Personal Mobility

As one of the four priority corridors originally established by the US Congress under the ISTEA legislation, the Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee (GCM) Corridor has been the scene of numerous, ITS projects. One of the largest and most complex is the Gateway Traveler Information System (TIS) which is being led by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). Parsons Transportation Group is assisting IDOT in their work. The Gateway is one of the largest, most complex TIS ever implemented. It involves the collection of transportation related data within a three state area and distribution of this data back to the sources as well as to the public and information service providers. It also includes provision for joint control of field devices across jurisdictional boundaries. In implementing the Gateway, several issues needed to be addressed, many of which have national significance. This paper presents an overview of these issues and details the actions taken to mitigate the effect of these issues. Among the issues discussed are the results of the Corridor’s efforts to exchange geographically based data across several different databases. This is a necessity if information is to be transmitted electronically from computer to computer without any operator intervention. Currently, there are at least eight different location referencing systems in use within the Corridor. The Gateway is not the only system in the US facing this problem, and as a result, a national Location Referencing Messaging System (LRMS) developed by Oak Ridge Laboratory under a contract with the Federal Highway Administration has been implemented in the Corridor. Other issues addressed in this paper include: the need to be NTCIP compliant, specifically what is meant by this; how the design accommodates changes in National Transportation Communication for ITS Protocol (NTCIP); and what is considered as the baseline for NTCIP compliance. Additional issues addressed include: data fusion/verification; consensus building amongst diverse participants and procurement difficulties.

Illinois Department of Transportation

Parsons Transportation Group

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA

Using a lateral driver assist system for snowplow operators as an example, the impact on driver performance of subtle changes in control laws was explored. The display for the driver assist system provided integrated information on current lateral position, road orientation and curvature, and a prediction of future location. Changes in driver performance were seen by modifying the gains for terms within the prediction control law. Most notably, removal of the prediction feature or road orientation led to substantially decreased performance. Gain increases above one in the road orientation term led to improved speed, lateral positioning, and steering wheel standard deviation due to the stability improvement of the driver assist system.

University of California, Berkeley - California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH)

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA

High quality transit service requires two feedback loops. The first loop, which works in real time, is operational control – taking measures to restore service to schedule. The second loop, which works off-line over a longer time frame, is service planning – making a schedule that reflects realistic operating conditions, is achievable, and allows for and expects interventions for operational control.

At the heart of both quality loops is a performance monitoring system based on an on-board computer with location tracking capability. It communicates in real time its location and deviation from schedule; for service planning, it records its trajectory during the day and uploads it at night into a database used for service planning.

This paper shows how service planning can be integrated with operational control using simple illustrations based on the systems that are in place in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The operational control systems used there are holding at timepoints, and conditional priority at signalized intersections. Late buses request, and are given, priority, while early buses experience normal intersection delay, thus restoring service to its schedule. The analysis and planning system used is TRITAPT (TRIp Time Analysis in Public Transport), a program developed at the Delft University of Technology.

Delft University of Technology - Traffic and Transportation Research Laboratory

Northeastern University - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA

Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) are currently being deployed in metropolitan areas for both highway and transit systems. Now, traveler information systems are being examined for their applicability to all phases of the longer distance trip between metropolitan areas. Work now underway at the I-95 Corridor Coalition is examining the needs of the traveler for longer distance trips by modes other than the private automobile.1 Work currently underway at the Transit Cooperative Research Program is examining a wide variety of strategies useful to the designer of public transportation services to airports, including the need to get information to the user about alternatives to the automobile trip.2 Based on the work at these two organizations, this paper reviews the application of elements of ATIS programs to aid the traveler in the provision of a multisegment public mode trip (i.e. a trip requiring several modes) which provides the user with an alternative to the automobile trip. The examples illustrate the technology available to improve the utilization of public modes to major airports.

Matthew A. Coogan - Consultant in Transportation

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA

Freeway congestion is an ever-increasing problem. With limited funding, building bigger roads is not always an option. So we look to traffic management strategies in order to optimize traffic flow efficiency and safety. Of those strategies, this paper addresses Motorist Information. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) has been on the leading edge with their Motorist Information efforts.

Within this paper we will provide background information regarding Mn/DOT’s Traffic Management Center. Again, Mn/DOT was on the leading edge when it was opened in 1972. But the truly impressive expansion of the system came during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Our surveillance increased from 32 CCTV cameras to now more then 240. In addition, we have a fully automated system of more then 400 ramp meters, a continually expanding changeable message sign (CMS) system and the previously mentioned Advanced Traveler Information Systems are described.

This paper will also explain how the low power Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) was initially considered for dissemination of traffic information. But it was determined it would not be as effective as would be needed. So the concept of partnering with the Minneapolis Public Schools (MSP) was presented. There had been nothing like this previously or since. Mn/DOT’s Traffic Radio is the only one of it’s kind in the United States. The partnership includes an amount paid by Mn/DOT to MPS for traffic reports, originating from the Mn/DOT Traffic Management Center, to be broadcast at ten minute intervals from 6:00-9:00 A.M. and 3:30-7:00 P.M., Monday through Friday.

Once Traffic Radio was established it was decided that we needed to provide more options for motorists to receive our information. The idea was that we would provide the most accurate information to everyone regardless of where they were. So through our own development and partnerships we now have Motorist Information available through the Internet, television and the telephone. This paper will identify and describe each of these strategies. And finally, what the future holds.

Minnesota Department of Transportation

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA