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Bellevue Smart Traveler -- Technical Assistance Brief #4, February 1994
Bellevue Smart Traveler
Technical Assistance Brief
Brief #5
February 1994The Bellevue Smart Traveler (BST) project is an operational test sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under its Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS) Program. The BST project participants include the Bellevue, Washington Transportation Management Association (TMA), the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the University of Washington, Seattle Metro, PacTel Paging, Seiko, and the FTA. The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) will evaluate the BST project to measure the degree to which the objectives of the FTA's national APTS program, the Washington State Department of Transportation, and the Bellevue TMA are achieved.
Background
Public opinion surveys show that traffic congestion is a leading public issue in the Puget Sound region. For the past several years, researchers at the University of Washington have been studying ways to provide information-based solutions to the problem of traffic congestion in the region. These efforts have focused on understanding Puget Sound commuter behavior and applying that understanding to the design of an Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS). The BST project is a product of this work. It is designed to help Puget Sound commuters make more efficient decisions on departure times, routes, and travel modes by providing real-time information on travel alternatives.
At the state level, the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) law was enacted to address growth-related transportation problems. This law is intended to reduce the number of single occupant vehicles (SOVs) on the road, thereby reducing auto-generated air pollution, traffic congestion, and energy use. To achieve this, counties and cities with major employers must adopt trip reduction ordinances and employers must implement trip reduction programs. One impetus for the Bellevue Smart Traveler project is to assist major employers in downtown Bellevue in meeting their trip reduction requirements as well as provide a model for other cities.
BST Objective
The primary objective of the BST project is to design, implement, and test a prototype Traveler Information Center (TIC) that is intended to:
o Increase the use of transit, carpools, and vanpools by SOV commuters to downtown Bellevue office complexes
o Provide new carpool and vanpool options for commuters
o Enhance existing transit and pooling alternatives by making them easier to access, more flexible, safer, etc.
o Deliver both real-time traffic and other commuter information that emphasizes the advantages of alternative commuting such as time and money savingsand
o Increase awareness of available commuting alternatives and how to use them.
Project Description
The Bellevue Smart Traveler project began in 1991 with an initial grant from FTA to study alternatives for reducing single occupancy vehicle commuting to and from Bellevue, Washington. Phase I of the project entailed: a review and assessment of existing ATIS technologies to enhance carpooling and other forms of public transportation ; a survey of poolers and non-poolers to understand their commute patterns and information needs; an evaluation of the use of cellular telephones during the commute; a test of the viability, and interest in, in-vehicle delivery of traffic information; and the development of recommendations for information services that could be used to increase the attractiveness of pooling (Bellevue Smart Traveler and Cellular Telecommunications, Report Number DOT-T-93-36). Among the findings of the surveys were that 42 percent of SOV commuters stated they would be interested in a flexible, 'instant' rideshare program, and poolers felt that access to real-time traffic information made them feel safer and less stressed during their commute. The recommendations formed during this phase formed the basis for the second project phase - implementation of the Traveler Information Center.
Advanced Traveler Information Systems have been viewed as a means of addressing urban traffic congestion. In the past, these systems focused more on helping drivers avoid problem spots and incidents than on enhancing public transportation options. The BST, however, focuses ATIS technology on encouraging transit and paratransit (carpools and vanpools) use and making that use more flexible, reliable, safe, and time efficient.
Because traffic congestion in urban centers can usually be attributed to SOV use by people commuting to work in densely clustered downtown areas, Phase II of the BST is designed to increase the use of transit and paratransit by these downtown workers. The Traveler Information Center provides workers with three types of commuter information: dynamic ride-matching information, up-to-the-minute traffic congestion information, and accurate bus information. This project will measure the potential of ATIS technology to enhance transit and paratransit travel modes and assess the viability of a Traveler Information Center as a method for downtown areas to meet trip reduction requirements.
The TIC information is available via three media: telephones, hand-held alpha-numeric pagers, and a kiosk. PacTel is loaning up to 600 pagers to the project. The BST provides users with 200 free pager calls per month. The pagers also provide other information services such as weather, news, and stock market information. The integration of these other information services with the traffic information available through the pagers is considered to be an important marketing tool in attracting commuters to participate in the project.
