## ![](media/image1.png){width="7.425in" height="8.49375in"}

## 

## Transportation Management Center Business Planning and Plans Handbook

Developed for

*TMC Pooled Fund Study*

*Federal Highway Administration*

By

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.

and

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.

##  {#section-2 .sub-heading}

## December, 2005 {#december-2005 .sub-heading}

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)

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| **Form DOT F |   |   |   |              |                           |
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| (8-72)       |   |   |   |              |                           |
| Reproduction |   |   |   |              |                           |
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| page         |   |   |   |              |                           |
| authorized** |   |   |   |              |                           |
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# 

# Table of Contents

[Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview 1-1](#introduction-and-overview)

[Chapter 2: Overview of Business Planning for Transportation Management
Centers
2-1](#overview-of-business-planning-for-transportation-management-centers)

[Chapter 3: TMC Business Planning Process
3-1](#tmc-business-planning-process)

[Chapter 4: TMC Business Models 4-1](#tmc-business-models)

[Chapter 5: Developing the TMC Business Concept
5-1](#developing-the-tmc-business-concept)

[Chapter 6: TMC Defining the Value Proposition
6-1](#tmc-defining-the-value-proposition)

[Chapter 7: Strategy Sets 7-1](#strategy-sets)

[Chapter 8: Organization and Management
8-1](#organization-and-management)

[Chapter 9: Financial Plan 9-1](#financial-plan)

[Chapter 10: Using and Managing the TMC Business Plan
10-1](#using-and-managing-the-tmc-business-plan)

[Chapter 11: INFORM, Long Island, New York -- A Regional TMC Operated
through a Contracted Operations Model
11-1](#inform-long-island-new-york-a-regional-tmc-operated-through-a-contracted-operations-model)

[Chapter 12: Mn/DOT's Regional Transportation Management Center,
Roseville, Minnesota -- A Statewide TMC Operated by the Public Sector
12-1](#mndots-regional-transportation-management-center-roseville-minnesota-a-statewide-tmc-operated-by-the-public-sector)

[Chapter 13: City of Tucson, Arizona, Regional Transportation Control
Center -- A Multiple Jurisdiction TMC Operated through a Public-Private
Partnership
13-1](#city-of-tucson-arizona-regional-transportation-control-center-a-multiple-jurisdiction-tmc-operated-through-a-public-private-partnership)

[Chapter 14: Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation (FAST), Clark
County, Las Vegas, Nevada -- A Regional TMC Operated Through a Separate
Public Sector Operating Entity
14-1](#freeway-and-arterial-system-of-transportation-fast-clark-county-las-vegas-nevada-a-regional-tmc-operated-through-a-separate-public-sector-operating-entity)

[Chapter 15: California Department of Transportation, District 12,
Orange County, Traffic Management Center -- a Regional TMC operated by
the Public Sector
15-1](#california-department-of-transportation-district-12-orange-county-traffic-management-center-a-regional-tmc-operated-by-the-public-sector)

##  {#section-4 .sub-heading}

Intentionally left blank.

# Introduction and Overview 

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives:]{.underline}*

This is the first of ten chapters that comprise the *TMC Business
Planning and Plans Handbook*. Chapters 11 to 15 present five case
studies of existing TMCs. The Handbook has been prepared by the TMC
Pooled Fund Study, and sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration
for TMC and transportation agency managers to assist them with
long-range business planning for TMCs. The Handbook is intended to serve
as a "how to" tool by applying business planning techniques from the
private sector to establish a long-range business plan for TMCs. This
initial chapter provides a brief overview and introduction to the
Handbook and TMC Business Planning in general.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

-   Business Planning is an effective management tool commonly used in
    the private sector, and some of these principles can also be
    translated for use in the public sector to aid in the planning and
    management of TMCs.

-   The core components of a TMC Business Plan include a business
    concept, a set of strategies, a value proposition, organization and
    management structure, and a financial plan.

-   Developing a Business Plan for a TMC offers many advantages, but can
    also present many challenges for transportation agencies since it is
    not necessarily a common practice for public sector entities.

*[Key Topics and Issues to be Covered:]{.underline}*

Chapter 1 provides a background and context for TMC business planning,
including a discussion of why a TMC Business Plan is needed, the
associated challenges and the key components of a business plan. This
chapter also discusses the benefits of the plan development process as
well as how the TMC business plan can help support TMC establishment,
operations, and growth. An overview of the contents of the Handbook, its
intended audience, and expected impact and use are also discussed.

*[How This Chapter Relates to Other Chapters:]{.underline}*

As the initial chapter of the *TMC Business Planning and Plans
Handbook,* Chapter 1 sets the stage for the remaining chapters of the
Handbook. Its primary intent is to touch on each of the topics that make
up the Handbook and provide the reader with a general introduction to
the subject matter. The subsequent chapters will expand on this
introduction with more detail for the various components of the TMC
Business Plan and the TMC Business Planning Process.

*[Remaining Sections:]{.underline}*

1.1 Why do a Business Plan for a TMC?

1.2 Background and Context for TMC Business Planning

1.3 Relationship of the Business Plan to Other Plans and Processes

1.4 Problem Statement

1.5 Purpose Statement

1.6 Key Themes and Topics That Will Be Presented

1.7 Intended Audience

1.8 How to Use this Document

1.9 Remaining Chapters in this Handbook

**1.1 Why Do a Business Plan for a TMC?**

A TMC Business Plan is a plan for executing the long-range vision and
goals of a TMC. Every agency or individual that manages a TMC has a
vision of what they want their TMC to be and goals that they would like
their TMC to accomplish. The Business Plan acts as the roadmap that
agencies follow to first establish these goals and objectives and then
ultimately achieve them. Related planning documents such as ITS
Strategic Plans, ITS Architectures, Concepts of Operation, and
Operations Plans provide important input into the TMC Business Plan and
thus will need to be coordinated with the TMC Business Planning process.

The concept of business planning for some public agencies might seem a
bit abstract. Through the course of developing this handbook, it was
apparent that agencies are familiar with plans such as ITS
Architectures, Concepts of Operations, and Strategic Plans. Very few
develop formal ITS or TMC Business Plans, although many agencies go
through some of the key processes and components of business planning as
part of their agency or departmental strategic planning or annual
budgeting processes.

For an agency that has never developed a TMC Business Plan before, the
task of developing a Business Plan may seem daunting. Furthermore, some
transportation agencies may not fully understand the benefits of such an
effort. It is important for agencies to realize, however, that the
effort they spend developing a business plan for their TMC may be one of
the best investments they could possibly make.

One of the greatest values of the TMC Business Plan is its role in
helping agencies link ITS programs to regional objectives and funding
sources. This is what separates the TMC Business Plan from other agency
planning processes. If properly implemented, the Plan can establish
legitimacy for sustainable funding, near-term needs of the TMC as well
as longer-term programs and partnerships through ongoing performance
measurement and reporting of outcomes. In this way, it is a valuable
tool for communicating with policy makers, partners, and executives.

The Business Plan also plays a key role in outlining TMC requirements
such as facility, staffing, operational, partnership, and interface
requirements. By establishing a Business Concept, which serves as a
description or a 'snapshot' of what the TMC does, what it is envisioned
to do, the role that it plays within an agency, and the desired roles
and functions that the TMC needs to serve, identifying specific
operational and interface requirements is a necessary step in developing
the desired 'end state' of how the TMC needs to function. In turn, this
'end state' helps to outline where the TMC currently stands relative to
functionality, operations, staffing and agency interfaces, and what key
gaps need to be addressed to reach the desired level of operations for
the TMC. The Plan also defines the roles and responsibilities of the
various TMC partners, specific to the Business Concept and TMC goals and
objectives, which is an important part of the planning process.

The TMC Business Plan is relevant to all stages of the TMC life cycle
including establishing a new TMC, evolution or expansion of a TMC,
sustaining operations in changing environments and re-evaluating
priorities. Typically, TMC and agency managers responsible for TMC
planning and operations will be the people most involved in the business
planning process.

**1.2 Background and Context for TMC Business Planning**

This section discusses the contents of the TMC Business Plan in greater
detail with a discussion of private sector business planning and a
description of the core components of a TMC Business Plan.

**1.2.1 Applying Business Planning Principles**

While there is no one, universally accepted definition of what a
business plan is, there is general consensus on what a business plan is
intended to achieve. Business planning is a common practice in the
private sector, primarily for a new business venture or branching out
into new business focus areas for established businesses. Essentially, a
business plan is aimed at:

-   Defining a business objective, venture, idea, product or service,
    why there is a need, and what will be gained by fulfilling this
    need;

-   Analyzing the marketplace, including need or 'niche' the product or
    service will fill, assessing the competition in the marketplace,
    identifying key challenges or risk factors that will support (or
    impact) success, and articulating why this product or service is
    better than the competition's;

-   Describing what operational resources (such as technology,
    personnel, capital or partners) are needed to develop and manage the
    product or venture, and achieve the business objective or market
    placement;

-   Outlining financial objectives and needs, financing proposals,
    budgets and projected incomes, and developing a sound financial plan
    for how the business venture, product or service should perform and
    profit;

-   Providing a plan for how the product or service will be marketed;
    and

-   Outlining the operations and management environment, including what
    kind of facilities will be needed, the organization and management
    structure, and roles and responsibilities of the key players and
    partners involved.

Common for new business start-ups, the private sector business plan is
intended to lay the foundation for a product or service development
strategy, but more importantly, it is used primarily to attract
investors to the proposed business or product or gain support for
expanding an existing product or service.

So why should these principles be considered as part of TMC planning,
and how can they be applied in the public sector?

It is important to note that there is not a linear translation from a
private sector business plan to one that would be appropriate for the
public sector. That is, not all elements of a business plan that would
be developed for a product, service, or business venture are necessarily
applicable or even appropriate in the context of developing a business
plan for a TMC. There are principles and methods used in business
planning that TMC managers and agency executives can draw upon to
develop a sound, pragmatic, and comprehensive business-based approach to
planning for TMCs.

Applying these business planning principles and the business planning
process will help TMC managers to:

-   Define the specific operational roles and functions that the TMC
    fulfills, or vision for what operational role it should fulfill with
    the right resources and systems available and in place;

-   Analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT
    Analysis);

-   Identify the benefits and 'payoff' expected to be achieved,
    including near-term and longer term scenarios, agency-specific
    benefits and value, as well as the benefits to the broader regional
    context;

-   Outline the funding requirements and financial strategy; and

-   Develop requirements for the needed partnerships, organization and
    management structure, and personnel needs.

These business planning principles and the process to develop them force
agencies to take a hard look at why they need to invest resources in the
TMC, what the expected benefits of the investment will be, and how the
objectives and investment will be achieved.

**1.2.2 Core Components of a TMC Business Plan**

The contents of a TMC Business Plan may vary from agency to agency but
in general, there are five recommended core components to the Plan.
These include:

-   TMC Business Concept;

-   Strategies;

-   Value Proposition/Benefit;

-   Organization and Management; and

-   Financial Plan.

The TMC Business Concept outlines, at a high level, key functions and
services, as well as desired functions and services of the TMC. It
describes the current TMC, including technical and institutional
relationships, its 'place' and role in the regional context, and
objectives and goals for how the TMC needs to operate. These operational
objectives and goals are based on stakeholder input as to how the TMC
needs to function. Additionally, the Business Concept will reflect the
key goals and functions identified for the TMC in other planning
processes such as the regional ITS architecture, concepts of operations,
and higher-level goals from agency strategic planning. Finally, the TMC
Business Concept provides an overall vision of the TMC.

The Strategies component of the TMC Business Plan documents an overall
process for achieving the vision specified in the Business Concept. More
specifically, the Strategies define the actions, implementations,
upgrades, enhancements, and integration activities that need to occur in
order to achieve the vision and what these actions will accomplish. By
mapping the current state of the TMC to desired state, strategic
directions can be established. The Strategies component of the TMC
Business Plan also identifies timeframes, dependencies, and
implementation responsibilities.

The purpose of the Value Proposition is to explain the anticipated
benefits or payoff resulting from achieving the objectives proposed in
the TMC Business Plan. These benefits could impact the public (such as
reducing traffic congestion) or the agency (such as more efficient use
of resources). It will be important that the Business Plan define these
benefits well in order to 'sell' the Business Concept to key decision
makers, leaders, and partner agencies.

The Organization and Management component of the Business Plan defines
the roles and responsibilities of primary and partner agencies. It
answers questions such as who owns, who manages, and who participates in
various TMC activities. The overall organization of the TMC, including
personnel and staffing, is clearly documented. The TMC's relationship to
other agencies and the relationships within its 'owning' agency are also
defined.

The Financial Plan covers all the financial aspects of the TMC. It
includes a discussion of the budget for capital expenditures, as well as
operations and management costs. It discusses the timeframes for
expenditures, potential funding mechanisms, and provides strategies for
working within agency and regional funding/programming processes.
Finally, the Financial Plan outlines procurement issues, requirements,
and challenges.

**Figure 1-1** shows these components within the context of a
step-by-step process for developing the key pieces of the TMC Business
Plan.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.742361111111111in"
height="3.502083333333333in"}

Figure 1-1: Business Plan Steps and Process

**1.3 Relationship of the Business Plan to Other Plans and Processes**

For many agencies, it is likely that the scope of their TMC Business
Plan will overlap with the scope of other planning efforts. This is
because a TMC provides a wide range of functions and involves many
different stakeholders. By its nature, a TMC is a very complex entity
and very broad in scope. Some of the potential planning documents or
processes that are likely to contribute to or complement the TMC
Business Plan include:

-   Regional ITS Architecture;

-   Strategic Deployment Plan;

-   Concept of Operations; and

-   Operations and Management Plans.

**Figure 1-2** shows the relationships and inputs from some of these
other plans and planning efforts to the Business Plan. In some cases,
the TMC Business Plan may even be a subset of these documents. For
instance, the Strategic Deployment Plan may have a separate chapter for
TMCs that defines its requirements, stakeholders, expansion plan, and
operational and management issues. Alternatively, the Concept of
Operations may have a section describing operations specific to the TMC
such as incident management plans or procedures for coordinating with
emergency personnel from the TMC. It will be important for agencies to
have an understanding of the efforts already completed that could
support or 'feed' a business planning process.

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="5.270138888888889in"
height="5.227777777777778in"}

Figure 1-2: Relationship of the TMC Business Plan to other Plans and
Processes

Because these planning efforts are often interrelated, it will be
important for agencies to coordinate them with each other to the
greatest extent possible, as well as incorporate relevant information or
established goals and objectives that have previously been developed.
One of the best ways to do this is to establish a coordinated plan for
updating each of the documents. For example, if the Regional ITS
Architecture and Strategic Plan are scheduled to be updated every three
years, then it may make sense to update the TMC Business Plan at the
same time.

4.  **Problem Statement**

Developing a business plan for a TMC is a relatively new, and
potentially abstract, concept for most agencies in the public sector.
There are a few examples presented in this Handbook but in general, TMC
Business Planning as a formal and concerted effort, is relatively
uncharted territory. This presents many challenges for agencies since
business planning can be a complex process and there are few specific
TMC Business Plans for them to refer to or learn from.

Typically, TMC needs, goals, and functions are documented as a component
or part of another planning process (such as the Strategic Deployment
Plan or Concept of Operations). An ITS architecture takes a more
detailed look at agency interfaces, functional requirements and the
relationships of public and private entities in a region or state to
deliver specific functions or services. These documents may be used as
starting points or provide input into the TMC Business Plan but for the
most part, the Plan will need to integrate existing work and develop
from that point on. It is important to note that most agencies, as part
of their program management tasks, often work through many of the
components of a TMC Business Plan, such as assessing and developing
organizational structures, identifying key strategies, and budgeting.

There are also other challenges that agencies may face with the business
planning process. In this time of tight budgets, it may be difficult to
plan for financial sustainability of the TMC. TMC managers will have to
compete with other programs and projects for scarce resources and
funding. It may also be a challenge for agencies to understand and
demonstrate how the TMC fits in with broader agency business plans and
business objectives. It will be important for agencies to have the right
staff in place to accomplish the business planning task, and be able to
'champion' the Business Concept to key decision makers within their
agency or region.

The business planning process, concepts, strategies, and examples
presented in this handbook are intended to support TMC managers and
others as they develop an approach to business planning and their
business plan, and help overcome most of these challenges.

**1.5 Purpose Statement**

The *TMC Business Planning and Plans Handbook* will provide TMC managers
and transportation agency executives with a step-by-step guide to
multi-year business planning using sound business planning techniques.
It will also help managers to understand the realm of possible
alternatives for structuring a TMC and the management and operational
implications of these alternatives. In essence, the TMC Handbook offers
a "how-to" that focuses on evolving TMC functions, concepts, processes,
and strategies and presents them within a business planning context.

**1.6 Key Themes and Topics That Will Be Presented**

Among the key themes and topics to be presented in the *TMC Business
Planning and Plans Handbook* are recommended 'best practices' for TMC
business planning illustrated through case study examples of current TMC
business plan elements, organizational structures, and management
strategies. These case studies include various approaches to TMC
business planning garnered from public agencies, as well as how private
sector business models and planning processes could be applied to TMCs.

The Handbook presents organizational issues, including TMC functionality
and the role of the TMC in agency or regional operations, and
recommended organizational structures and resource requirements. A range
of potential TMC business models and organizational approaches are
presented to provide readers with a context for how business planning
can benefit single-agency TMCs, regional or statewide TMCs, as well as
unique partnership arrangements that help offset (and complement) the
public sector's roles and responsibilities.

Also covered are methods, strategies, procedures, and key steps that TMC
managers can use to develop a business plan for their TMC, including
recommended guidelines and techniques. The Handbook also discusses the
importance of a multi-year TMC business plan to sustaining operations of
TMCs, or expanding operations or functions of TMCs and supporting
management systems. Finally, the Handbook introduces performance
monitoring strategies that can be used to assess the effectiveness of
the business plan.

