Testing a Proposed Decision-Oriented Framework to Understand ITS Deployment Issues: An Examination of the TravInfo ATIS Project

Problem

Deployment is at the forefront of current activity in California in the field of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). It is important to understand, to the extent possible, the multitude of issues associated with ITS deployment in order to increase the likelihood of a successful deployment initiative(s). A review and synthesis of ITS literature has been performed and has resulted in the development of a proposed decision-oriented framework with the purpose of helping users recognize and organize issues for the successful deployment of ITS.

TravInfo was used as a case study for the examination of the decision-oriented framework examined in this report.

Method

TravInfo was a Field Operational Test (FOT) sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration involving both public and private sector participants. TravInfo had the purpose of collecting, integrating, and broadly disseminating timely and accurate multi-modal travel information for the San Francisco Bay Area through a range of products to meet various consumer needs.

Findings

The decision-oriented framework developed provides a way to categorize issues when considering the deployment of ITS. However, the categories or dimensions of the framework is recommended not to be used as the sole predictive tool for ITS deployment, nor was it developed for this purpose.

Based on the TravInfo case examination of the decision-oriented framework developed for this study, it was found that overall, the decision-oriented framework provides a useful way to evaluate and bring together issues into a more cohesive whole in order to assess the likelihood of a successful ITS deployment. Some refinements to the framework are suggested which could lead to an improved product.