Personal Mobility

Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) is perceived as a major ITS initiative to manage congestion. DTA algorithms seek to guide “smart cars” along paths to their respective destinations so as to disperse traffic demand over a network in a manner that minimizes vehicle hours or trip travel times. DTA algorithms must be tested before deployed. This paper describes a microsimulation model designed to interface with any DTA algorithm, which simulates the operational performance of traffic comprised of a mix of “smart” cars equipped to be guided during their travel, and those not so equipped. Results obtained by the model simulation a DTA traffic environment are presented.

KLD Associates, Inc.

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

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) of Chicago is investigating the feasibility of implementing real-time Parking Management Systems (PMS) for transit station applications in northeastern Illinois. This PMS study is part of a larger effort in the Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee (GCM) ITS Corridor toward development of a Regional Multi-Modal Traveler Information System. The work is being performed in close coordination with the three regional transit service boards (Chicago Transit Authority [CTA], Metra commuter rail, Pace suburban bus).

The PMS study includes an implementation plan that defines initial demonstration project locations, and is establishing both a system architecture and regional standards for design and configuration of real-time parking management components. These standards would assure common types of parking information displays at transit park-and-ride facilities in the Chicago area, regardless of service provider. The uniform standards would facilitate leveraging of capital and maintenance costs between different service boards, thus reducing overall program costs.

Study activities include:

• Needs assessment from both operator and user perspectives
• Review of technologies
• Functional requirements definition
• Conceptual definition of PMS operational schemes and display types
• Implementation plan and identification of demonstration sites
• Standard specifications for system and displays

The study is being performed for the RTA by Wilbur Smith Associates, with subconsultants HNTB and TranSmart Technologies.

Wilbur Smith Associates

Regional Transportation Authority

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

Ride Solution is the Community Transportation Coordinator for Putnam County, Florida and, as such, is responsible for the coordination of all of the tax funded, human service transportation in the county. Putnam County is a rural county of 798 square miles and total population of 70,000, approximately 11,000 of which live in Palatka, the county seat. Ride Solution operates a fleet of 34 vehicles with about half being buses and half being vans. The operation has been successful in interweaving human service transport so as to form a countywide public transit system with published schedules, bus stop signs and shelters. The service operates on one hour headways in Palatka, the largest incorporated area in the county, and on about two hour headways within a 25 mile radius of Palatka. Four hour headways are maintained three days a week on a 55 mile route to Gainesville in the neighboring county of Alachua. Ride Solution provides 120,000 rides per year about 20,000 of which are general public riders who access the system at published stops. A fare of $1.00 provides the public with a one way trip anywhere in the system. Savings to agency participants includes a $300,000 per year or 33% reduction in Medicaid transportation costs since flex routing began on a large scale in 1996.

Ride Solution

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

Real-time transit passenger information systems are intended to improve the level of service provided by transit agencies. Such systems provide real-time information on when buses on specified routes are expected to arrive to a bus stop. Although such information is assumed to be of benefit, methods for evaluating these benefits under various conditions are limited. This paper expands upon the functionality and application of an evaluation methodology recently developed by the authors. The methodology focuses on the potential benefits of bus arrival information systems to passengers waiting at bus stops under various supply and demand characteristics. Transit bus operations and passenger arrivals are modeled as a stochastic system where the operator uses real-time bus location data to provide to waiting passengers bus arrival time information that maximizes passengers’ utilities. Simulation results reveal the nature of the dependence of the value of such information systems on the type of real-time data available to the operator, bus operations characteristics, and demand patterns. These results indicate that while the first two influence the value of information to passengers, demand patterns do not have a significant impact.

Rabi G. Mishalani, Mark R. McCord, and Sungjoon Lee

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

The ACAS integration of FCW and ACC stands to have a major influence on the driving process, from the viewpoint of safety, convenience, and traffic flow.

The ACAS FOT will study the naturalistic use of this sophisticated driver assistance technology in diverse traffic and road environments by laypersons.

By means of a massive program of subjective and objective measurements, an authoritative set of results and findings is expected.

University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, April 29 –May 2, 2002 Long Beach, California