**1.7 Intended Audience**

This Handbook was developed specifically for TMC and agency
transportation managers who are responsible for any and all aspects of
TMC operations, strategic planning, implementation, and coordination
with other entities. It is intended to serve as a resource guide that
defines what a Business Plan can do for a TMC, the importance of
developing a long-range business plan, TMC Business Concept, and being
able to justify funding, resources, and other necessary commitments to
agency and regional decision makers.

**1.8 How to Use this Document**

This Handbook provides TMC managers and Transportation Agency managers
with key tools and strategies that they can apply to business planning
development and the plan preparation process. It can be used by managers
as a reference or as a guide for all aspects of the TMC business
planning process including understanding the Plan, developing the Plan,
and using and managing the Plan. The document also shows managers how to
use the TMC Business Plan as a management tool and for obtaining buy-in
and support from key decision makers for investment decisions about
their TMC.

**1.9 Remaining Chapters in this Handbook**

This chapter is the first of ten in the *TMC Business Planning and Plans
Handbook.* It is intended to provide an introduction to the business
planning process and an overview of the TMC Business Plan topics that
are covered in greater detail in the subsequent chapters. Chapters 11
through 15 present five case studies of existing TMCs. The content of
the remaining chapters is summarized below.

-   ***Chapter 2, Overview of Business Planning for TMCs***, provides an
    overview of what TMC business planning involves and what benefits
    will result from developing a business plan. It includes Business
    Planning concepts, strategies, and how private sector business
    planning approaches can be applied to a TMC business plan. This
    chapter also introduces the components of a typical TMC Business
    Plan.

-   ***Chapter 3, TMC Business Planning Process***, introduces the
    reader to the processes and sequence of key steps for effective
    business planning for TMCs. These key steps are illustrated in a
    flow diagram, and are discussed in more detail in later chapters.

-   ***Chapter 4, TMC Business Models***, presents the different options
    for TMC business models, and describes the different options and
    factors, including geographic coverage, numbers of types of agencies
    involved, and operational roles. Specific real-world examples of the
    various models at work are presented.

-   ***Chapter 5, Developing the TMC Business Concept***, takes a more
    in-depth look at the Business Concept---what it is, why it is
    important to the overall TMC business plan, and how to go about
    developing a vision, TMC strategic objectives, identify desired end
    states, and articulate these in a TMC Business Concept.

-   ***Chapter 6, Defining the Value Proposition***, provides the reader
    with background and context for what a value proposition is and why
    it is important. This chapter also outlines approaches for agencies
    or stakeholder groups to use to develop effective value propositions
    to support the Business Concept.

-   ***Chapter 7, Strategy Sets***, documents how goals and strategic
    objectives established as part of the visioning and Business
    Concept, as well as expected benefits defined within the Value
    Proposition, are mapped to specific strategies, actions, and
    timeframes.

-   ***Chapter 8, Organization and Management***, provides the reader
    with information about the different variations of TMC organization
    and management structure, and addresses how the considerations, such
    as functions, partnerships, geographic area, and other features
    affect organizational approach and how these considerations have
    been handled by other TMCs.

-   ***Chapter 9, Financial Plan***, discusses challenges associated
    with financial planning for TMCs, including how to justify TMC needs
    versus other competing priorities within a region. Includes examples
    of how to document funding needs, timelines, potential sources,
    etc., and how to tie the financial plan with the strategies,
    actions, timeframes, and responsibilities that have been previously
    developed.

-   ***Chapter 10, Using and Managing the TMC Business Plan**,* provides
    'next steps' and guidance for agencies in how to make the TMC
    Business Plan an important tool for continued TMC operations and
    expansion, as well as use the TMC Business Plan to help sell the
    Business Concept and Value Proposition to key decision makers, and
    garner their support. This chapter also discusses the importance of
    treating the TMC Business Plan as a living document that needs to be
    periodically reviewed and updated based on changing priorities or
    new functional capabilities.

-   ***Chapter 11 -- 15, TMC Case Studies***

Intentionally left blank.

# Overview of Business Planning for Transportation Management Centers

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives]{.underline}*

This chapter provides an overview of what TMC business planning involves
and what benefits will result from developing a business plan.
Essentially -- why do one? Business Planning concepts, strategies, and
examples from the private sector are introduced, which provides a basis
for describing how the process could be applied to a TMC business plan.
This chapter introduces the key components of a TMC Business Plan, with
greater detail provided in the subsequent chapters.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

Long-term system operations is fast becoming a priority focus area for
many transportation agencies, and leveraging and protecting the
investment agencies have made in Intelligent Transportation Systems
(ITS) so that they will remain a vital traffic management tool requires
careful and proactive planning. A TMC is the hub of a regional system,
and often the TMC functions in many capacities, ranging from overall
system operations to traffic and incident management, and even as the
nerve center for state as well as local operations, travel information,
regional emergency management, and system maintenance. With TMCs
evolving into such vital elements of a region's transportation system,
how can resources be targeted to achieve the desired results? How can
future resource needs be projected and planned for? What are the options
for organizing management functions and personnel?

*[Key Topics and Issues to be Covered:]{.underline}*

-   Provides an example of private-sector oriented business plan outline
    and how this can be applied to a TMC Business Plan

-   Discusses how business planning can be applicable at key stages in a
    TMC life cycle, including new TMC initiatives, sustaining
    operations, and evolving and expanding TMCs, including the benefits
    of business planning at these milestones

*[How This Chapter Relates to Other Chapters:]{.underline}*

This chapter provides background and context for Business Planning
principles and guidelines, including the core components of a TMC
Business Plan. By introducing business planning principles and core
elements of a business plan, this chapter sets the stage for subsequent
chapters that provide more detail on how to develop specific sections of
the TMC Business Plan.

*[Remaining Sections]{.underline}*

2.1 What is a TMC Business Plan and Why Do One?

2.2 Core Components of a TMC Business Plan

2.3 When to Develop a TMC Business Plan

2.4 Who Should Be Involved in the Business Plan

2.5 Relationship to Other ITS Planning, Plans and Processes

2.6 How the TMC Business Plan Relates to Other Agency Plans/Programs\
(non-ITS)

1.  **What is a TMC Business Plan and Why Do One?**

Public agencies that are planning, implementing, or managing ITS
programs are very familiar with ITS Strategic Plans, ITS Architectures,
Concepts of Operation, and Operations Plans. These plans help to guide
ITS deployment and implementation, and provide a sound basis and vision
for long-range project-level or broader region (or statewide)
implementations.

Within the last decade, many agencies and regions have shifted from an
ITS infrastructure deployment focus, to an approach that now also
factors in integration and sustaining operations. Key to this approach
is the functionality, viability, and sustainability of the TMC, which
often serves as the 'hub' of a local, regional, or statewide ITS
program.

To maintain or enhance this valuable resource, and ensure that it
remains a vital part of the overall ITS infrastructure program, a
business-based planning approach is needed.

A TMC Business Plan is a plan for executing the long-range vision and
goals of a TMC with particular emphasis on ***financial
sustainability***.

Every agency or individual that manages a TMC has a vision of what they
want their TMC to be and goals that they would like their TMC to
accomplish. Investments are typically made, and in many cases
negotiated, among multiple competing priorities, based on functional
needs and with a focus on immediate and near-term management,
integration, coordination, information sharing, response, and other
day-to-day functions. The benefits of a business plan and a
business-based planning approach for the TMC is to:

-   Establish TMC-specific goals and objectives;

-   Identify actions, resources, timeframes, and responsibilities to
    achieve the goals and objectives;

-   Map out a funding strategy and approach that helps link ITS programs
    to regional objectives and funding sources, which establishes
    legitimacy for sustainable funding for programs, partnerships,
    ongoing performance monitoring, and reporting; and

-   Communicate and justify the TMC's role, benefits, functions, and
    resource requirements to policy makers, partners, and executives.

Business planning in the private sector is quite commonplace, although
concept of business planning for some public agencies might seem a bit
abstract. Very few agencies develop formal ITS or TMC Business Plans,
although many agencies go through some of the key processes and
components of business planning as part of their agency or departmental
strategic planning or annual budgeting processes.

For an agency that has never developed a TMC Business Plan before, the
task of developing a Business Plan may seem daunting. Furthermore, some
transportation agencies may not fully understand the benefits of such an
effort. It is important for agencies to realize, however, that the
effort they spend developing a business plan for their TMC may be one of
the best investments they could possibly make.

**2.1.1 Business Planning Examples from the Private Sector**

While there is no one, universally accepted definition of what a
business plan is or an established formula for developing a business
plan, there is general consensus on what a business plan is intended to
achieve:

-   A description and plan for a business's future, what the business is
    intended to do and how it is going to be achieved;

-   A tool for attracting investors, obtaining strategic business
    partners or alliances; and

-   A management tool to focus on or emphasize a key business sector or
    specific area of operations.

The business plan is usually focused on defining an objective or idea
for a product or service, assessing the market conditions to support the
product or service, and describing financial projections in terms of
capital costs, operating costs, and expected revenues. While there is a
strong emphasis on financial performance and revenue goals, the focus of
a business plan in the private sector is also about the people,
institutional and market conditions, opportunities, risks, and decision
contingencies.

Although there are no specific parameters for how long, detailed, or
descriptive a business plan should be, there are general guidelines for
overall form and content. Business plans could range from five pages to
forty-five pages; how comprehensive the plan is depends largely on the
nature of the subject, industry standards for what constitutes a robust
business plan or could even be dictated by who the target audience is.
It would be reasonable to expect that the length, level of detail and
other key parameters will vary from business plan to business plan, and
a business plan for a multi-million dollar product national launch will
vary greatly from a business plan for a start-up real estate company.

A business plan is typically comprised of:

-   An Executive Summary;

-   Business Description and Concept;

-   Marketplace Analysis;

-   Operational Requirements and Resources;

-   Financial Plan and Strategy; and

-   Organization and Management Plan.

**Figure 2-1** shows the typical components of a private sector business
plan.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *[Executive Summary]{.underline}*                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   A succinct, concise summary of the key points in the business     |
|     plan                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| -   Clearly state the business concept, financial expectations and    |
|     requirements, and operations and management strategies            |
|                                                                       |
| *[Business Description and Concept]{.underline}*                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   Business objective, venture, idea, product or service             |
|                                                                       |
| -   Why there is a need, what will be gained by fulfilling the need   |
|                                                                       |
| -   The market that will be served                                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   What will be gained by fulfilling this need and how or why it     |
|     will be profitable                                                |
|                                                                       |
| -   Current state of the business, major achievements, size of the    |
|     operation or corporation, parent companies or affiliated          |
|     companies, and other features of the corporate or organizational  |
|     structure                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| *[Marketplace Analysis]{.underline}*                                  |
|                                                                       |
| -   Status of the applicable industry/field, industry trends          |
|                                                                       |
| -   The need or 'niche' the product or service will fill              |
|                                                                       |
| -   Potential customers, target audience or stakeholders              |
|                                                                       |
| -   Competition in the marketplace, including a competitive analysis  |
|     and identify how will the business, product or service needs to   |
|     be positioned to compete                                          |
|                                                                       |
| -   Key challenges or risk factors that will support (or impact)      |
|     success of the business                                           |
|                                                                       |
| *[Operational Requirements and Resources]{.underline}*                |
|                                                                       |
| -   Resources (such as technology, facilities, personnel, partners,   |
|     special services) that are needed to develop and manage the       |
|     product or venture                                                |
|                                                                       |
| -   Key steps and actions to achieving the business concept           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Key timeframes for development, implementation, roll-out and      |
|     other milestones                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| -   Marketing plan                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| *[Financial Plan and Strategy]{.underline}*                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Financial objectives and needs                                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Budgets and projected revenues and expenditures                   |
|                                                                       |
| -   Assessment of how the product or venture should perform and       |
|     profit (break even analysis), business indicators                 |
|                                                                       |
| -   Current financial status and resources                            |
|                                                                       |
| -   Proposal to obtain new or additional financing                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Risk assessment                                                   |
|                                                                       |
| *[Organization and Management Plan]{.underline}*                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   People and personnel, including management and other key staff    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Partners and other affiliates                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Organization structure, roles and responsibilities of the key     |
|     players and partners involved                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Figure 2-1: Sample Business Plan Components (Private Sector)

**2.1.2 Applying Business Planning Concepts to TMCs**

So why should these principles be considered as part of TMC planning,
and how can they be applied in the public sector?

It is important to note that there is not always a linear translation
from a private sector business plan to one that would be appropriate for
the public sector. That is, the focus of a business plan that would be
developed for a product, service, or business venture may not be
applicable or even appropriate in the context of developing a business
plan for a TMC. However, there are principles and methods used in
business planning that TMC managers and agency executives can draw upon
to develop a sound, pragmatic, and comprehensive business-based approach
to planning for TMCs.

**Figure 2-2** maps typical business planning principles and components
from the private sector to a model suitable for a public-sector focused
TMC Business Plan.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Figure 2-2: Mapping Business Plan Components

What public agencies [can]{.underline} derive from private business
planning practices are:

-   A business-based approach to planning for the long-term
    sustainability and justification of the TMC;

-   A functional assessment of priorities, resource needs, agency and
    partner roles;

-   Funding requirements and a funding strategy that looks beyond
    infrastructure-specific deployments and focuses on implementing,
    sustaining or expanding operations in line with an established
    vision and business concept; and

-   Business planning processes and principles to demonstrate and
    justify the value of the TMC to the organization, how it supports
    higher agency goals, and the relationship of the TMC to the overall
    transportation management strategy -- in other words, to justify the
    continued investment in the TMC among competing priorities.

In this context, the TMC Business Plan provides critical path
information to internal leadership, to other agencies, and potential
partners about the TMC's goals, plans, and objectives.

Applying these business planning principles and the business planning
process will help TMC managers to:

-   Establish a jointly agreed upon plan to address identified
    challenges, separate from other ITS and business planning efforts
    where the TMC is one component of a larger agency or regional
    program agenda;

-   Define the specific operational roles and functions that the TMC
    fulfills, as well as a vision for what operational role it should
    fulfill with the right resources and systems available and in place;

-   Analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT
    Analysis) to provide a realistic view of what can be achieved and
    the challenges or barriers that must be overcome;

-   Implement a mechanism whereby actions and critical path items are
    regularly monitored to assess progress toward achieving the
    established goals, as well as progress toward realizing the overall
    Business Concept;

-   Identify the benefits and 'payoff' expected to be achieved,
    including near-term and longer term scenarios, agency-specific
    benefits and value, as well as the benefits to the broader regional
    context;

-   Outline the funding requirements and financial strategy, which
    provide a basis for future budget planning;

-   Develop comprehensive and function-based requirements for the needed
    partnerships, organization and management structure, and personnel
    needs; and

-   Justify and 'sell' the benefits and functions of a TMC as a critical
    asset of a broader Transportation Management System (TMS) or
    regional approach to transportation, safety, connectivity, and
    integration.

**\
2.2 Core Components of a TMC Business Plan**

While there is no one specific formula for developing a business plan,
TMC managers can borrow business planning concepts and strategies from
private enterprise to outline a vision and build a case for continued
(or future) support of TMC activities, functions and initiatives.

There are six core components that should be included as part of a TMC
Business Plan, as shown in **Table 2-1**. Depending on circumstances,
such as a single agency TMC or one that serves multiple functions within
a region, the content could be streamlined, enhanced, or expanded.
Timing and other regional priorities also could have an impact on the
overall approach and content for the business plan. These core elements
provide the framework for a succinct and direct business case that can
be shared with agency managers, elected officials, partner agencies, and
private citizens. Subsequent chapters in this handbook address each
component in more detail, including methods to develop these sections,
examples from other agency plans, and recommended approaches.

**Table 2-1: TMC Business Plan Core Components**

+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| **TMC Business Plan     | **Recommended Content and Focus**          |
| Core Component**        |                                            |
+=========================+============================================+
| > **Executive Summary** | -   Summarizes the key points of the       |
|                         |     Business Concept, Strategies,          |
|                         |     Partnerships, Organization and         |
|                         |     Financial Plan                         |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Used as a tool to sell the Business    |
|                         |     Concept and Plan to high-level agency  |
|                         |     managers, local and regional elected   |
|                         |     officials, and TMC partners            |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| **The Business          | -   Functions and description of key       |
| Concept**               |     functions or needed functions          |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Strategic objectives, goals, future    |
|                         |     trends                                 |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Services -- within the TMC and how the |
|                         |     TMC relates or supports other agency   |
|                         |     operations and regional TMS, emergency |
|                         |     management, safety, regional           |
|                         |     connectivity, information management,  |
|                         |     etc.                                   |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Vision and TMC description (current    |
|                         |     state, future end state)               |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Partnerships, including existing and   |
|                         |     desired or needed partners or          |
|                         |     alliances                              |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Risks and dependencies                 |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| **Value Proposition     | -   Define benefits and how they will be   |
| (what's the payoff?)**  |     measured, how progress will be         |
|                         |     monitored and reported                 |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Who benefits -- who stands to benefit  |
|                         |     from achieving strategic objectives    |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   The Value Proposition helps to market  |
|                         |     and 'sell' the Business Concept to     |
|                         |     target audience and decision makers    |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| **Strategy Sets**       | -   Actions -- What needs to happen        |
|                         |     (projects, implementations, changes or |
|                         |     enhancements that need to occur)       |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Who is responsible (to lead, champion, |
|                         |     produce, develop, implement or manage) |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Timeframes and priorities              |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Dependencies                           |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| **Organization and      | -   Who owns, who manages, who             |
| Management Structure**  |     participates                           |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Personnel, staffing (numbers and types |
|                         |     of staff, training and experience      |
|                         |     requirements, etc.)                    |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Organization structure, chain of       |
|                         |     command, resource requirements         |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   TMC relationships to external          |
|                         |     agencies, how it functions in the      |
|                         |     'bigger picture', and what are the     |
|                         |     critical agency relationships and      |
|                         |     partnerships                           |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| **Funding Strategy and  | -   Budget and timeframes                  |
| Financial Plan**        |                                            |
|                         | -   Funding mechanisms                     |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Funding processes                      |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Procurement issues/requirements        |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+

Each of these core components is discussed in more detail in Chapters 5
through 9 of this handbook.