The kiosk has been placed in the lobby of the downtown Bellevue Place office complex. This kiosk uses the TRAFFIC REPORTER software developed by the University of Washington to provide real-time traffic information for the Seattle area freeway system. TRAFFIC REPORTER receives data from various detectors and converts the data into up-to-the-minute traffic information. This includes an overview of freeway speeds for I-5, I-90, and SR-520; specific trip information including travel time, average speed, and savings on high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes via a touch-screen interface; and automatic cycling of popular trips when the system is not being accessed.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the BST is the dynamic ride-matching element. A major obstacle to conventional ride-sharing programs is that potential users are often reluctant to commit to a long-term, relatively inflexible transportation schedule. Dynamic ride-matching attempts to address this obstacle by providing drivers and commuters with the flexibility of both scheduling regular commuting trips and arranging for 'instant' carpools or vanpools. There are, however, a number of technical and institutional factors associated with a dynamic ride-matching program, including: organizational and logistical issues; ensuring the safety of participants; and balancing driver demands with rider conveniences. The BST project will provide insights on these factors.
The dynamic ride-matching information obtained through the TIC allows commuters to carpool to or from work on an occasional, on-demand basis. A guaranteed ride home program, funded and administered by the TMA, provides a back-up for project participants who are unable to obtain a return trip home through the TIC. Having a guaranteed ride home was by far the most important ridesharing feature for respondents to the Phase I surveys, with approximately 62 percent rating it as very important.
The user population consists of two types: 'registered' users and 'guest' users. Registered users are employees of downtown Bellevue companies taking part in the BST operational test project who are willing to drive for, or ride in, dynamic carpools. They are required to fill out a registration application and meet certain requirements. Registered users have access to pagers in addition to the phone-based system and are given Personal Identification Numbers and passwords so that they can have full access to the TIC. Guest users can call the TIC phone number but have access to only a subset of TIC features and are not given pagers.
The pager is intended to facilitate the promotion of dynamic carpools. To acquire a pager, a registered user must agree to: attempt to ride or drive for a carpool three or more days per week; notify the TMA if the pager is lost, stolen or damaged; relinquish the pager in the event that the user is not participating in ride matches; and return the pager to the TMA when the project ends.
All registered users are being monitored to determine how they use the system and whether the system is effective in encouraging their use of HOV transportation options. Guest users are not being tracked except to keep a record of the number of guest calls received.
To limit the information given to registered users to that which is relevant to their commute, they are divided into 'ride groups.' All registered users must work in an eight-square-block area of downtown Bellevue, but may live throughout the Puget Sound area. Ride groups will be based on where users live so that each ride group will consist of users that commute to and from the same travel corridors. This would permit commuters who live in distant areas to pick up passengers anywhere along the same corridor, either at passenger residences, park-and-ride lots, or other convenient locations. This grouping should allow the greatest potential for successful dynamic ride matches.
Benefits
If the BST project objective is achieved, the following benefits will result:
o A decrease in SOV traffic to downtown Bellevue work sites, with associated reductions in congestion, car emissions, energy use, wasted time, travel expense, parking needs, and highway maintenance costs,
o A model for other sites to follow;
o A method to cost effectively meet a TDM requirement set by law; and
o A greater understanding of design principles for applying ATIS technology to aid in solving public transportation problems.
Current Status
The TIC has been operational since November 1993. Continuation funding from the Federal Highway Administration is being pursued in order to extend the project past its current April 1994 ending date.
A future brief will describe the results obtained from this operational test. For more information on the Bellevue Smart Traveler project contact Cathy Blumenthal, Executive Director, Bellevue Transportation Management Association, at (206) 453-0644.
There are a variety of local initiatives and APTS operational tests being evaluated across the U.S. The evaluations cover all three focus areas of the APTS Program: Smart Traveler technology, Smart Vehicle technology, and Smart Intermodal Systems. For more information contact FTA's Advanced Public Transportation Systems Division at (202) 366-0080.
