Data Utilization at California Transportation Management Centers

Problem

This study examined the operations and functions performed at the Caltrans Transportation management Centers (TMC) with emphasis on the data sources, data processing and performance measures. Currently, much of the investment at the TMCs is in real-time traffic data collection primarily from inductive loop detectors. Much of this data is archived without further analysis due to the staff and budget limitations

Method

The objective of this study is to evaluate how traffic data from several sources (loop detectors, closed circuit television, cellular phone calls for incidents, airborne reports, freeway service patrol logs, etc.) is currently acquired, processed, used, and stored by the Caltrans TMCs and to assess the potential to improve efficiency in data utilization. A literature review was performed to obtain information on the role and functions of TMCs in California and throughout the country. Additional information was gathered through interviews with the staff of ITS America, metropolitan planning organizations, as well as field visits to various Caltrans TMCs. The research then explored the role of information from new technologies and data processing algorithms in supporting TMC operations.

Findings

TMCs are an important means for managing the transportation system by collecting information in a centralized location and developing coordinated action plans. However, much of the investment is in real-time data collection and information dissemination. Little investment has been made for off-line applications (for example, to predict traffic growth). According to TMC staff members, much of the data is stored in the computer system or archived unanalyzed.

Most TMCs do not have the manpower available to ensure that loop detectors operate properly. Thus the data is often not reliable.

Data from video systems and emerging sources (such as electronic toll collection) need to be integrated into the database to assist in the data checking and verification.

New software and hardware will permit TMCs to have access to all types of traffic data from a single workstation. The new software being developed can potentially reduce the amount of human intervention needed for data analysis and collection and reporting of significant events that require TMC action.