**2.3 When to Develop a TMC Business Plan**

A Business Plan is relevant to all stages of the TMC life cycle
including establishing a new TMC, evolution or expansion of a TMC,
sustaining operations in changing environments and re-evaluating
priorities. Just like business plans are prepared in a variety of
scenarios in the private sector -- such as for a new start-up company,
to expand an existing business into new markets, or even for a major
corporate merger -- there is relevance in asking key questions and
documenting priorities relative to strategic decisions and directions,
desired outcomes, financial outlook and needs, and key partnerships that
are needed to achieve the envisioned end result.

**2.3.1 TMC Life Cycle**

The status or phase of a TMC usually can be classified into one of three
general life cycle categories: new, sustaining or evolving. The dynamics
of a TMC, and its inherent role in ever expanding operational
responsibilities within any given region, means that once established,
TMCs are almost always evolving, expanding their role, adapting to new
technologies or processes. Even in a mode that would be considered
'sustaining', there will usually be some degree of ongoing minor
enhancements or expansions.

**Figure 2-3** shows a typical life-cycle of a TMC, in terms of
high-level development and operating phases. Granted, TMCs will evolve,
expand, or sustain relative to their geographic scope of services,
functions, partnerships, and interagency dependencies and so forth.
These development phases are intended to illustrate key points in the
TMC evolution and life cycle process where business planning and
business planning approaches can be applied and be beneficial.

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**Figure 2-3: TMC Life Cycle**

To illustrate these phases and the corresponding benefits of business
planning, **Table 2-2** provides examples of different TMCs and how
business planning could benefit their respective life cycle stages.

**Table 2-2: TMC Phase/Business Planning Benefit Comparison**

+----------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
| **Phase in the | **Examples**              | **Benefits of TMC      |
| TMC Life       |                           | Business Plan**        |
| Cycle**        |                           |                        |
+================+===========================+========================+
| **New TMC      | -   Nebraska DOT          | -   Establish          |
| Initiative**   |     Statewide TMC         |     functional and     |
|                |                           |     strategic          |
|                | -   FAST, Las Vegas,      |     objectives         |
|                |     Nevada\*              |                        |
|                |                           | -   Outline and        |
|                |                           |     establish role for |
|                |                           |     TMC within a       |
|                |                           |     geographic area,   |
|                |                           |     agency or          |
|                |                           |     consortia of       |
|                |                           |     agencies           |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Near-term plan for |
|                |                           |     staffing,          |
|                |                           |     operations and     |
|                |                           |     maintenance        |
|                |                           |     funding needs      |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Establish          |
|                |                           |     institutional      |
|                |                           |     dependencies and   |
|                |                           |     partnerships       |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Identify funding   |
|                |                           |     requirements and   |
|                |                           |     priorities         |
+----------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
| **Evol         | -   City of Tucson\*      | -   Update and expand  |
| ving/Expanding |                           |     strategic          |
| TMC**          | -   Minnesota DOT\*       |     objectives         |
|                |                           |     (technical,        |
|                |                           |     institutional,     |
|                |                           |     functional)        |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Establish          |
|                |                           |     priorities         |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Expand role and    |
|                |                           |     functions          |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Expand             |
|                |                           |     partnerships       |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Develop strategic  |
|                |                           |     staffing plan      |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Identify funding   |
|                |                           |     needs and          |
|                |                           |     appropriate        |
|                |                           |     funding mechanisms |
+----------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
| **Sustaining   | -   Arizona DOT           | -   Confirm            |
| Operations**   |                           |     operational        |
|                | -   INFORM, Long Island,  |     responsibilities   |
|                |     NY\*                  |     and objectives     |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Maintain current   |
|                |                           |     institutional      |
|                |                           |     relationships and  |
|                |                           |     partnerships       |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Assess sustaining  |
|                |                           |     role against other |
|                |                           |     agency objectives, |
|                |                           |     directives, or     |
|                |                           |     outside agency     |
|                |                           |     initiatives        |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Align business     |
|                |                           |     plan with other    |
|                |                           |     operational plans  |
+----------------+---------------------------+------------------------+
| *              | -   Caltrans TMC Planning | -   Assess how TMC is  |
| *Re-Evaluation |     Initiatives\*         |     functioning        |
| of Plans**     |                           |     relative to        |
|                |                           |     expectations and   |
|                |                           |     objectives         |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Assess how         |
|                |                           |     changing agency    |
|                |                           |     priorities and     |
|                |                           |     objectives need to |
|                |                           |     be addressed as    |
|                |                           |     part of TMC        |
|                |                           |     operations         |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Compare new        |
|                |                           |     operational roles, |
|                |                           |     systems or         |
|                |                           |     functions with     |
|                |                           |     current            |
|                |                           |     capabilities       |
|                |                           |                        |
|                |                           | -   Adjust timeframe   |
|                |                           |     of staffing and    |
|                |                           |     other resource     |
|                |                           |     needs based on     |
|                |                           |     shifting           |
|                |                           |     priorities or      |
|                |                           |     expanded TMC       |
|                |                           |     responsibilities   |
+----------------+---------------------------+------------------------+

*\* These TMCs are highlighted in the Case Studies contained in Chapters
11 through 15 of this handbook*

4.  **Who Should Be Involved in the Business Plan**

Developing a sound TMC Business Plan relies on having input, guidance
and championing of the process from the right *institutional* partners,
as well as the right *individual* partners. Stakeholders have a key role
at many levels of the Business Plan development process, and defining
the stakeholders and the target audience early in the process will help
to garner the right involvement at the right stages.

When embarking on a business planning effort, it is important to
identify three key stakeholder groups:

-   Those who need to be involved in developing the TMC Business Plan;

-   Those who need to provide input to the Plan; and

-   Those who ultimately need to approve, support, or champion the plan
    and its vision.

The breadth of participants will likely expand beyond transportation,
although depending on the maturity level and functionality of the TMC,
primary operational stakeholders will typically be transportation
oriented. Some stakeholders will have more of a vested interest in the
TMC than others; this is largely a result of owning agency, geography,
and overall functionality of the TMC. The following outline the types of
stakeholders that could be expected to provide input to the business
planning process:

***Primary operational stakeholders*** could include state, cities,
county, regional transportation, emergency management agencies, law
enforcement, public safety, transit, and others depending on level of
coordination for operations. These stakeholders have a direct and
integral role in operations, either through data exchange, collocation,
or other arrangements.

***Secondary operational stakeholders***, although not having a direct
role in operations in the TMC, provide supporting services necessary to
carry out TMC functions, or utilize outputs and information gathered
from the TMC as part of their functions. These could include design or
IT departments, maintenance, and others. These secondary operational
stakeholders could provide input as to specific considerations,
processes, or protocols that would need to be reviewed or incorporated
as part of the business planning process.

***Additional stakeholders,*** such as media, private traffic reporting
firms, and others potentially benefit from information and outputs from
the TMC to support their business practices, but in most cases do not
make significant operational contributions to the TMC. Depending on the
function and role of a TMC, these additional stakeholders also could
include transit, law enforcement, and other agencies.

Parties with a vested interest, such as MPO/regional transportation
planning authorities citizen's advisory groups, and others that are not
directly involved in operations, but could provide input as to how the
Business Plan needs to align with other regional planning efforts or
initiatives should be included as part of the stakeholder involvement.

**Figure 2-4** shows the inputs and relationships of these stakeholder
groups as they pertain to a business planning process.

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  height="4.006944444444445in"}

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**Figure 2-4: Stakeholder Involvement in the TMC Business Plan**

When looking at potential stakeholders, including those that need to
develop, provide input and ultimately approve or carry the Business Plan
forward, these will most likely be dictated by geography, institutional
relationship, or organization, and by specific discipline.

**2.4.1 Geographic Range and Considerations**

From a geographic perspective, the coverage area of the TMC needs to be
considered on a range of levels, but for business plan development
purposes, it is important to consider the geographic area served as well
as geographical areas that have (or will have) a vested interest or
dependency on the TMC.

For example, a city that establishes a TMC will likely need to involve
key city departments such as traffic/streets/public works, asset
management, maintenance, information technology, public safety and risk
management from within their city departments. The area served by that
city TMC is typically limited to established geographic boundaries and a
well-defined jurisdiction. That city TMC might need to factor in outside
interests if there are relationships with neighboring cities or regional
entities that would warrant input as to the TMC functions or services
(e.g., coordinated traffic signals along corridors that traverse
multiple jurisdictions, freeway/arterial interchange coordination,
maintenance agreements among neighboring jurisdictions, etc.). A recent
example is the Maricopa County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) TMC
Implementation Plan, where stakeholders from MCDOT, Arizona DOT, Flood
Control District, select cities in the County area, as well as various
departments within the County were invited to provide input to the
long-range vision for the County's TMC.

A statewide or multi-agency TMC, however, would need to involve
additional jurisdictions that broaden the geographic scope, as those
interests would also need to be represented and accounted for in the
TMC's overall function and operations. While there may be a 'lead'
agency in terms of management, funding or operations, or facility
management, additional stakeholders could have key roles in providing
input to the strategic objectives. Chapter 4 of this *TMC Business
Planning and Plans Handbook* provides more information about the various
TMC business models and institutional relationships.

**2.4.2 Organizational Considerations**

With the geographic area, or areas, identified, the right participants
from within that area must be identified and engaged in the process.

Some of the key stakeholders can be provided, at least partially,
through other planning processes, such as a regional ITS architecture,
concept of operations, capital or long-range transportation program, or
individual agency strategic plans. A Regional ITS Architecture in
particular, provides a useful framework for stakeholder identification
because of its regional scope as well as its focus on existing and
desired functional relationships among entities within a region.

The lead agency in developing the TMC Business Plan will need to factor
in the organizational structure and climate of their own agency, and
work within established processes and protocols in terms of what
divisions, offices, or branches would need to be involved. It is
important to note that the Business Planning process, with its emphasis
on fiscal and resource issues and planning, should get participation and
input from divisions within their organization that would need to be
involved in such decisions or strategic directions. These could include
facilities management, asset management, programming or capital
improvements and others as appropriate. When multiple agencies are
involved, this could extend to additional divisions or offices within
the partnering agencies.

3.  **Involving Discipline-Specific Perspectives**

Operational functions and specialties for a TMC can range many
disciplines, and to the extent practical and feasible, these disciplines
should be considered as part of the business planning process.
Subsections 2.4.2 and 2.4.3 emphasized involving key institutions and
institutional partners in the process; their participation will help to
ensure that the business plan includes input (and hopefully support)
from a range of internal and external entities. It will be essential for
those developing the TMC Business Plan to identify the specific
perspectives that might not be represented among the 'top tier' of
operational stakeholders, and engage their input or involvement in the
process. By identifying how these other stakeholders are impacted by or
interact with the TMC, its components, its operations, etc., additional
perspectives can be included in the process.

Some of these additional perspectives could include (as applicable, and
as appropriate to a specific TMC scenario):

-   Information technology;

-   Maintenance;

-   Facilities management;

-   Accounting/programming;

-   Law Enforcement/CAD Dispatch not collocated in TMC;

-   Other modes (such as transit, ferry);

-   Private entities, including media, traffic reporting firms, etc.;

-   Regional or metropolitan planning organizations; and

-   Citizen advisory or advocacy groups.

**2.5 Relationship to Other ITS Planning, Plans and Processes**

One of the greatest values of the TMC Business Plan is its role in
helping agencies link ITS programs to regional objectives and funding
sources. This is what separates the TMC Business Plan from other agency
planning processes, such as a regional ITS architecture, Concept of
Operations or non-ITS plans that have a broader regional impact.

Agencies, and even regions, with established or new ITS programs are
responsible for planning, implementing and integrating technologies and
systems in a responsible manner, and one that considers the broader
impacts and vision beyond individual deployments. Business planning,
although not traditionally among the core ITS plans developed, draws
upon outputs from the other ITS planning processes, as well as
complement those other processes. **Figure 2-5** shows the relationship
and inputs of the various ITS planning processes with the TMC Business
Plan. The remainder of this section looks at these relationships in more
detail.

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Figure 2-5: Relationship of ITS Planning Processes with the TMC Business
Plan

If properly developed and implemented, the TMC Business Plan can
establish legitimacy for sustainable funding, near-term needs of the TMC
as well as longer-term programs and partnerships through ongoing
performance monitoring and reporting of outcomes. In this way, it is a
valuable tool for communicating with policy makers, partners, and
executives.

**2.5.1 Regional ITS Architecture**

Regional ITS architectures that are developed based on the FHWA Final
Rule and FTA Final Policy requirements provide a substantial baseline of
information relative to the overall vision, role, and function of a TMC.
Specifically, the architecture provides the following key outputs that
can be used to support or develop the TMC Business Plan:

-   Stakeholders -- who are the key players (public and private), what
    is their operational role, in what capacity do they function in
    relation to ITS services and functions;

-   Needs -- the process to develop a regional ITS architecture results
    in priority needs from a variety of perspectives, including traffic
    and emergency management, transit, data/information management, and
    others;

-   Functions and interfaces -- The ITS architecture also outlines key
    functions and interfaces for a variety of systems and centers within
    an region and how they need to interface. Key functions and the role
    of the TMC can be derived based on the architecture outputs; and

-   Operational Concepts -- how key systems and stakeholders are
    envisioned to function to achieve desired goals/vision. The
    operational concept outlines the operational responsibilities and
    implementation and maintenance roles of each partner and can be used
    to gain consensus on the foundation of the TMC Business Plan by
    clearly defining the expectations and partnerships relative to the
    TMC.

**2.5.2 Strategic Deployment Plan**

A strategic deployment plan provides more specific information about
projects, timeframes for implementation as well as project priorities
and sequencing. Strategic deployment plans also typically include
planning-level funding requirements and responsible agency(ies). A
strategic deployment plan can provide valuable input to a region's long
range plan and transportation improvement plan. Likewise, a strategic
deployment plan can assist in budgeting for necessary program
management, project development and ITS planning in agencies' overall
work programs.

Components of a strategic deployment plan can be applied to the TMC
Business Plan to provide more detailed understanding of cost and
resource requirements and how they impact the TMC, as well as
anticipated timeframes for implementing specific projects or strategies
in which the TMC will play a key role.

**2.5.3 Concept of Operations**

A Concept of Operations defines, in more detail than a high-level
Operational Concept found in a Regional ITS Architecture, the specifics
of how a particular project or system operates in different scenarios.
It would describe not only the roles and responsibilities, but
operational scenarios for how a system operates on a day to day basis or
in certain circumstances and interactions and data sharing for a
project. A Concept of Operations is part of a project-oriented systems
engineering approach that enables later validation of the concept of
what the system was meant to do (in addition to system testing to ensure
that the system meets the specific requirements that were laid out).

The Concept of Operations for a TMC would be developed using input from
the Regional ITS Architecture's Operational Concept by utilizing
applicable components to further define and refine the specific concept
for the TMC's operations.

The Concept of Operations would provide input to the TMC Business Plan
in terms of specific partners and roles, and can be expanded to define
business processes and operations, management, and maintenance funding
structures if applicable. The Concept of Operations would also provide a
breakdown of various aspects of the TMC that should be addressed by the
Business Plan and later tracked against the plan (and the plan revised
as appropriate) related to actual expenditures and performance.

**2.6 How the TMC Business Plan Relates to Other Agency Plans/Programs
(non-ITS)**

In addition to ITS planning processes, which will have a direct impact
on the TMC, there are other plans that will need to be factored or
considered as part of the business plan. These are often 'bigger
picture' plans and strategic objectives can help further the business
case for a TMC. In this regard, considerations for how TMCs help to
support these broader goals and objectives focused on safety, mobility,
efficiency, or agency strategic objectives need to be included as part
of the business planning process.

-   Agency strategic goals and strategic plans

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-   Higher level, strategic missions. Typically these are very succinct
    goals 'from the top'.

-   Often broader than ITS and represent comprehensive interests beyond
    operations. Need to align or demonstrate how a TMC fits in to these
    goals and strategic objectives, and more importantly, how a TMC
    supports strategic agency objectives

-   Align with asset management programs

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-   Statewide and Metropolitan Planning Organizations' Transportation
    Improvement Plans/Programs

-   Statewide transportation plans and transportation investment plans

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-   Where are the priority projects/programs, and how current and future
    TMC operations fit in with those priorities

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-   State, county, and possibly city emergency plans

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-   How current and future TMC operations fits in the context of
    established or developing emergency plans

-   Interfaces between TMC and emergency services

# TMC Business Planning Process

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives:]{.underline}*

This chapter presents an overview of the steps and processes involved in
developing an effective TMC Business Plan, using a few basic scenarios
to which planners can relate (or extrapolate) their situation. This
chapter discusses participants in the business plan (who are the
stakeholders and what are their roles), key decision making processes,
where inputs from other planning processes (such as the regional ITS
architecture or concept of operations) apply to the TMC Business Plan.
It also identifies some of the key decision points and where critical
buy-in is needed.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

-   Descriptions of the overall process and key steps in TMC business
    planning, including stakeholder involvement, developing a
    consensus-based Business Concept, Value Propositions, strategy sets
    to achieve the Business Concept and realize the Value Propositions,
    as well as ongoing use of the Business Plan as a management tool.

