confirm that the suggested guidelines will help or that they are counterproductive, or that important considerations are missed altogether.

Ontario Ministry of Transportation

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, May 19-22, 2003 Minneapolis, Minnesota

This paper describes the innovative approach taken by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) to provide their maintenance foremen and the general public access to information collected through an extensive, multi-agency Road-Weather Information System (RWIS). Baseline results of the Federal Highway Administration evaluation of the project are also presented, focusing on the multi-agency partnership component of the project, the winter maintenance decision-making process utilized by maintenance foremen, and how the project is expected to enhance that process and provide benefits.

Battelle Memorial Institute

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, May 19-22, 2003 Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry provides high tech solutions for managing traffic congestion. One of the main foci of ITS relates to the software integration of the various field components, commonly referred to as the system. Systems projects are characterized by their higher than standard implementation risk. Project risks may be defined in terms of schedule, quality, cost, or requirements risks. The risks increase exponentially as the amount of new software development increases. Development may be in any part of the project, but this paper will primarily discuss risks and costs associated with levels of central software development.

PB Farradyne

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, May 19-22, 2003 Minneapolis, Minnesota