Personal Mobility

This paper will discuss the experiences of bringing a 511 system to operation in multiple state environments, and will describe plans for coordinating on-going operations. General cost analysis, challenges faced, lessons learned are included. The focus is on a group of eight-states, referred to in this paper as the CARS-511 consortium. The consortium (consisting of Kentucky, Iowa, Minnesota, Alaska, New Mexico, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire) was formed to develop and deploy new 511 traveler information phone services. The CARS-511 states have discovered that economies of scale have led to cost reductions in application development, software implementation and operational costs. Shared buying power also provides significant leverage to push vendor prices downward.

Castle Rock Consultants

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

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

This paper details the procurement of a Dynamic Message Sign Network (DMSN) by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT). The DMSN will allow RIDOT to provide incident and congestion information to motorists traveling through the Providence metropolitan area.The DMSN procurement is the first major RIDOT ITS procurement that is facilitated through an RFP process.This paper examines the rationale behind, and process of, transitioning from a traditional procurement package to a multi-contract, qualifications based, procurement. Lessons learned from this approach will be of benefit to DOTs who may be considering this same migration path. This paper also illustrates the benefit of converting traditional design specifications to a requirements checklist within an RFP. This is particularly useful for those DOT’s that have invested in a specifications library who may want to adapt these specifications to support qualifications based procurements.

Rhode Island DOT

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

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

The major goal of this paper is to investigate the use of GPS technology in public transit systems with a particular focus on services-on-demand types of transit systems (dial-a-ride, jitney, door-to-door services, taxi, etc.). The paper argues that such services have a greater potential than traditional bus or rail systems for luring SOV drivers out of their automobiles and into public transit, given the opportunities afforded by GPS and advanced communications technology for more efficient scheduling and control for these services. The paper reviews advantages and disadvantages of various forms of public transit and then discusses ways in which GPS technology has advanced automatic vehicle locator (AVL) systems that have already contributed to improved operations of fixed-route bus systems. The paper then reviews available literature on costs of this technology and its impact on overall operating costs.

University of Minnesota

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

Ramp meters in the Twin Cities have been the subject of a recent test of their effectiveness, involving turning them off for 8 weeks. This paper analyzes the results with and without ramp metering for several representative freeways during the afternoon peak period. Seven performance measures: mobility, equity, productivity, consumers’ surplus, accessibility, travel time variation and travel demand responses are compared. It is found that ramp meters are particularly helpful for long trips relative to short trips. Ramp metering, while generally beneficial to freeway segments, may not improve trip travel times (including ramp delays). The reduction in travel time variation comprises another benefit from ramp meters. Non-work trips and work trips respond differently to ramp meters. The results are mixed, suggesting a more refined ramp control algorithm, which explicitly considers ramp delay, is in order.

University of Minnesota

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

As Intelligent Transportation Systems are deployed, adequate funding for operations and maintenance (O&M) quickly becomes a critical issue. Historically, Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funds have been used as the catalyst both for project deployment and start-up operations. However, the challenge that most state DOTs face is identifying and securing long term sources of funds to meet O&M requirements. Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) projects can have significant O&M costs to DOTs.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has recently implemented two ATIS projects that advance their goal of disseminating traveler information to the public: a cable traffic channel and website featuring live camera images. With a focus on the right technological fit to the states needs and agency resources, these projects have been implemented in an integrated, low cost, manner that provides a framework for future private sector partnerships. These projects have also provided a great deal of positive publicity for the Rhode Island ITS program.

Rhode Island DOT

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

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