-   Importance of stakeholder involvement and a coordinated stakeholder
    involvement plan to develop the Business Concept, Value Proposition
    and ultimately champion the Business Plan to the right decision
    makers.

-   Developing target audience objectives -- plan should be structured
    around how to best sell Business Concept and Value Proposition.

*[Relationship to Other Chapters:]{.underline}*

Chapter 3 introduces the process to developing a TMC Business Plan, with
greater detail provided on individual steps in subsequent chapters. The
reader will gain a 'big picture' view of the flow and sequence of key
steps, with additional detail and examples to be included in later
chapters.

*[Remaining Sections:]{.underline}*

3.1 Overview of the TMC Business Planning Process

3.2 Identifying Stakeholders

3.3 The TMC Vision

3.4 Defining the TMC Business Concept

3.5 Developing the Value Proposition and Measures

3.6 Developing Strategy Sets

3.7 Developing the Organization and Management Structure

3.8 Developing a Financial Plan

3.9 Implementing, Updating and Maintaining the Business Plan

1.  Overview of the TMC Business Planning Process

The foundation of the TMC Business Planning process is an effective
Business Concept and demonstration of that Concept (in terms of value
and benefit) to stakeholders. Legislators, administrators, and
ultimately the motorist must be 'sold' the benefits of the TMC, and
recognize a return of their investment.

The TMC Business Planning process is comprised of key sequences and
steps, as introduced in **Figure 3-1**. As illustrated, the steps are:

-   Identifying appropriate stakeholders;

-   Developing a TMC Vision;

-   Defining the TMC Business Concept;

-   Defining a Value Proposition, and consistent with Measurable Goals
    and Benefits;

-   Developing Strategy Sets to achieve the Business Concept, and
    ultimately, the value proposition;

-   Establishing the Organization and Management requirements for the
    TMC; and

-   Developing a Financial Plan with established budgets, schedules, and
    funding mechanisms.

After Business Plan Development, the Plan must be used and managed, as
well as periodically reviewed for timeliness, priorities, or major
shifts in operational goals, functions, or parameters*.* The TMC
Business Plan is very much a living document, which requires ongoing
review of performance against established goals, measures, and
strategies contained in the TMC Business Plan, and periodically updating
or revising the Business Plan. Implementation, use, and management of
the TMC Business Plan encapsulates the following:

-   Implementing the Business Plan;

-   Providing Outreach and Leadership;

-   Evaluate Performance and Review Resources; and

-   Updating the Business Plan.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.733333333333333in"
height="3.502083333333333in"}

Figure 3-1: Business Plan Steps and Processes

Each of these steps is reviewed in the following sections, presenting a
'big picture' view of the flow and sequence of key steps of the TMC
Business Planning process. These concepts are expanded upon subsequent
chapters.

2.  Identifying Stakeholders

The first step in the TMC business planning effort begins with a focus
on the institutions and people involved. The TMC Business Planning
process can be complex because it is so institutionally inclusive. As
such, it is extremely important to define the stakeholders as well as
the target audiences; in essence, those who need to be involved in
developing the TMC Business Plan, those who need to provide input to the
Plan, and those who ultimately need to approve, support, or champion the
plan and its vision.

Stakeholder identification begins with defining the geographic region
served by the TMC. The regions identified in the Regional Architecture
development often coincide with a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA),
or the geographic area of the local Metropolitan Planning Organizations.
The region served by the TMC may be synonymous with one of these
regions, or it may include just a portion of these regions. Dependent
upon the magnitude and scale of the TMC operation, the geographic region
may consist of multiple cities, counties, regional districts, a state,
or even multiple states. Even if the TMC is that of a local city, the
service area of the TMC may include multiple cities as the TMC exchanges
information with TMCs from other local cities and towns.

Delineation of the TMC geographic service region facilitates pinpointing
the key participants who should be included in the TMC Business Planning
Process. Participants will include authorities and key decision makers
within the DOT, and policy and decision makers from local, regional, and
state leadership, as applicable. Participation from the key
decision-makers that have the leadership and authority to make TMC
activities and plans a funding and regional or institutional priority is
essential. It is also essential to reach out to the stakeholders at the
operational levels. While these stakeholders might not have authority to
make commitments on behalf of their agency in terms of the TMC Business
Plan, they provide a logistics based perspective to the TMC Business
Planning process. In turn, these stakeholders also can be valuable
champions in helping to sell the TMC Business Concept and overall
Business Plan to higher authorities within their respective agency or
entity.

Some of the key stakeholders can be provided, at least partially,
through other planning processes. A Regional ITS Architecture in
particular, provides a useful framework for stakeholder identification
because of its regional scope as well as its focus on existing and
desired functional relationships among entities within a region. The
Regional Architecture reaches beyond the transportation community,
extending to external stakeholders such as emergency services, public
works, information providers, and the media to participate in the
process. The functional relationships defined as part of the
architecture development process helps to shape the scope of TMC
stakeholders for a particular region or state.

The breadth of participants will likely expand beyond transportation,
although depending on the maturity level and functionality of the TMC,
primary operational stakeholders will typically be transportation
oriented. For example, a new city or state TMC is likely to focus on
traffic management, traveler information and maintenance/operational
needs such as monitoring weather conditions or managing closures. As the
TMC matures and new capabilities are added, a more established TMC could
be expanding its functions (and interfaces) to include exchanging
information with other TMCs or centers, providing operational support to
other transportation or public safety functions, and others. As the TMC
exchanges information with multiple disciplines and jurisdictions,
participants may include state, city, county, regional, transportation,
emergency services, public safety, law enforcement, and transit
professionals. The role of media, maintenance, IT departments, citizen
groups, regional planning organizations, and others should not be
overlooked.

3.  The TMC Vision

The TMC Vision exemplifies the 'ideal' or 'desired' state and
functionality of the TMC, expressing long-term goals of how the TMC will
function, operate, and serve its owning agency as well as partner
agencies. An effective Vision is developed by participants in a
consensus-based, bottom-up, collaborative process. The TMC Vision is not
limited to those activities that are currently being achieved, or can
necessarily be achieved in the immediate future, but sets a standard to
be achieved over a period of time.

Visioning is an opportunity to bring the various types of stakeholders
to the table early in the process, and establish a forum for a continued
dialogue. Stakeholder needs and priorities factor into the TMC Vision;
these needs and priorities will differ from stakeholder to stakeholder.
The stakeholder interaction facilitates establishing priorities, and
ensuring that the TMC is responsive to stakeholder needs.

It is important to differentiate the TMC Vision from that of the ITS
program as a whole. While the TMC Vision is distinctly separate from the
visions of other programs and of the Department as a whole, the TMC
Vision clearly supports these other visions. Garnering input from other
documents and programs including the Regional ITS Architecture, ITS
Deployment Plans, and the Concept of Operations will bolster and
validate the TMC Vision and will ensure that the TMC Vision effectively
supports and meets the needs of overall Department or ITS Program Goals.

Overarching larger agency or regional goals are an important input into
the development of the TMC Vision, as these larger agency and regional
goals drive the functions of the TMC. As the TMC is an element of the
larger traffic management system working in concert with emergency
management, the media, and TMCs from other regions, jurisdictions, and
agencies, the Visions of these other system members are critical inputs.

An agreed-upon TMC Vision lays a framework to develop specific Strategic
and Programmatic Objectives. These objectives present a clear directive
and basis for the TMC Business Concept and Overall Business Plan by
identifying the role of the TMC, its core purpose, functions, and future
needs.

4.  Defining TMC Business Concept

Building upon the Vision and Strategic Objectives is the TMC Business
Concept that articulates the 'end state' of the TMC. The TMC Business
Concept is a description or 'snapshot' of what the TMC does, what it is
envisioned to do, the role that it plays within an agency, and the
desired roles and functions that the TMC needs to play within an agency
and as part of a larger regional traffic management system. The Business
Concept is not merely a collection of goals or need statements, rather
the Business Concept outlines a comprehensive approach and desired end
state, encapsulating how the TMC is envisioned to function, the role it
plays within its owning agency/entity, and how it supports partner
agencies.

Specifically, the TMC Business Concept answers:

-   How does the TMC currently function, and how should the TMC
    function?

-   What roles should it serve?

-   With what other agencies does the TMC currently interface and in
    what capacity?

-   With what other agencies does it need to interface with to achieve
    the desire functionality?

-   What are the current institutional, technical, and resources
    barriers that could impede the desired functionality, or end state?

Developing the Business Concept relies on an iterative approach, and an
examination of the roles and functions of the TMC at many levels and
from several perspectives. Although the Business Concept is largely
focused on specific TMC services and functions and how the TMC functions
in relationship to other systems and agencies in a given region, it is
important for stakeholders to also identify some of the key trends and
future end states that could be achieved. Through focused stakeholder
outreach and visioning, a consensus on the strategic objectives can be
reached. Elements such as functions and services, partnerships, and
timeframes factor into the overall TMC Business Concept.

Similar to how private sector entities approach business planning, the
TMC Business Concept also needs to balance the vision and desired end
state with key risks and dependencies -- in other words, what are the
'make or break' aspects that need to be considered in the overall
Business Plan? Are there key partnerships that, if not secured, will
impact evolution of the TMC? Are there some significant funding needs
that are dependent on legislation passing (either federal or local) or
on partners contributing to operational funding needs? Are there staff
resources that will be needed, but the agency is currently facing
restrictions in terms of hiring new or additional resources?

These dependencies must be identified, and articulated within the
Business Concept. Dependencies also can be in the form of risks; private
sector business plans document risks so that stakeholders, shareholders,
and investors can make informed decisions about potential or known
impacts. Dependencies must be documented so that critical path items can
be identified, and stakeholders will be aware of key elements that
influence the Business Concept as well as some of the key strategies to
be developed later in the Business Planning process. Dependencies could
include:

-   Facilities;

-   Technology;

-   Partnerships (existing or future);

-   Leadership and organization structure;

-   Funding (amounts, schedules for fiscal programming);

-   Personnel and Staffing Resources (including numbers and types of
    staff);

-   Project implementations/timeframes; and

-   Legislation.

Chapter 5 of this Handbook focuses on how to develop and define a
Business Concept, including engaging stakeholders, visioning and
outlining strategic objectives, as well as provides applicable examples
of Business Concepts from the private sector and public agencies. Risks
and dependencies, and how to identify and articulate them, also are
discussed in that chapter.

5.  Developing the Value Proposition and Measures

The value proposition is a case made (and tailored to each participating
agency) to define the expected value of the TMC to the missions of each
of the participating agencies and key stakeholders. The value
proposition reflects not only a set of overall "good" objectives for
regional transportation, but effectively addresses specific value from
the stakeholder point of view, especially when particular agencies have
core missions that extend outside of transportation management.

Value proposition is a thorough and objective statement of the various
benefits (or value) expected to accrue to TMC stakeholders. The value
proposition defines value in measurable terms from the point of view of
all stakeholders that are expected to invest resources, operational
attention, or political support in the TMC, establishing performance
expectations and accountability for the TMC. The purpose of the value
proposition is not to "sell" the TMC, but to provide a basis for a
realistic plan and performance measures, and for stakeholders to
rationalize appropriate support for the TMC. The payoff should
incorporate stakeholder values, and requires objective, real-world data,
credible analysis, and a practical measurement approach in addition to
more subjective measures, such as program milestones.

The value proposition is developed through direct stakeholder
participation in defining their values in terms of transportation
management. The relationship between TMC Vision and Objectives, and
stakeholder benefits should be logical, and conservatively derived.
Relevant facts and statistics on the "status quo" should be clearly
established and agreed upon by the stakeholders. Safety statistics,
traffic efficiency, and incident response patterns are key baseline
data, but there are several other factors that impact a sound value
proposition.

Research of regional transportation economics and productivity issues
provide a potential benefits baseline for some stakeholders. A credible
projection of measurable transportation outcomes in safety, response,
and efficiency are needed to base value. Finally, display and
communication of the value proposition needs to be simply delivered and
understood.

The value proposition establishes the basis for performance measurement.
Performance measures and monitoring is required to chart the progress
toward achieving the anticipated benefits quantified by the value
proposition. Benchmarks measure progress toward the goals. Performance
measures serve to identify problems within the program so that they can
be corrected and the value proposition realized.

Chapter 6 of this handbook focuses on how to define and tailor value
propositions, as well as how performance measuring and monitoring
factors into the value proposition process.

6.  Developing Strategy Sets

Articulating the TMC Vision in terms of needs, objectives, and Value
Proposition serves those developing the Business Plan to outline
specific strategies directed toward end results. Strategy Sets are
actions and directions that lead to the end results, and provide the
basis for the overall form and function of the TMC Business Plan.
Strategies need to be developed and articulated as specific actions and
outcomes so that decision makers have a succinct understanding of
overall objectives and how the end states of the Business Concept, and
ultimately the Value Proposition, can be realized. Organizing the
strategies into a modular, phased approach provides a definitive
direction to the TMC Business Plan.

The modular and structured phasing of the strategies begins with their
prioritization. High priority items that need to be addressed in the TMC
Business Plan are identified through stakeholder input and visioning.
The high priority items should show a direct correlation with the Value
Proposition previously discussed, yielding the 'payoff' as viewed by the
stakeholders. Grouping strategies, either by functional category,
institutional relationship or timeframe, will help to provide a more
modular framework for articulating the specific actions that need to be
taken.

Action items associated with each Strategy Set define the specific
elements, tasks, and projects that need to happen in order to support
the Value Proposition and Business Concept. The assignment of
responsibility and timeframes to actions provide context as to what
needs to happen, and by who is essential to their success.

Defining near-term and longer-term actions to achieving the strategic
goals defined by stakeholders will allow the Business Plan to identify
the required resources, including facilities, staffing, partnering,
budget, and technical requirements needed to implement the strategy.
Strategy Sets should include a description of the facilities, staffing,
partnering, budget, and technical requirements needed to implement the
needed strategies.

Chapter 7 provides examples of strategy sets within the context of a TMC
Business Plan, and walks through the process of mapping strategic
objectives, needs and value proposition requirements into specific
strategies, as well as the role of dependencies within the strategy
development process.

7.  Developing the Organization and Management Structure

A planned organization and management approach is much more than an
organizational chart. TMC scale, functional focus, range of activities,
agency authority, and agency missions influence the organizational
approach and design in predictable ways.

First, the number and types of agencies participating in the TMC and the
overall jurisdictional or geographic scale, may determine the
composition of staffing, budget, functional design, and decision-making
and coordination provisions. The jurisdictional scale may range from a
single agency to a multi-agency program.

As an example of how the jurisdictional scale impacts the organization
and management structure, a multi-state or multi-county agency (e.g. two
state DOTS in an urban region) with similar but distinct missions and
policies may require special coordination or decision-making provisions,
and involve more "dotted lines". Statewide organizations that provide
operational control across the entire state encompassing rural and urban
areas may require provisions for separate regional focus in some
functions to assure appropriate attention and response across the
system. Finally, corridor-focused organizations with many stakeholders
might need a functional organization with strict operational "rules" to
be viable. Strong legislated accountability for some functions may mean
that defined agency-line-of-authority structures will have to be
accepted for some functions.

Another significant input into the organization and management structure
is the range of primary services provided. Traveler information
services, as an example, usually call for a functional approach to TMC
organization and management, considering information collection, data
management, content management and synthesis, communications or
dissemination.

Equally, transportation operations or systems management services may
combine functional structures, coordination features, and a decision
model for priority decisions. Finally, incident management response
functions require special organizational consideration and processes, as
they usually trigger an initial organizational response (triage)
structure, evolving to incident-specific response teams or coordination
activities.

Ultimately, the organizational design is largely driven by the
decision-making authority of the TMC. The level of decision-making
authority could range from little or no operational authority to the
full control of transportation management decisions. This could also
extend to entities outside of the TMC (for example, does the TMC provide
operational support for other TMCs, either within the agency's
jurisdiction or for partner agencies?). If little or no operational
authority is needed at the TMC, a functional management organization
with established procedures and processes is suitable. Organization and
management structure may be satisfied by means of a simple point of
contact structure through which information can be accessed and
disseminated, coupled by a content manger for web facilities, data
reports, etc.

At the highest level, where partial or full control of transportation
management decisions resides at the TMC, a multi-agency organization
structure necessitates the incorporation of formal decision models, e.g.
steering committees, leadership teams, charters, and voting and
consensus rules.

As the decision-making authority of the TMC increases, the organization
and management structure becomes more rigid with additional external
controls and interfaces. For TMCs coordinating resource or application
controls, limited responsibility could be vested, typically augmented by
external decision-makers. The design of an organization and management
structure should consider the ownership and control of the TMC.
Typically, this falls to the primary operating (and funding) agency. As
a practical matter, in these cases the agency's organization structure
and lines of authority have a strong influence on the "ideal" TMC
structure.

Incorporating the above considerations, a comprehensive TMC Business
Plan specifically addresses the following management elements:

-   Staffing Levels and Functions (in house staffing, contracted
    staffing, which agencies are represented);

-   Facilities (primary TMC facility, other facilities with which it
    must interface);

-   Technology Investments (who owns the infrastructure, including
    field, systems, and facilities);

-   Equipment sharing (is another agency/entity responsible for
    operating/maintaining?);

-   Program Management (is there an overall program management plan that
    can be sourced or referred to?);

-   Decision making models, bodies or committee structures (need to
    address specific operational, technical, policy or staffing issues);

-   Charter, management principles (beneficial for all types of TMCs.
    Having a 'rules of the road' will provide stakeholders and
    authorities a clear picture of how and by whom decisions will be
    made); and

-   Potential dependencies/constraints.

