7 Conclusions
The availability of the real-time traveler information market has expanded greatly across the various modes of surface transportation in recent years. In many areas of the country, users are leveraging real-time information to improve their transportation-related decisions and their quality of life. In addition to the benefits that real-time information provides to travelers individually, it helps to increase the overall efficiency of the transportation network and allows public transportation agencies to improve the management of their systems.
Despite the gains made, continued collaborative efforts are required by the public and private sectors to ensure that the vast and complicated real-time information network coalesces into a more meaningful and seamless information source. Although business models are still developing in many real-time information markets, it is clear that the public sector must continue to play a large role in deploying real-time information systems, even with the private sector as a partner. The US DOT plays a crucial role in coordinating the efforts of the state and local government and private-sector partners. Based on the research conducted for this report, the following conclusions represent actions that will further the development of real-time information systems to continue to improve transportation safety, security, and efficiency:
7.1 Standards
Develop National Standards on Real-Time Information
Every state/region is doing something different with 511 and other real-time information applications, although a majority of them follow the same concepts. The US DOT/FHWA has an opportunity to develop national standards for 511 implementation beyond what is currently provided in the 511 Implementation Guidelines. This would support the interoperability of systems and seamless transition for the traveler between system areas.
Help to Improve Data Quality and Define Quality Standards
Public agencies are interested in support from the government to better ensure data quality. This support can be in the form of white papers, proof of concept, research, or analysis of existing systems. Quality standards can be developed on the national level to ensure that the amount of infrastructure-based data collection devices or probes would satisfy a basic level of quality for the dissemination of that data to the public. Linking the quality of data with the revenue provided to collect that data would help increase the standard for quality.
Help to Improve Data Exchange Standards
The US DOT could and should do more in the arena of real-time data exchange and traveler information standards. To date, many standards are not as widely used as they should be, and this hinders the ability to widely share and use information, which improves data quality. The US DOT should make standards freely available, push for key existing standards to be completed to eliminate ambiguities, provide a more open forum for sharing lessons learned as well as a more open process for standards development, and provide clear test procedures or validation processes so that accurate implementations of the standards can be confirmed.
Standardize Approaches to Collect and Share Information with the Public
There are gaps in information gathering and dissemination that could be mitigated if there were a standard methodology applied to:
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Construction Data – Real-time data collection for actual lane closures, delays, and other impacts to traffic from the construction activities can be shared with the traffic management agencies to disseminate more accurate information to the traveler.
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Communications Protocol for Sharing Data – The methods for collecting, storing, and sharing data can be in multiple forms/protocols, which makes sharing information with new agencies and new users a challenge to overcome. The information that is important to active traffic management and traveler information can be standardized on a national level to be able to share data more easily and potentially provide interoperability between local or state systems.
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Sharing Additional Information with Third-Party Companies to Disseminate to the Traveler – This would include dynamic information on managed lanes or pricing information as an example of information that the consumer would benefit in knowing prior to entering the managed lane.
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Attribute Information – When choosing a parking space, customers benefit from increased knowledge of facility attributes including hours of operations, security features, entry/exit, and cost.
7.2 Resources
Understand the Implications of Section 1201 of SAFETEA-LU
The private sector is supportive of these real-time requirements, but the public sector has some reservations for the federal requirements due to funding and resource implications.
Fund ITS Programs
States and local agencies continue to need funding support to implement ITS to collect data on roads, fleets, and parking facilities, and for more than just traveler information purposes. If the direction of the market remains that the public sector deploys detection devices to collect public data, then funding will continue to be required for maintaining and enhancing programs.
Improve the ITS Deployment Tracking Database
Although it remains the best source of information available on the national level, the ITS Deployment Tracking Database has notable gaps. The uniformity (lack of) of survey results is an issue. Ensuring the survey gets to the right people who have access to the right information is crucial. This is particularly true for arterial information. It is recommended that efforts be focused on maintaining contacts within key agencies who can provide the needed information. Further, data can be obtained from other sources. Vendors are knowledgeable of where their systems are deployed and what their capabilities are. In particular, there are far fewer signal system vendors than there are signal systems. Gathering information from these firms could garner a good return for the effort.
7.3 Research and Development
Research and Evaluate the Benefits of Investing in Data
Define the benefits of investing in real-time data. While there are numerous agencies and areas in the country that are educated on the opportunities for collecting data in the market today, there are some areas that are not yet thinking about how they can use that data.
Facilitate the Development of Technologies and Applications
Supporting the development of technologies through funding and partnerships with the private sector, such as is occurring with IntelliDriveSM, SafeTrip-21, and Mobile Millennium in California, allows the government to show support and new use of innovations and allows the private sector to implement the value-added applications. Emerging market segments like parking and freight are further behind in the development of effective and affordable technologies. Helping agencies to understand what innovations are available and testing those innovations to determine benefits and justifications for widespread use would benefit agencies looking for new opportunities in providing good quality data to their customers.
Encourage the Development of Additional Communication Methods
Funding for research in the areas of DSRC, WiFi, WiMAX, and other open-air communication networks for obtaining real-time data also can support the development of real-time information across all modes.
Conduct Research to Improve Understanding of Real-Time Information Usage
Additional understanding of how travelers use real-time information is needed, including how the information they receive affects the decisions they make. This is especially crucial in developing market segments like transit, parking, and freight. This information can be used to focus outreach efforts, broaden the usage of information, and promote market sustainability.
7.4 Partnerships
Encourage Partnerships
Partnerships that utilize interagency deployments and coordination should be promoted. The relationships should focus on multi-modal regional real-time information and involve coordination between agencies and the private sector. Such partnerships can include the modal integration of real-time information for interagency coordination to consolidate data between state DOTs (traffic) and transit agencies (transit). In addition to public sector partnerships, commercial vehicles need to be an active partner in the development of real-time freight information, including through incentives that encourage participation.
Provide a Qualified Vendor List and Qualified Methods List for Public Agencies to Receive Data
Work to provide a qualified vendor list for providing data and possibly partner with ITS America to develop this. Recommended data collection methods for public agencies to consider implementing would be beneficial for local agencies.
Encourage the Public Agencies to Leverage the Private Sector Strides in Data Collection Techniques and Technologies
The private-sector data is broader in geographic scope than what the public-sector-operated systems can collect. The private-sector competition will keep prices reasonable, which may be able to demonstrate that they are equivalent or lower than the cost for public agencies to deploy data collection devices and provide traveler information services such as 511. There needs to be a bigger market and more demand from customers in order to make prices competitive.
Negotiate Data Collection Activities at a National Level
The US DOT/FHWA should explore the idea of negotiating with the private sector on a national level (perhaps similar to the GSA Schedule) that would provide data on a local or state level. This could not only provide a standardized method for distributing the data to public agencies, but could also support the reliability of that data due to the larger-scale application.