8.  Developing a Financial Plan

The Financial Plan develops a comprehensive picture of funding needs and
a funding strategy, including the documentation of fiscal needs,
responsibilities, funding sources, and timelines based on the overall
Business Concept, selected Strategy Sets and the Organization and
Management Structure. An effective financial plan develops a clear
justification of needs versus other competing priorities in the region.
The Financial Plan needs to address TMC-specific funding requirements,
and to tie these requirements back to the Business Concept, Value
Proposition, improvements required to develop the desired capabilities,
and services needed to manage, operate, and maintain a TMC.

The Financial Plan identifies the appropriate funding sources within the
agency and region, including a documentation of funding cycles, key
milestones, issues to consider, and other key factors associated with
funding the TMC. While many agencies develop funding requirements for
overall Traffic Management System programs, the specific needs, roles
and functions of the TMC, as articulated in the TMC Business Concept,
need to be specifically oriented towards a sustainable funding stream to
not only design and build the facility but also to operate and maintain
it for an extended period.

The Financial Plan must answer how much is required to sustain TMC
operations. While previous Business Planning efforts developed specific
strategy sets, implementation requirements, and priorities, the next
task is to assign funding requirements for those specific strategy sets
taking into consideration:

-   Initial capital costs;

-   Operating and Maintenance Costs over the timeframes previously
    identified;

-   Staffing requirements (new positions, staff training needs, etc.);

-   Integration costs; and

-   Contractor/vendor cost requirements.

Costs should be estimated for each of the activities. Where necessary,
ranges of costs related to specific performance levels should be
established. This will assist the decision makers in their decision on a
preferred service level. Ongoing maintenance and operations costs
present a particular challenge for TMCs as Federal grants have typically
funded capital, development, and integration costs, leaving operations
and system maintenance the responsibility of local agencies. Some TMCs
have suffered declines in staffing and maintenance following the
cessation of federal funding periods. Typical operations and system
maintenance costs include:

-   Building maintenance;

-   Utilities;

-   Operating supplies;

-   Operations support;

-   Hardware;

-   Software licenses;

-   Communications;

-   Training;

-   Personnel;

-   Communications;

-   Preventive and responsive maintenance; and

-   Vehicles.

Once the financial needs have been established, the applicable funding
sources need to be identified. Funding sources could be federal, state,
or local funding. Federal funding typically forms the basis for TMC
projects. Currently available and applicable general funding programs
include the National Highway System funds (NHS), Surface Transportation
Program Funds (STP), Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement
Program (CMAQ) funding, and TEA-LU and ITS Integration funding sources.
Some of these funds have restrictions, in terms of capital or operating
designations, and federal funding will require a local match.

The *Organization and Management Structure* is a key consideration to
determine funding streams, strategies, and budgets. For a single agency
ownership model, the TMC budget may be part of an overall agency budget.
A joint agency budgeting model results in more intricate budgeting and
funding arrangements, which carry with them additional budgeting and
funding challenges. When joint funding is required, challenges may
include determining the budget sharing arrangements, ensuring that
agencies meet and maintain commitments, and working within different
budget cycles and processes. Joint agency fund sharing models can be
based on utilization of facilities, (e.g. floor space, computer space,
communications usage), or the number of field devices implemented within
a respective jurisdiction. Alternatively, division of operating costs
could be based on pre-determined user fees or dues which are based on a
direct benefit and ability to pay model.

The most challenging and perhaps the most critical element of the
Financial Plan is to secure funding. A first step is to identify the
defined process for decision-making in one's agency, region, or state
that includes the linkage to budget-cycles and processes of all partner
agencies, application procedures, and prioritization procedures. To be
successful, funding linkages must be established within the Concept of
Operations, Strategic Plans, and Performance Measures. These multi-year
plans determine the direction of budgeting activities over a multi-year
time horizon. This is essential for obtaining political and funding
support as well as for establishing internal funding priorities.
Finally, of critical importance is the demonstration between funding
requirements and sources---and anticipated benefits, e.g. the Value
Proposition.

Chapter 9 provides more detailed approaches for developing sound
financial plans within the context of a TMC Business Plan, including how
other agencies have coordinated the financial component with other
regional funding and programming activities. Examples of innovative
approaches to funding near and longer-term TMC activities also are shown
in that chapter.

9.  Implementing, Updating and Maintaining the Business Plan

The TMC Business Plan becomes an important tool for continued TMC
operations and expansion. The overall usefulness and success of the TMC
Business Plan rests on effective implementation and continued
monitoring. To maintain currency, strategies and timeframes for
regularly reviewing and updating the TMC Business Plan must be
established. Updating the business plan is an ongoing process with
specific milestones. A key element of the updating process is measuring
progress toward goals (i.e., how is the Business Plan performing in
relation to the Value Propositions) to demonstrate continued value and
benefit of the TMC.

TMC Business Plan implementation milestones are based on the strategy
sets, organization and management structure, and the financial plan. A
key component of successful implementation is the effective
communication of the Plan and its purpose to internal and external
stakeholders, including the public.

The Business Plan affords another tool to TMC managers and
administrators to use as a reference to supplement operations plans. The
TMC Business Plan maps out a clear direction of where the TMC is heading
in relation to its key functions and is not intended to replace a
Concept of Operations or specific operating or emergency plans. The TMC
Business Plan also is a key tool for the annual budget process, as the
Financial Plan element should succinctly outline significant near-term
and future requirements in terms of technology needs, staffing, and
capital and operating costs to provide current and needed functions
providing justification for TMC expansion, additional funds, and needed
services.

Demonstrating progress toward established objectives and benefits is
fundamental to the long-term success and viability of the TMC. Plans
should clearly state which entities and individuals are responsible for
measuring and reporting on performance, when evaluations will be
conducted, and who will conduct them. During these evaluations, reports
are made on progress toward the objectives, inhibiting factors and
constraints, and the resources and needs to overcome them. While there
is a risk of overlap between the TMC performance evaluation and other
Operations performance measurement, and careful coordination should take
place, the TMC Business Plan evaluation is focused on Business Plan
impacts, achievements, and milestones.

Performance measurement may be presented in the form of annual reports
or presented to subcommittees, leadership groups and other meetings to
which entities belong. Plans should document how and to whom the
evaluations will be presented. The frequency, timeframes, and details
for reporting evaluation results will vary. While weekly, monthly, or
quarterly reports are typically operations focused and intended for
internal audiences, annual reports are better suited for management and
can document key impacts and performance.

The TMC performance evaluation process may point toward a need to modify
and update the TMC Business Plan to reflect contemporary constraints,
and to address identified deficiencies and areas for improvement.
Guidelines for the updating and modifying process are developed,
including:

-   Timeframe for updating the plan (e.g. every five years, as
    conditions necessitate);

-   Laying out warrants or regionally-significant 'triggers' that may
    drive the need to update the TMC Business Plan. As an example, local
    programming processes, regional architecture updates, for major
    system deployments may warrant an update of the TMC Business Plan;

-   Identifying critical aspects of the TMC Business Plan that are
    likely to require more frequent updates and reviews;

-   Agreeing to who will be involved in reviewing and updating the TMC
    Business Plan; and

-   Soliciting new partners into the TMC Business Planning process as
    regional dynamics change.

The approach and method for updating the TMC Business Plan is likely to
vary for different types of TMCs based on scale and function. An
increase in the scale and/or scope of functional responsibilities of the
TMC will require an update of the TMC Business Plan, in context with the
new level of responsibilities. As traveler information systems,
integration with emergency management, or other operational expansions
(e.g. jurisdictional expansion, hours of operation, new partners
collocated in TMC, interfaces with other partners required), or focus
areas are brought on-line, a shift or update of the TMC Business Plan
may be required to assess the additional needs and resources required,
with the objective of maintaining the TMC Business Plan as a useful,
relevant document that will enhance the ability of the TMC to meets its
stated goals and objectives, and in turn the objectives of the larger
agency or region.

Chapter 10, Using and Managing the TMC Business Plan, provides
strategies for those responsible for implementing or updating the plan
as to how to use the plan as a management resource, and general
principles and approaches for reviewing and updating the Business Plan.

# TMC Business Models

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives:]{.underline}*

Prior to developing specific elements of a TMC Business Plan, it is
important to identify the different types of TMCs (and how they're
structured) in order to provide a context for the different elements of
the Business Plan. How a TMC is organized, such as a single agency or
multiple collocated agencies, what role the TMC serves in a region, and
how a TMC operates will directly affect how the Business Plan is
developed and what it includes.

This chapter identifies the different TMC business model options an
agency (or agencies) can select in developing a TMC business model.
There are several different types of organizational and functional
options for a TMC that factor in to the business model. The business
model is developed around a combination of:

-   Geographic area covered;

-   Number and types of agencies involved;

-   Functions or services provided; and

-   Operating mechanism.

These business models discuss, at a high level, basic organizational,
functional and institutional relationships that comprise various options
for structuring a TMC. There are no clear-cut, strictly defined formulas
for a TMC business model -- within each of the models presented in this
chapter, there will be slight variations based on local and regional
conditions, needs, institutional arrangements, system capability and
maturity and a host of other factors. This chapter presents some typical
TMC organizational models, and illustrates those with examples of TMCs
from around the country.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

The key message for this chapter is that any combination of the
identified options (geographic area, number and types of agencies,
functions or services, and operating mechanism) could provide a
successful TMC business model. How well each combination of options
meets the specific needs of the agency(ies) is a function of a needs
assessment for the agency(ies) that should be established as part of the
system engineering process.

*[Relationship to Other Chapters:]{.underline}*

Chapter 4 follows the description of how TMC business plans fit into the
overall planning process and builds off the information in Chapter 3 to
set the stage for the chapters that follow which describe the business
planning process. This chapter focuses on describing different types of
TMC business models that cover different geographic areas, that involve
different types of agencies, that involve different number of agencies,
and that are operated by different staffing and organization
arrangements. This chapter provides examples that others may learn from
as new business plans are prepared.

*[Remaining Sections:]{.underline}*

4.1 Geographic area covered

4.2 Number and type of agencies involved

4.3 Operating mechanism

4.4 Examples of where each model has been developed and deployed

[Definitions:]{.underline}

In describing the various business models below, the following
terminology (with examples) is used:

-   Jurisdiction -- a city, county, or state;

-   Agency -- a transportation department, public safety department, or
    emergency management department; and

-   Discipline -- within a transportation agency, you might find a
    traffic engineering discipline, maintenance discipline, etc.

    4.1 Geographic Area Covered

Traffic management centers may serve single jurisdictions, multiple
jurisdictions within a metropolitan area, a large region, or even an
entire state. The range and scope of the geographic service area of a
traffic management center is dependent upon institutional, political,
and economic considerations, and the transportation management needs of
the area.

Functional responsibilities of early traffic management centers (circa
1960's and 1970's) were typically limited to a centralized traffic
signal control system for the traffic signals within one agency's city
limits. These traffic systems sometimes involved an entire city, county,
or multiple counties resulting in an expanded geographic service area of
the traffic management center. As ITS came into its own, traffic
management centers began to be developed for regional freeway management
systems. Consequently, the geographic service areas of these freeway
traffic management centers typically spanned across multiple city and
county jurisdictions. As traffic congestion increased in large
metropolitan areas, and as agencies developed more sophisticated and
integrated systems to manage the congestion, many of the freeway systems
evolved to manage both urban traffic signal systems and freeway
management systems. Subsequently the geographical service area covered
by a TMC expanded even further. To some degree, the geographic area
included within one TMC's area of influence could be a function of the
maturity and sophistication of the transportation management in an area.

As the benefits of ITS spread beyond urban areas, and systems were
developed for rural and statewide applications, the geographic service
areas of many urban-area freeway traffic management systems expanded to
a regional or statewide level. The advent of traveler information
systems and the need for a central depository point for information from
multiple statewide data sources has, in many states, further expanded
the geographic scope of the urban-area traffic management center.

As intelligent transportation systems have evolved to meet the growing
demands of travelers, cities, counties, and states have developed
numerous unique business models that serve vastly different geographic
areas. This section describes four of these models: single jurisdiction;
large metropolitan area with multiple jurisdictions; regional or
district area, and statewide.

It is important to note that there is the potential for multiple
variations within each of these models. The Federal Highway
Administration and Institute of Transportation Engineers' publication,
*Organizing for Regional Transportation Operations: An Executive Guide*,
provides insights into some of the unique organizational and
institutional perspectives that must be considered when weighing the
various business and operational models for TMCs.

4.1.1 Single Jurisdiction Traffic Management Center

![](media/image7.wmf){width="3.5in" height="2.34375in"}A single
jurisdiction Traffic Management Center represents the least
sophisticated business model arrangement. These traffic management
centers -- serving a single city or single county, typically are located
in an office area of an existing facility such as a city hall or at the
county department of transportation offices. In most cases these TMC\'s
involve only one city or county department or agency -- typically the
department of transportation. The geographic service area of a
single-jurisdiction TMC is limited to the political boundaries of the
owning jurisdiction. However, in metropolitan areas with multiple
jurisdictions, TMCs may coordinate their operations with other TMCs
through telephone, email, or through dedicated communications lines and
networks.

[Advantages:]{.underline} An advantage of single-jurisdiction TMCs is
that they can typically be deployed within existing office facilities.
Since the geographic area also is limited, operators usually possess
more first-hand knowledge of the limited number of field devices that
are managed from the TMC.

Other advantages, in some respects, include the limited number of
stakeholders with whom TMC activities must be coordinated.
Single-jurisdiction TMCs do not require extensive funding, project
management, staffing, or maintenance agreements with other
municipalities or agencies, as they work within the existing
departmental structures.

[Disadvantages:]{.underline} More often than not, transportation issues
are regional in nature. Traffic congestion, air quality, and other
issues that have impacts beyond localized areas often require the
efforts of more than an individual jurisdiction. Unfortunately, in a
single jurisdiction arrangement, particularly in a large metropolitan
area with multiple adjacent jurisdictions, the single-jurisdiction TMC
may be focused on the individual jurisdiction's mission, and not on the
collective mission of the region. Furthermore, in large metropolitan
areas where multiple, single-jurisdiction TMCs each manage a limited
geographic area, coordination between jurisdictions may not exist or at
least becomes more difficult to accomplish.

**4.1.2 Multiple Jurisdictions Traffic Management Center**

![](media/image8.wmf){width="3.5in" height="2.34375in"}In large
metropolitan areas with multiple cities or counties, jurisdictions have
coordinated and participated in the construction, operations and
maintenance of a common TMC facility. The multi-jurisdictional TMC
controls ITS field elements in multiple jurisdictions, irrespective of
political boundaries. Consequently, the number of miles of roadway,
number of ITS elements, and the number of stakeholders is significantly
larger than would be found in a single jurisdiction TMC arrangement.

[Advantages:]{.underline} Multi-jurisdictional TMCs yield significant
benefits to the customer -- the tax paying, traveling public. The
traveling public expects transportation systems to be seamless across
jurisdictional boundaries, irrespective of political and jurisdictional
responsibilities. Multi-jurisdictional TMCs are no longer focused on
improving transportation operations within a single jurisdiction, but on
improving operations across the entire metropolitan area.

Significant institutional and system benefits are realized when multiple
jurisdictions cooperate in the implementation, management, and
operations of a TMC. These include:

-   Efficiency and Cost Savings -- Multi-jurisdictional TMCs eliminate
    duplication and overlap in procurement, installation, and
    integration of technical systems that would be required of
    individual jurisdictions when operating on their own. Furthermore,
    compatible systems (such as traffic signal systems, detection or
    traveler information technologies) allow agencies to share costs for
    new purchases and upgrades, as well as streamline maintenance
    requirements and resources.

-   Resource Utilization and Availability -- A multi-jurisdictional TMC
    covering a large geographic area is more cost efficient because only
    one facility must be staffed and operated. Multi-jurisdictional TMCs
    are in a position to share and draw upon the technical expertise,
    strengths, and resources of partner agencies.

-   Improved Working Relationships -- The collocation of staff of
    multiple jurisdictions into a common facility facilitates
    information exchange, elevates trust and understanding, and
    strengthens partnerships, thus facilitating enhanced collaboration
    and coordination of operations.

-   Systems Coordination -- The collocation of staff from multiple
    jurisdictions into a common facility, and management emanating from
    one physical location facilitates and encourages coordinated traffic
    management across jurisdictional boundaries.

-   Hours of Operation -- The pooled resources of multiple agencies can
    enable extended hours of service that might be unfeasible for a
    single-jurisdiction TMC. The extended hours provides an improved
    level of service to the traveling public. The TMC is prepared to
    respond to incidents, construction activities (many of which occur
    at night), and planned special events.

As an example, the Tucson Regional Transportation Control Center (TRTCC)
was identified as one of the solutions to address the metropolitan
area's increasing traffic congestion. The TRCCC combines the
transportation management resources of the City of Tucson, Pima County,
the State of Arizona, surrounding jurisdictions, and private industry
into a single, integrated operation. The city's TRTCC is serving as the
hub for Arizona DOT's traffic management and monitoring until a
permanent ADOT facility can be built.

The TRTCC emanated from area Traffic Engineers' desire for a more
coordinated approach to traffic management -- the first step towards
which was the procurement of a common traffic signal system. The common
system enables engineers from each jurisdiction to more easily
coordinate their signal operations across jurisdictional boundaries.

The TRTCC provides a central depository and processing center for
traveler information. Real time traffic-monitoring equipment
continuously feeds video and data to the Center. TRTCC operators, who
are actually staff of a private-sector traveler information services
company, constantly monitor events, update Internet, radio, and
television advisories, and are able to visually confirm reported events
by video or by air to determine the actual traffic impacts. The report
is then broadcast over commercial radio and television, giving commuters
reliable information.

[Disadvantages:]{.underline} Implementation of a multi-jurisdictional
TMC carries with it a significant, sometimes cumbersome, process of
garnering buy-in on operational parameters and processes and formalizing
intergovernmental agreements with each of the participant agencies.
Agreements are necessary to define the overall operation of the
transportation system, as well as operational, resource sharing,
personnel, systems, and institutional integration arrangements of the
partner agencies. Documenting and formalizing agreements may require
compromise, on the part of each agency, in terms of how facilities are
operated. This model is further complicated by the addition of private
contractors.

**4.1.3 Regional or District Traffic Management Center**

![](media/image9.wmf){width="3.495833333333333in" height="2.28125in"}The
regional or district TMC business model expands upon the
multi-jurisdictional model in that it encompasses additional
non-metropolitan areas such as rural county or state facilities outside
the metropolitan area, in addition to the multiple jurisdictions within
the metropolitan area. The mission of a Regional or District TMC may
include not only urban arterial traffic management, but also the
operations and management of suburban, urban freeway, and rural highway
and interstate facilities. The geographic area of a Regional or District
Area may coincide with Department of Transportation Districts,
Metropolitan Planning Areas, or other defined geographic boundaries.

[Advantages]{.underline}: Many of the advantages of the Multiple
Jurisdictions TMC model are seen in the Regional or District TMC model.
Again, a primary advantage of this business model is that there is an
efficiency of cost when a single TMC can serve a large geographic area,
and combine resources for capital, staffing, and operations expenses.
Without the resources of the large Region or District TMC, it may be
impractical to dedicate human resources to the exclusive monitoring and
operating of rural ITS field elements. Other advantages include:

-   Regional traffic management can occur more easily, thus benefiting
    the traveling public when the entire network is managed in a
    comprehensive and integrated manner as opposed to having each agency
    being responsible for just their facilities. As an example,
    information regarding route conditions in rural areas can be
    disseminated to travelers in the urban area where they can more
    easily make alternate route choices.

-   Integrated control of multiple ITS systems are more easily achieved
    when one TMC is managing a regional or district operation.

-   A Regional or District TMC may utilize staff from different
    jurisdictions that have responsibilities within the region or
    district geographic area, drawing upon the technical expertise and
    strengths of partner agencies.

-   Projects supported by a Regional or District TMC, and inherently by
    multiple jurisdictions throughout the region are more likely to
    receive federal approval and funding because of the multi-lateral,
    regional support of the project.

-   A Regional or District TMC is well-suited to serve as a central
    repository, synthesizer, and clearing house for work zone,
    maintenance, and construction information for dissemination to
    traveler information systems.

[Disadvantages:]{.underline} Similar to the multi-jurisdictional TMC
model, implementing a district or regional TMC carries with it a
significant, sometimes cumbersome, process of garnering buy-in and
formalizing intergovernmental agreements with each of the participating
agencies, if there are in fact multiple agencies participating.

While the integrated control of multiple ITS systems are more easily
achieved when one TMC is managing a regional or district operation, such
an arrangement does require that intergovernmental agreements,
memorandum of understanding, or a concept of operations be worked out
ahead of time defining how the different agencies within this larger
region are to operate. Legal questions as to liability must also be
addressed up front in these written agreements.

**4.1.4 Statewide Traffic Management Center**

![](media/image10.wmf){width="3.495833333333333in"
height="2.5125in"}Several states, typically initiated by the State
Department of Transportation, have constructed TMCs whose geographic
service area encompasses an entire state. Some of these TMCs are
operated by a single agency, while others have received participation
from other statewide agencies such as the State Highway Patrol. As an
example, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, the Nebraska State
Patrol and the Nebraska Army National Guard have actively participated
with the Nebraska Department of Roads in the preliminary planning stages
of a Statewide Traffic Management Center.

While the majority of functions and activities of the Arizona Department
of Transportation Traffic Operations Center (ADOT TOC) serve Phoenix
metropolitan area freeways, the TOC does provides statewide control of
centralized traveler information systems and rural ITS field elements.
The ADOT TOC in Phoenix also provides back-up control for field devices
in the Tucson metropolitan area, and serves in a back-up role for other
ADOT District operations centers.

A Statewide TMC can be implemented in a number of ways. The primary
differentiator between the various alternatives is the level and scale
of central control of the statewide TMC. Possible configurations
include:

-   An existing regional or district TMC assumes statewide jurisdiction,
    controlling state-owned devices including those in rural areas and
    those state devices in other metropolitan areas that do not have a
    TMC of their own. The Statewide TMC serves as a centralized hub for
    the continuous (24 hour, 7 days) control and monitoring of ITS field
    devices statewide. In this centralized concept, information (such as
    that from weather sensors, detectors, etc.) is collected at the
    Statewide TMC, processed, and distributed to the various statewide
    partners. All 'smarts' of the system reside at the Statewide TMC.
    This concept requires full-time staffing of the statewide TMC, and
    allows shorter staffing periods of the other district or regional
    TMCs.

-   Statewide TMC assumes operational control for only the rural areas,
    while control within metropolitan areas is retained at separate
    facilities.

-   Statewide TMC is primary operator of statewide systems (e.g. travel
    information systems, statewide road conditions and maintenance
    reporting systems), and is a secondary operator of local field
    elements (e.g. CCTV surveillance cameras, variable message signs),
    serving as a back-up to regional or district TMCs. The Statewide TMC
    may assume primary control of local field devices during the evening
    and weekend hours. In such a scenario, the local district retains
    primary control of the ITS field elements during business hours, and
    then turns the operation of these outlying facilities over to the
    statewide TMC during the evening and weekend hours.

[Advantages]{.underline}: Advantages of each of the above alternative
arrangements include cost efficiencies, particularly in terms of
staffing and central system software. A particular advantage to the
central hub concept is that coordination along major corridors that pass
through different regions can be more easily obtained. Consistency of
equipment and other systems is a particular advantage if the agency uses
consistent procurement processes and specifications for equipment. This
also streamlines maintenance functions.

[Disadvantages]{.underline}: In either arrangement, a TMC that serves an
entire state typically requires a very sophisticated, and perhaps
costly, communications network to reach the numerous partner agencies
around the state. Provisions for communications and data sharing among
partner agencies and district or regional centers are required. The
level of integration among partners needs to be defined based on the
types of equipment to be monitored or managed, and the desired level of
information sharing, control sharing, after hours monitoring, etc.

4.2 Number and Type of Agencies Involved

The number and type of agencies (such as a department of transportation,
public works, or public safety) involved in the TMC significantly
affects the functions and activities of the TMC. A number of different
business models are available for TMCs as it relates to the number and
types of agencies involved in the TMC planning and operation.
Furthermore, multiple disciplines from a single agency may be
participants in the TMC. As an example, a public works agency may
include traffic engineering, maintenance, community relations/public
information, or administrative personnel. This section will describe the
different business models as it relates to the number and type of
agencies involved.

**4.2.1 Single Agency Traffic Management Center**

The most common implementation of a TMC serves a single city, one
county, or one state. The simplest of these single-jurisdiction TMCs, as
previously described in section 4.1.1, will likely include only a single
agency or discipline within that jurisdiction. Typically, this would be
the traffic engineering agency with a given city or county. Many of the
same benefits that apply to a single jurisdiction TMC, as described in
section 4.1.1, are applicable to the single-agency TMC model.

[Advantages:]{.underline} A primary advantage of the single agency
arrangement is that all of the control resides within one organization.
Decisions can be made about operations, equipment, and other factors
without consulting other agencies or jurisdictions.

[Disadvantages]{.underline}: In a single agency model, the TMC focuses
on the agency's mission -- usually to improve traffic management and
other related functions within the jurisdictional boundaries of the
agency. Agencies may have a limited view of the regional approach to
traffic management that is required to genuinely improve the
transportation system in an area. A lack of cooperation, collaboration,
and consensus building with adjacent jurisdictions or other agencies
(such as law enforcement) can result in a less than optimum operation of
the transportation network.

Economic, human resource, or technical expertise limitations of
single-agency TMCs may limit the breadth and scope of activities that
they are able to undertake. As an example, a small, single-agency TMC is
not able to dedicate staff to continually monitor CCTV cameras, and to
make proactive changes to the traffic signal system as traffic
conditions evolve. Furthermore, the implementation costs are typically
higher when each agency develops their own TMC, versus having one TMC
facility that is shared among multiple agencies.

**4.2.2 Multiple Transportation Agencies**

A more sophisticated TMC model arises when transportation agencies from
multiple jurisdictions come together to operate a single TMC. An example
might be that the Departments of Transportation from two or more cities
cooperatively join forces to sustain one TMC to handle both
jurisdictions' transportation management needs. Such an arrangement may
not include the police or emergency management personnel. Many of the
benefits of the multiple-jurisdictions TMC, as explained in section
4.1.2, are also applicable to the Multiple Transportation Agencies
model.

[Advantages:]{.underline} An advantage of a multiple transportation
agencies TMC arrangement is that traffic management can be handled
across jurisdictional boundaries more effectively than could be done by
separate, single jurisdiction TMCs. Significant efficiencies in
software, system development, and procurement can be realized when
multiple agencies pool their resources.

[Disadvantages]{.underline}: To ensure that a multiple transportation
agencies TMC functions satisfactorily, intergovernmental agreements must
be worked out and that agreed upon operational procedures should be
documented. There is an advantage to this in that it requires
cooperation among the staff of the different transportation agencies;
however, any given agency may have to comprise some on how they operate
their facilities in order to be compatible with partner agencies.

**4.2.3 Multiple Agencies and Disciplines**

The Multiple Agencies and Disciplines TMC model is perhaps the most
sophisticated, and as a result the most difficult to implement, but
provides the highest potential payoff in terms of improved
transportation operations throughout a region. Many of the same benefits
of a multi-jurisdictional TMC model, as discussed in section 4.1.2, are
also applicable to the multiple agencies and disciplines model.

In this TMC business model, the transportation department, public safety
department, emergency management department and transit department, or a
combination of these agencies, shares a common facility. The agencies
may be from the same jurisdiction, or from multiple jurisdictions. The
most typical combination of these agencies includes the collocation of
the transportation department and the public safety agency within a
single TMC. Transportation and public safety are particularly
complementary because of the overlap in their missions -- to improve the
safety of the transportation system, of which incident management is a
core component. Logistically, the partner agencies are responsible for a
common jurisdictional area. As an example, a state DOT could collocate
with the state highway patrol, while the city traffic engineering
department collocates with the local police department.

Multimodal partnerships, while less common than partnerships among
transportation with public safety or emergency management, provide
travelers with information on travel mode alternatives, such as commuter
rail delays or high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane speeds. Houston's
TranStar system received nearly 25% of design and construction funding
from transit, and Houston Metro (the region's transit agency) is key in
the partnership.

Historically, emergency management personnel (fire department) tend to
be separate and only in rare instances are they known to collocate with
the transportation and public safety agencies. To help bridge this
separation, more and more agencies are providing virtual connections
between transportation and emergency management through integrated CAD
systems and dedicated communications links so that critical information,
including video images, can be shared. Multi-agency TMCs yield
significant user, institutional, and system operations benefits.

[Advantage]{.underline}s: There are obvious advantages to combining
multiple agencies within one TMC, such as the transportation agency and
the public safety agency. Improved cooperation and coordination can be
achieved, particularly for incident management response and processes,
when staff of both agencies are within one physical facility. Other
advantages include:

-   Efficiency and Cost Savings -- Multi-agency TMCs eliminate
    duplication and overlap in construction and maintenance of
    facilities. Furthermore, compatible and integrated systems (e.g.
    Integrated CAD) allow agencies to share costs for new purchases and
    upgrades.

-   Improved Communications and Working Relationships -- The collocation
    of staff of multiple agencies into a common facility facilitates
    information exchange, elevates trust and understanding, and
    strengthens partnerships, thus enhancing operations, emergency
    response, and activities. Agencies begin to consider the impact of
    their activities on the missions of other agencies.

-   More complete information on mode options -- Houston Metro's
    involvement in TranStar reinforces transit's role in transportation
    management. Collocating these functions provides for more
    comprehensive information sharing among key partnerships in the
    region, as well as provides opportunities for better coordination.

[Disadvantages]{.underline} include the fact that agencies may need to
compromise some on their individual desires as to the management of
traffic in order to accommodate their partners. Implementation of a
multiple agency TMC carries with it a significant, sometimes cumbersome,
process of garnering buy-in and formalizing intergovernmental agreements
with each of the participant agencies. Agreements are necessary to
define the operational, resource sharing, personnel, systems, and
institutional integration arrangements of the partner agencies.

4.3 Operating Mechanism

One of the most important elements of a TMC Business Plan is a staffing
and operations plan. Adequate staffing of the TMC enables effective
operations. Without adequate staffing and operations provisions, the
full benefits of the TMC will not be realized, which diminishes the
capital investment in the TMC and the associated infrastructure.

The first TMCs were operated by staff of the owning jurisdiction;
however, many agencies found it challenging to staff and train personnel
to effectively operate the TMCs and the associated systems. Intelligent
Transportation Systems require several specialized disciples outside of
those normally found at a transportation or traffic engineering
department. These include software engineers, communications
technicians, system administration personnel, and database specialists.

To address this issue, some agencies outsource the TMC operations to
private companies. In other cases the outsourcing of TMC operations has
been to a private-sector company that utilizes the TMC data as part of
their business of distributing traveler information along with the
advertising they sell. Some of these business models have included
sharing advertising revenue with the agency owning the TMC.

Organizational models continue to evolve and emerge. What works well in
one area or region might not be suited for another. ITE's handbook on
*Traffic Control Systems Operations: Installation, Management, and
Maintenance* offers some insights on staffing considerations.

This section describes some of the advantages and disadvantages of each
of these models.

**4.3.1 Public Agency Staffed and Operated Traffic Management Centers**

The first option that is usually considered is to staff and operate the
TMC with personnel from the jurisdiction and agency that owns the TMC.
This requires hiring personnel that have the skills or interest in the
"operation" of a traffic management center. These skills might not be
present within an organization or even covered in existing agency job
descriptions or training programs. Complicating the task, there can be
policy or budget restrictions at public agencies that prevent them from
hiring new full time employees. This places the agency with
responsibility for operating the TMC at a great disadvantage when they
are expected to perform the operating function with existing personnel
positions and within existing budgets. Any new business plan for a
public agency staffed TMC should include new staff positions, adequate
training and budget to support the TMC operations.

[Advantages]{.underline}: From an operations perspective, a staff
comprised entirely of public-agency employees is ideal. A unified
personnel management system makes it easier to establish and maintain
team cohesiveness. Furthermore, using their own staff develops a greater
sense of ownership of day-to-day as well as emergency operations.

A public agency staffed TMC has the advantage of close, hands-on
operation by the agency. The owning agency knows best the objectives of
the operation and consequently has the opportunity to fulfill the
objectives. If the operation is outsourced, then these objectives have
to be clearly communicated to the entity selected to conduct the
operations.

Some agencies have attempted to share technical staff with other public
agencies that have similar needs.

[Disadvantage:]{.underline} In today's economic environment, many
agencies around the country have a difficult time in finding, training,
and retaining the talented staff that is required to operate and
maintain their ITS. The recruitment and retention of experienced staff
is difficult with private-sector firms offering higher salaries to
personnel with similar qualifications.

Furthermore, the public agency is at a disadvantage, in that receiving
approval for new full time employees can be a major obstacle. Obtaining
budget approval for "operations" is outside the current norm of most
transportation agencies. In fact, the budget often has to come from the
maintenance-related budget where it must compete with road and bridge
and other operations and maintenance needs.

2.  **Private Sector Contract Staffed and Operated Traffic Management
    Center**

When agencies find it too difficult to adequately staff their TMCs with
their own staff, one option is to outsource portions or all of its TMC
operations. An agency may contract out a portion of the TMC staff, just
one or two positions, or the agency may contract the entire TMC
operations to a private company.

A typical contracted operation involves the private company providing
the operators for the TMC and in some cases, providing traffic
engineering staff support. In most cases, the private company supervises
the operators; however, in at least one case, the private operators are
supervised by the public agency staff. This provides more public agency
control over the operations of their transportation network. The Utah
Department of Transportation TMC in Salt Lake City is a good example, as
is INFORM on Long Island.

[Advantages:]{.underline} Outsourcing allows the agencies to specify the
qualifications of the staff that are needed and to place the
responsibility for hiring and training the staff on the private company.
It may be easier for a private-sector firm to fill vacancies with
appropriately skilled personnel as well as to remove poorly performing
employees.

It is often easier for a public agency to "find" the money for
contracted operations staff rather than to receive approval and budget
to hire their own staff. By packaging outsourced staff as a 'project'
with a fixed contractual amount and termination date, agencies may be
able to receive funding through the regional transportation improvement
program.

The City of Tucson, Arizona is an example of a successful public-private
partnership contracting mechanism -- a traffic and news reporting
organization is partnered with the City of Tucson. City, county and
state traffic engineers in the Tucson area recognized the need for a
more coordinated approach to transportation operations -- the first step
towards which was the procurement of a common traffic signal system.
Next, stakeholders began working towards a common TMC facility, but
lacked funding. Recognizing that video and traffic information have
value to private industry, they contracted with a private-sector traffic
and news reporting organization to receive exclusive right and use of
the video images and traffic information.

In exchange for the use of all the traffic information in the TMC, the
City of Tucson receives:

-   Full remodeling of the computer center and Traffic Engineering
    Division offices;

-   Flight time for City staff to observe traffic conditions and or
    other transportation issues;

-   Prime time commercial slots for peak-hour transportation
    announcements;

-   Percentage of sales of video data;

-   Special air support to transportation, law enforcement, fire and
    emergency storm response crews; and

-   Personnel to monitor and operate the control center.

This arrangement provides a significant financial advantage for the
city. Key to the success of the private company is their exclusive right
to the video and data received at the City of Tucson TMC.

[Disadvantages]{.underline}: While outsourcing offers some solutions to
the types of staffing problems noted above, it does have inherent
disadvantages and there are situations where this arrangement has not
been successful. Outsourcing introduces contractual issues, and the
required administration, oversight, and performance measurement of the
contractor. Outsourced staff may tend to have higher turnover rates than
would be found with in-house staff.

4.4 Examples of TMC Business Models

**Table 4-1** presents examples of each of the TMC models discussed in
this chapter.

Table 4-1 -- Examples of TMC Business Models

+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+
| **Traffic | **G       | **Number | **O      | **Unique            |
| M         | eographic | and Type | perating | Attributes**        |
| anagement | Area**    | of       | Mec      |                     |
| Center**  |           | Ag       | hanism** |                     |
|           |           | encies** |          |                     |
+===========+===========+==========+==========+=====================+
| City of   | Single    | 1 Agency | Public   | -   Special events  |
| Anaheim,  | jur       |          | sector   |     with            |
|           | isdiction | City of  | operated |     Disneyland,     |
| Anaheim,  | in large  | Anaheim  |          |     Anaheim Angels, |
| CA        | metro     |          |          |     Ducks etc.      |
|           | area      |          |          |                     |
|           |           |          |          | -   Great working   |
|           |           |          |          |     relationship    |
|           |           |          |          |     with private    |
|           |           |          |          |     sector or       |
|           |           |          |          |     special event   |
|           |           |          |          |     promoters       |
|           |           |          |          |                     |
|           |           |          |          | -   Adaptive        |
|           |           |          |          |     signals         |
|           |           |          |          |                     |
|           |           |          |          | -   Arterial DMS    |
|           |           |          |          |     and CCTV        |
+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+
| City of   | Multiple  | 6        | Public   | -   Concessionaire  |
| Tucson,   | juri      | Agencies | -Private |     agreement       |
|           | sdictions |          | Par      |                     |
| Tucson,   | in metro  | City of  | tnership | -   Single traffic  |
| AZ        | area      | Tucson,  |          |     signal system   |
|           |           | City of  |          |     and freeway     |
|           |           | South    |          |     management      |
|           |           | Tucson,  |          |     system operated |
|           |           | City of  |          |     by city         |
|           |           | Marana,  |          |                     |
|           |           | Town of  |          | -   After hours to  |
|           |           | Oro      |          |     ADOT TOC        |
|           |           | Valley,  |          |                     |
|           |           | Pima     |          | -   Arterial CCTV   |
|           |           | County,  |          |                     |
|           |           | ADOT     |          |                     |
+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+
| INFORM,   | Regional  | 1 Agency | Co       | -   Freeway and     |
|           |           |          | ntracted |     expressway      |
| Long      |           | NYSDOT   | o        |                     |
| Island,   |           |          | peration | -   Highway "HELP"  |
| NY        |           |          |          |     Vehicle         |
|           |           |          |          |     Dispatching     |
+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+
| FAST,     | Regional  | 6        | Separate | -   Cost sharing    |
|           | in metro  | Agencies | public   |     between         |
| Clark     | area      |          | sector   |     agencies        |
| County,   |           | NDOT,    | o        |                     |
| NV        |           | Cities   | perating | -   Freeway and     |
|           |           | of Las   | entity   |     arterial        |
|           |           | Vegas,   |          |     management      |
|           |           | North    |          |                     |
|           |           | Las      |          | -   Single signal   |
|           |           | Vegas,   |          |     system          |
|           |           | He       |          |                     |
|           |           | nderson, |          | -   Collocated with |
|           |           | Clark    |          |     Nevada Highway  |
|           |           | County,  |          |     Patrol          |
|           |           | Highway  |          |                     |
|           |           | Patrol   |          |                     |
+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+
| Caltrans, | Regional  | 2        | Public   | -   SHOWCASE        |
| District  | in large  | Agencies | sector   |     priority        |
| 12,       | metro     |          | -- DOT   |     corridor        |
| Orange    | area      | C        |          |                     |
| County,   |           | altrans, |          |   interconnectivity |
| CA        |           | CHP      |          |                     |
|           |           |          |          | -   Freeways only   |
|           |           |          |          |                     |
|           |           |          |          | -   Regional TMC's  |
|           |           |          |          |     statewide       |
|           |           |          |          |     (peer-to-peer)  |
+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+
| Caltrans, | Regional  | 2        | Public   | -   Rural TMC       |
| District  | in rural  | Agencies | sector   |                     |
| 5, San    | district  |          | -- DOT   | -   Regional TMC's  |
| Luis      |           | C        |          |     statewide       |
| Obispo,   |           | altrans, |          |     (peer-to-peer)  |
| CA        |           | CHP      |          |                     |
+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+
| ADOT,     | Regional  | 1 Agency | Public   | -   Private sector  |
| Phoenix,  | and       |          | sector   |     collocation     |
| AZ        | Statewide | ADOT     | -- DOT   |                     |
|           |           |          |          | -   Daytime,        |
|           |           |          |          |     freeways --     |
|           |           |          |          |     regional; after |
|           |           |          |          |     hours --        |
|           |           |          |          |     statewide,      |
|           |           |          |          |     state routes    |
+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+
| Transtar, | Regional  | TXDOT,   | Public   | -   Transit agency  |
|           |           | Houston  | sector   |     is a partner    |
| Houston,  |           | Metro,   | --       |     and key         |
| TX        |           | Harris   | Co       |     contributor     |
|           |           | Co., ,   | nsortium |                     |
|           |           | City of  | of all 4 |                     |
|           |           | Houston, | agencies |                     |
+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+
| MNDOT,    | Statewide | 2        | Public   | -   Freeway         |
| Min       |           | Agencies | sector   |     management,     |
| neapolis, |           |          | -- DOT   |     Minnesota State |
| MN        |           | MNDOT,   |          |     Police, and     |
|           |           | MSP      |          |     arterial        |
|           |           |          |          |     management      |
|           |           |          |          |     collocated      |
+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+---------------------+

Intentionally Left Blank

# Developing the TMC Business Concept

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives:]{.underline}*

A sound Business Concept provides the foundation for the overall TMC
Business Plan. This chapter takes a more in-depth look at the Business
Concept -- what it is, why it is important to the overall TMC business
plan, and how to go about developing a vision, TMC strategic objectives,
identify desired end states, and articulate these in a TMC Business
Concept. The importance of stakeholder coordination and input to the
vision, objectives, and overall Business Concept also is discussed, and
guidance is provided on which stakeholders are integral parts of the
process.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

-   What comprises a Business Concept and why it is important to the
    overall Business Plan.

-   How to develop a Business Concept, including what needs to be
    articulated, how to articulate it, and how the Business Concept
    guides development of the rest of the Business Plan, including the
    Value Proposition and Strategy Sets.

-   Importance of stakeholder involvement and a coordinated stakeholder
    involvement plan to develop the Business Concept, Value Proposition
    and ultimately champion the Business Plan to the right decision
    makers.

-   Developing target audience objectives, and how the plan should be
    structured around how to best sell Business Concept and Value
    Proposition.

*[Key Topics and Issues to be Covered:]{.underline}*

The importance of the Business Concept in laying the foundation for the
overall TMC Business Plan; the importance of stakeholder participation
and input in developing the Business Concept, developing strategic
objectives that are consistent with goals of other ITS plans and
processes as well as align with broader agency objectives and missions.

*[How This Chapter Relates to Other Chapters:]{.underline}*

The Business Concept provides the foundation and results in the guiding
principles that drive the development of the TMC Business Plan.
Successfully completing the remaining components of the TMC Business
Plan relies on developing a sound, consensus-based Business Concept.

*[Remaining Sections:]{.underline}*

5.1 The TMC Business Concept

5.2 Stakeholder Input and Involvement

5.3 Vision and Strategic Objectives for the TMC

5.4 Defining the Business Concept

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.733333333333333in"
height="3.502083333333333in"}

Figure 5-1: Business Plan Steps and Processes

**5.1 What is a Business Concept?**

The foundation for a Business Plan of any type, be it product oriented,
service oriented, profit or not for profit, is a sound Business Concept.
There are many potential interpretations of a Business Concept -- some
refer to an entire business plan or strategic plan as a business
concept, while others are as succinct as a mission statement.

The Business Concept essentially lays out the core purpose, objectives,
products or services, and overall guiding principles for a particular
venture. In the private arena, the Business Concept serves as the 'hook'
for potential investors, lenders, partners and even customers -- by
telling them what is to be provided (such as product or service), how it
is to be provided, to whom it will be provided (market segment and
customers), why this approach or product is better than the
competition's (what niche is filled), and what the venture (and its
customers) expect to get out of it. It presents a clear, concise picture
of what is to be accomplished, and to a degree, the anticipated outcomes
or expectations.

The Business Concept for a TMC needs to essentially answer the same
questions, but with a slightly different focus:

-   What is being provided (TMC's role, key services, functions)?

-   How will it be provided?

-   Who is it serving (parent agency, partner agencies, and in a broader
    context the traveling public)?

-   Why is it needed?

-   What should we expect?

In the context of a TMC, a Business Concept is not intended to attract
investors, lenders or partners in the same way a private sector Business
Concept would, but rather the TMC Business Concept needs to answer the
following:

*What are we asking managers, policy and decision makers to buy into?*

In Chapter 3, the Business Concept was defined as needing to serve as a
description or a 'snapshot' of what the TMC does, what it is envisioned
to do, the role that it plays within an agency, and the desired roles
and functions that the TMC needs to serve, both within its parent agency
and in the context of a regional or statewide system. It needs to
succinctly and clearly lay out an overall picture of how the TMC
currently functions, and more importantly, the desired end-state of how
the TMC needs to function and operate so that it justifies the
investment that agencies are making.

The following examples from Caltrans define what the TMC's are and how
they are to function for Caltrans.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *[Example 5a -- Business Concept]{.underline}*                        |
|                                                                       |
| *The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has put a     |
| focused effort into comprehensive and strategic TMC planning. In its  |
| TMC Master Plan (Revised December 1997), Caltrans outlines clear      |
| roles, functions, goals and objectives for TMCs in the Caltrans       |
| system, as well as development cycles and anticipated changes or      |
| shifts that are attributed to the various cycles. This TMC Master     |
| Plan provides a statewide framework, plan, and goals from which       |
| different TMCs can be implemented and coordinated while being         |
| responsive to unique needs and circumstances in the various regions.  |
| It distinguishes between urban and rural areas, with the              |
| understanding that these areas need to draw upon similar as well as   |
| some very distinct functionality and capability.*                     |
|                                                                       |
| > ***What is a TMC?***                                                |
| >                                                                     |
| > A Transportation Management Center (TMC) represents the joint       |
| > efforts between the Department of California Highway Patrol (CHP)   |
| > and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). It can  |
| > be thought of as an information center, which manages the           |
| > transportation system.                                              |
| >                                                                     |
| > ***Why a TMC?***                                                    |
| >                                                                     |
| > In past years, there has been an increase in the number of vehicles |
| > and miles traveled on California's highways. The need for more      |
| > sophisticated transportation management of the existing             |
| > infrastructure is essential. With diminishing space, building new   |
| > highways is costly, and in many places, no longer feasible. The TMC |
| > is the backbone of the Traffic Management Systems (TMS), which is   |
| > designed to efficiently manage existing infrastructure, mobilized   |
| > assets, and field personnel (i.e., Freeway Service Patrol (FSP),    |
| > maintenance crews, and Traffic Management Teams).                   |
| >                                                                     |
| > ***What does a TMC do?***                                           |
| >                                                                     |
| > The combination of TMC strategies increases safety and reduces      |
| > incidents, delay, environmental degradation, and cost to tax        |
| > payers. Costs are incurred from: incidents involving property       |
| > damage or injury, repairs needed from vehicle wear-and-tear,        |
| > inefficient use of gas, and nonproductive time lost to congestion.  |
| > The TMC mitigates these issues through the following methods:       |
|                                                                       |
| -   Expedites the removal of major incidents to prevent secondary     |
|     incidents and reduce delay.                                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   Expedites the removal of any minor vehicular problems on the      |
|     highway.                                                          |
|                                                                       |
| -   Provides weather warning systems (i.e., fog or dust detection) in |
|     vital areas.                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   Controls traffic demands on the system.                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Informs the public of transportation information.                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *[Example 5b]{.underline}*                                            |
|                                                                       |
| *In the* TMS Transportation Management Centers: Development           |
| Considerations and Constraints (December 2002) *(Caltrans), outlines  |
| the roles and functions of TMCs and how they support statewide        |
| emergency operations, and their importance to Caltrans' overall       |
| ability to implement transportation system management strategies.     |
| With 12 Districts throughout the state, each with a district-level    |
| TMC, the overarching principles were stated fairly high level -- in   |
| other words, common parameters were identified that could be applied  |
| and considered for each TMC, while allowing enough flexibility to     |
| accommodate TMCs of varying size, function or in areas of geographic  |
| complexity.*                                                          |
|                                                                       |
| > Transportation Management Centers (TMCs) are used for the efficient |
| > and effective management of traffic, and are an integral part of    |
| > the Department of Transportation's (the Department) approach to     |
| > congestion management and reduction. TMCs are, fundamentally,       |
| > buildings that house staff and systems necessary to accomplish      |
| > day-to-day functions such as incident management, ramp metering,    |
| > arterial signalization, and emergency support. They are a focal     |
| > point for control and support of field elements, and monitoring and |
| > support of the transportation infrastructure. They are              |
| > communications hubs between the Department's Operations and         |
| > Maintenance Divisions, the California Highway Patrol (CHP), Freeway |
| > Service Patrol, public and private partners, and information        |
| > service providers and other media. The Department is legislatively  |
| > required to support the Statewide Emergency Management System       |
| > (SEMS), and that support is provided through the TMC. They are      |
| > centrally important to the Department's ability to implement system |
| > management.                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| *Following the description of the essential role that the TMCs        |
| support, Caltrans further outlined the key principles that the        |
| Department would commit to with regard to TMC operations,             |
| establishing new TMCs or expanding existing TMCs:*                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Every district will have a TMC. The functional complexity, hours  |
|     of operations, staffing, physical building size, and location     |
|     will vary, as appropriate, based on demonstrated need.            |
|                                                                       |
| -   A system engineering process will be used to justify the need to  |
|     develop a new TMC or update an existing one.                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   All TMC development will come after approval of a Feasibility     |
|     Study Report.                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Only real-time operations will be planned into a stand-alone      |
|     building (see Table 1).                                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Planning, research, and maintenance functions will not be         |
|     designed into the TMC and will not be conducted there except as   |
|     related to real-time operations or as required for emergency      |
|     support.                                                          |
|                                                                       |
| -   All TMCs must accommodate a CHP presence, regardless of whether   |
|     the building is an essential services act building. The scope of  |
|     that presence will vary depending on the need. Generally, CHP     |
|     presence should fall along the following lines:                   |
|                                                                       |
| ```{=html}                                                            |
| <!-- -->                                                              |
| ```                                                                   |
| -   at TMCs in rural areas, during major emergencies, heavy snow      |
|     season                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| -   at TMCs in urban areas during peak periods                        |
|                                                                       |
| -   stand-alone TMCs must have 24-7 communication center              |
|                                                                       |
| ```{=html}                                                            |
| <!-- -->                                                              |
| ```                                                                   |
| -   Formalizing the feasibility assessment process, and employing     |
|     definitive standards against which projects can be judged, such   |
|     as the functions defined in Table 1. This will include defining   |
|     factors that influence TMC needs (such as VMT, population         |
|     density, vehicle mixes, accident rates, etc.).                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   As appropriate, TMCs will link to local and regional              |
|     jurisdictions.                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   TMC Support Centers are located either in District Offices or     |
|     satellite locations and will be used for planning and research.   |
|                                                                       |
| -   Specific criteria will be defined and applied to determine the    |
|     need for a stand-alone TMC. Considerations might include vehicle  |
|     miles traveled, local funding support, CHP support, and the need  |
|     for updated communication center.                                 |
|                                                                       |
| -   Continuance of the regional operations model that was implemented |
|     in the *1997 TMC Master Plan*.                                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Improve operations and standardize systems and operations         |
|     statewide around the improvements.                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

The following subsections provide guidance in how to get to the Business
Concept, and strategies that agencies can use to develop a comprehensive
and realistic business case for their TMCs.

**5.2 Stakeholder Input to the Business Concept and Overall Business
Plan**

Involving and engaging the right stakeholders is critical to developing
a comprehensive, sound, and realistic TMC Business Concept. Stakeholders
will be internal or external, operations focused as well as policy or
management level; and their involvement in the process could vary based
on their expertise, involvement, and relationship to TMC activities.

There are several levels of stakeholder involvement to consider when
developing a TMC Business Concept, and for the overall TMC Business
Plan. Considering that the Business Concept needs to lay out a vision
and strategic objectives, it is feasible that several perspectives could
be involved in the process. For example, a single agency Traffic
Management Center that is responsible for monitoring and controlling its
own devices might rely solely on input from groups or divisions with a
front-line, vested interested in the traffic operations and management
activities. In this case, stakeholder involvement to develop the
Business Concept could consist of the city's traffic engineer and his or
her support staff that will be operating the city's system, maintenance
supervisors and technicians, facilities management representatives that
oversee space and equipment requests, etc. Depending on the size or
complexity of the city's system, the stakeholder involvement process
could extend to emergency management, law enforcement, information
technology, public information officer, or others.

In addition to the stakeholders that will need to be involved in the
actual business planning process, there are key target audiences that
the plan will need to either be approved by, or those that are of an
authority level to champion the concepts and needs outlined in the TMC
Business Plan. In addition to serving as a valuable tool for future
planning, the TMC Business Plan needs to 'speak to' the key target
audiences in order to serve one of its core purposes.

**5.2.1 Key Participants in the Business Planning Process**

It is important to recognize that there will be different segments of
stakeholders to involve at different stages of the Business Planning
process -- those who need to provide input to the Plan, those who need
to champion and manage the plan, and those who need to buy in to the
plan. Because the Business Concept is the summary that needs to
articulate the key functions and goals of the TMC, the potential roles
and services, as well as expected outcomes, it is important that all
three of these stakeholder groups factor in to the Business Concept
development process, either as an active participant or as a target
audience. Although it might not be feasible or realistic to think that
agency managers or elected officials will be actively participating in
the TMC Business Plan development process, these could be the key target
audience that the plan needs to appeal to, and therefore, the TMC
Business Plan must be structured and articulated in a manner that
invokes support for the plan.

This section outlines potential participants and roles in the business
planning process, as well as examples of stakeholder involvement from
two business plans.

Table 5-1 -- Stakeholders and Role in the TMC Plan Development

+--------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| **Entity**               | **Role in TMC Business Plan Development** |
+==========================+===========================================+
| TMC Business Plan        | -   Coordinate inputs from various        |
| Facilitator              |     stakeholders                          |
|                          |                                           |
|                          | -   Lays out timeline, information        |
|                          |     needed, and from whom                 |
|                          |                                           |
|                          | -   Coordinate/respond to internal        |
|                          |     schedule for production of the plan   |
|                          |                                           |
|                          | -   Coordinates Business Plan with other  |
|                          |     internal planning and programming     |
|                          |     processes                             |
+--------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| Authorities              | -   Has managerial or administrative      |
|                          |     oversight responsibility for TMC      |
|                          |                                           |
|                          | -   Key decision makers within the Agency |
|                          |     that lay out departmental missions    |
|                          |     and goals that individual operating   |
|                          |     units or divisions support            |
|                          |                                           |
|                          | -   Sets strategic direction for overall  |
|                          |     operations                            |
|                          |                                           |
|                          | -   Local, regional and state leadership  |
|                          |     that champions or approves TMC        |
|                          |     vision, strategies, funding needs     |
+--------------------------+-------------------------------------------+
| Stakeholder Agencies     | -   These entities have integral          |
|                          |     operational roles within the TMC      |
| *Primary Operational     |     and/or exchange data as a means of    |
| Stakeholders*            |     supporting their primary operational  |
|                          |     goals.                                |
| (i.e., state, cities,    |                                           |
| county transportation;   | -   Provide input as to the functions and |
| emergency; law           |     needs of the TMC, including technical |
| enforcement; public      |     and resource requirements.            |
| safety, others)          |                                           |
|                          | -   Not a direct role in operations, but  |
| *Secondary Operational   |     might have input to considerations    |
| Stakeholders*            |     that would need to be incorporated    |
|                          |     into the Business Plan.               |
| (e.g., IT, maintenance,  |                                           |
| finance, others)         | -   These stakeholders benefit from       |
|                          |     information and outputs from the TMC  |
| *Additional              |     to support their business practices,  |
| Stakeholders*            |     but in most cases do not make         |
|                          |     significant operational contributions |
| (e.g., external          |     to the TMC. Involving these           |
| agencies, private        |     stakeholders in the Business Plan     |
| entities such as media,  |     process depends largely on their      |
| traffic reporting        |     existing or anticipated level of      |
| companies, other partner |     interaction with the TMC.             |
| agencies)                |                                           |
|                          | These stakeholders do not have a specific |
|                          | role in TMC operations, but are partners  |
|                          | in regional coordination or planning that |
|                          | could provide input to the TMC functions, |
|                          | vision, or end states (such as a          |
|                          | metropolitan planning organization).      |
+--------------------------+-------------------------------------------+

The Business Plan is intended to build upon the discussions of
functionality, service, missions, long-range goals, and other directives
laid out as part of an ITS Strategic Plan, Deployment Plan, or Concept
of Operations. A Business Plan is not intended to duplicate those
efforts. A regional ITS Architecture, Strategic Plan or Concept of
Operations could conceivably involve many different entities; the focus
of those efforts is on operations and integration that involve multiple
agencies, public and private. For example, in an ITS architecture, input
from local, regional, and state transportation, public transit, private
information service providers, commercial vehicle operators, and others
provides for a more comprehensive, robust 'vision' for how the region's
transportation system will operate and integrate over an extended period
of time.

It is important for those preparing the TMC Business Plan to select the
appropriate stakeholders for input. By answering the following key
questions, a 'shortlist' of applicable stakeholders or stakeholder types
can be derived:

-   Who will need to approve or champion the strategies and directives
    of the Business Plan?

-   Who is responsible for preparing the annual TMC budget?

-   Who are the primary users of/partners in the TMC facilities?

-   Who are the entities that we interface with on a regular basis?

-   Are there any regional entities or committees that can serve as
    champions?

-   What major projects or initiatives could have an impact on TMC
    operations, and who is leading those efforts?

The following examples from Colorado and Nebraska outline key
stakeholders and their roles in the business planning and development
process.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5c: Colorado DOT ITS Strategic Business Plan (March 2001,    |
| page 3)*                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| CDOT kept involvement to internal staff only for developing the ITS   |
| Strategic Business Plan, but acknowledged that there will be other    |
| partners and customers that will be involved in implementing various  |
| actions identified in the business plan and as a result projects and  |
| other planning activities.                                            |
|                                                                       |
| > [Planning Process and Partner Involvement]{.underline}              |
| >                                                                     |
| > The ITS Strategic Business Plan is intended primarily for use by    |
| > CDOT internally to set strategic direction and as a tool for annual |
| > business planning. The plan belongs to all of CDOT.                 |
| >                                                                     |
| > **Statewide ITS Steering Committee.** Policy direction and plan     |
| > strategies have been developed by a cross-functional statewide      |
| > steering committee representing headquarters and Region staff. The  |
| > ITS program office has provided staff support and is responsible    |
| > for developing and maintaining the plan.                            |
| >                                                                     |
| > **Region Involvement.** Representatives from the ITS Steering       |
| > Committee have met with senior management and the key functional    |
| > disciplines in each of the CDOT regions to identify their; issues,  |
| > implementation priorities, and perspective on how to make the ITS   |
| > Strategic Business Plan most valuable. These meetings have been     |
| > used to set plan priorities. They also indicate considerable        |
| > statewide consensus on CDOT's ITS strategic direction.              |
| >                                                                     |
| > **CDOT's Business Partners.** This plan is intended to be a         |
| > business plan for CDOT. It is anticipated that CDOT's partners and  |
| > customers will have broad involvement regarding ITS policies and    |
| > planning decisions through other mechanisms. This will occur as     |
| > part of their involvement in action implementation and in CDOT's    |
| > overall statewide, regional, and other planning and project         |
| > prioritization activities.                                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5d -- Nebraska ITS/CVO Business Plan*                        |
|                                                                       |
| Nebraska's ITS/CVO Business Plan for Mainstreaming and improving      |
| Motor Carrier Customer Service in Nebraska is a cooperative effort    |
| between, Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, Nebraska State Patrol |
| Carrier Enforcement Division, Nebraska Department of Roads, Nebraska  |
| Public Service Commission, and the Nebraska Motor Carrier             |
| Association. This working group will continue to meet and use this    |
| publication as a working document modifications, additions,           |
| deletions, and improvements to its content can and will occur.        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**5.3 Vision and Strategic Objectives for the TMC**

While there are numerous vision and mission statements at transportation
agencies across the country, there are few that focus primarily on the
TMC's core vision, mission, purpose, and objectives. State, regional, or
local departments of transportation, transit agencies, public safety,
and others often have strategic mission/vision statements that serve as
guiding principles for the Department's activities or goals. Divisions
or operating units within those Departments may also have visions and
missions that not only provide focused direction as to the division's or
operating unit's core function, but also to support the broader agency
vision, mission and goals.

In order to distinguish the unique role the TMC serves in a Department
of Transportation, region or other organized entity, it is important to
place the TMC Vision and Mission's emphasis on defining specific
programmatic objectives, role of the TMC, its core purpose and
functions, and relationship to other visions or program goals. Five
Vision Statements are shown in the examples below. Input to the vision,
current and future functions, and overall role of the TMC can be
provided by the regional ITS architecture development process, concept
of operations, etc.

This section defines what a TMC Vision should encapsulate, how to
develop a consensus-based vision, the importance of developing goals and
objectives to support the agreed-upon vision, and how the TMC vision
helps to support the overall Business Concept.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  *Example 5e:* National Architecture Vision Statement (April 2002). This
  is a 32 page 'vision statement', and the aim is to look ahead to
  January 2012 to document the progress that has been made in deploying
  and integrating ITS nationwide.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5f:* Nebraska ITS/CVO Business Plan Vision Statement.        |
| Articulates a vision and mission, but still is quite broad in that it |
| pertains to desired benefits of ITS to the state's transportation     |
| system.                                                               |
|                                                                       |
| > [Mission:]{.underline} We provide and maintain, in cooperation with |
| > public and private organizations, a safe, efficient, affordable,    |
| > and coordinated statewide transportation system for the movement of |
| > people and goods.                                                   |
| >                                                                     |
| > [Vision:]{.underline} Nebraska's citizens, businesses and visitors  |
| > will benefit from the application of ITS to the state's             |
| > transportation system. ITS will become fully integrated into        |
| > Nebraska's transportation strategies for the enhancement of safety, |
| > mobility, communication and economic vitality for the protection of |
| > the natural environment, and for the deployment of sustainable      |
| > resources.                                                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5g*: California Transportation Plan 2025. Articulated in a   |
| 'future scenario' of the state's transportation system                |
|                                                                       |
| > California has a safe, sustainable transportation system that is    |
| > environmentally sound, socially equitable, economically viable, and |
| > developed through collaboration; it provides for the mobility and   |
| > accessibility of people, goods, services, and information through   |
| > an integrated, multimodal network.                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5h:* 511 Deployment Coalition Vision Statement. Concise and  |
| specific to phone-based travel information. In the format of 'for     |
| whom', 'what', 'where', 'how' and 'benefits'                          |
|                                                                       |
| > 511 will be a customer driven multi-modal traveler information      |
| > service, available across the United States, accessed via           |
| > telephones and other personal communications devices, realized      |
| > through locally deployed interoperable systems, enabling a safer,   |
| > more reliable and efficient transportation system.                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5i:* ITS Strategic Plan Vision, Colorado DOT                 |
|                                                                       |
| > It is to position CDOT so that ITS investment decisions can be made |
| > based upon their contribution to CDOT's overall performance         |
| > objectives. The vision is for a future in which ITS devices and     |
| > systems are deployed and integrated to provide cost-effective       |
| > solutions that help meet CDOT's performance objectives. To          |
| > accomplish this vision requires deploying what the plan refers to   |
| > as the ITS enabling infrastructure as a strategic priority and      |
| > institutionalizing ITS across CDOT's business area.                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**5.3.1 Building on Agency or Regional Goals to Develop a Succinct
Vision for the TMC**

For the TMC Business Concept and overall Business Plan, a Vision should
be established that outlines the primary goals and objectives of the
TMC, what is the current state/functionality vs. desired functionality
and role (both within the agency as well as within the region). When
developing such a focused vision or mission, it is important to
differentiate between overall ITS program vision, goals, etc., and
keeping the focus on the specific goals, strategic objectives and unique
role that the TMC serves.

There are several sources that could factor in to a TMC Vision
statement:

-   Agency Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives;

-   Project or Program Vision, Goals or Objectives;

-   Regional or Statewide Plan Vision Goals or Objectives; and

-   Additional stakeholder input.

The vision examples shown above in Section 5.3 aimed at illustrating
broader agency objectives. Although it is important to consider these
broader objectives, a TMC Vision should show how the TMC operations or
end states support those objectives, not just reiterate them. The agency
or department level visions and missions are often supported with goals,
critical program areas, or values. These supporting statements often
provide a narrower field to which a TMC can relate -- they provide the
overarching agency goals that are typically driving the core functions
of the TMC.

**5.3.2 Relationship of the TMC Vision to Agency Vision**

In Caltrans' TMC Master Plan (Revised 1997), vision and mission
statements for the TMCs as an entity were articulated. Caltrans Regional
TMCs combined Caltrans and California Highway Patrol functions; both of
these agencies visions and missions were noted in the Master Plan, which
served to guide statewide implementation of TMCs.

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| *Example 5j: Caltrans TMC Master  |                                   |
| Plan*                             |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Caltrans Mission**              | **CHP Mission**                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| In partnership with others,       | The mission of the CHP is to      |
| Caltrans:                         | ensure safety and provide service |
|                                   | to the public as they utilize the |
| -   Provides the people of        | highway transportation system and |
|     California with a safe,       | to assist local government during |
|     efficient, and effective      | emergencies when requested.       |
|     intermodal transportation     |                                   |
|     system:                       |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| a.  Plans, develops, maintains,   |                                   |
|     and manages the interregional |                                   |
|     transportation systems.       |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| b.  Assists and guides delivery   |                                   |
|     of local and regional         |                                   |
|     transportation services.      |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| -   Provides leadership for       |                                   |
|     California's transportation   |                                   |
|     future by conducting research |                                   |
|     and development, and by       |                                   |
|     formulating plans, programs,  |                                   |
|     guidelines, and standards.    |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| -   Is a good steward of it       |                                   |
|     resources.                    |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| ***TMC Mission***                 |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| The Purpose of the TMCs is to     |                                   |
| aggressively manage the           |                                   |
| transportation system to reduce   |                                   |
| congestion and provide the safe   |                                   |
| and efficient movement of people, |                                   |
| goods, services and information   |                                   |
| in order to promote economic      |                                   |
| vitality and enhance the quality  |                                   |
| of life for the people of         |                                   |
| California.                       |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| ***TMC Vision***                  |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| The TMCs will help accommodate    |                                   |
| California's growing mobility     |                                   |
| needs, while reducing congestion, |                                   |
| improving air quality and         |                                   |
| conserving energy. They will      |                                   |
| enhance the movement of goods,    |                                   |
| giving California businesses a    |                                   |
| competitive edge by adding value  |                                   |
| to their products and services.   |                                   |
| They will utilize the latest in   |                                   |
| ITS, incorporate multimodal       |                                   |
| transportation and be a leader    |                                   |
| for the Transportation Management |                                   |
| Systems.                          |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

In the California example, the mission clearly outlines the TMCs role
and core purposes. The vision outlines strategic objectives and what the
expected outcomes are envisioned to be.

**5.3.3 Functions**

It is the role and key functions that define what a TMC does and its
overall 'place' in a transportation management system, region, state or
other geographic distinction. As described by the various TMC business
models in Chapter 4, a TMC can serve several functions, typically within
the parameters of traffic management, incident management and traveler
information.

Stakeholder visioning sessions or discussions about a TMC -- how it is
currently working, what kinds of roles they envision the TMC fulfilling,
relationships of the TMC to other systems or agencies -- is really about
the functions of the TMC. The day-to-day functions, event-specific
functions, and desired future capabilities of the TMC are really the
backbone of the strategic objectives as well as the desired end states.

Functions define nearly every facet of the TMC, from hardware and
software needs, staffing and organization, partnerships, facility
requirements, operations, and of course funding needs. As an example, a
TMC that primarily serves as the operations center for a municipal
traffic signal system, that operates during typical weekday business
hours with no interfaces to another agency's system will have far fewer
functional considerations than a multi-agency TMC operating 24/7.

A detailed discussion on TMC functions, functional requirements, or
functional relationships is not likely warranted as part of the Business
Plan development. Functions and needed functions are typically discussed
and agreed to as part of other processes, such as an ITS architecture or
Concept of Operations. Although these latter two processes focus on
elements of a TMS beyond just the TMC, the role of the TMC is typically
fairly well defined through the development of the architecture (and
illustrated using market packages and interface diagrams), and can be
derived from a Concept of Operations. Detailed functions or functional
requirements are not needed to support the Business Concept; however,
high-level, core functions and roles can be derived from other planning
processes to support the Business Concept and subsequent Value
Proposition, strategy sets and other elements of the Business Plan.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5k: Wichita Falls TMC Concept of Operations (draft)*         |
|                                                                       |
| The Wichita Falls TxDOT District is in the process of implementing a  |
| TMC and its first phase of ITS infrastructure. The Wichita Falls      |
| District is primarily rural, although the initial ITS implementation  |
| is being focused on the Wichita Falls metro area. The TMC is being    |
| implemented consistent with other TxDOT TMCs.                         |
|                                                                       |
| The Wichita Falls TMC shares the common vision of ITS as it is being  |
| deployed throughout Texas and the nation. This vision focuses on      |
| improving safety, reducing congestion, improving traveler mobility,   |
| enhancing economic productivity, and promoting energy efficiency and  |
| environmental quality.                                                |
|                                                                       |
| The Wichita Falls TMC will act as the control center for traffic      |
| operations within the TxDOT WFS district. The TMC will gather traffic |
| data, weather data, and other data to support decisions in day to day |
| traffic operations. Information will be disseminated to the traveling |
| public through signage, the internet, and other media in order to     |
| meet the ITS vision.                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| The Wichita Falls TMC will implement the ITS vision by providing the  |
| following services to WFS area travelers.                             |
|                                                                       |
| -   Pre-Trip Travel Information.                                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   Traffic Control.                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| -   Incident Management.                                              |
|                                                                       |
| -   Emergency Notification.                                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Environmental/Weather Condition Notification.                     |
|                                                                       |
| The primary stakeholders in the WFS TMC are TxDOT WFS District, the   |
| Wichita Falls Police Department, and the City of Wichita Falls.       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**5.4 Defining the Business Concept**

A Business Concept lays out a clear picture of what the Business Plan
needs to support -- in other words, what the TMC does, what the TMC
could do, how it will be done, and why it is needed. A private sector
venture would use the Business Concept as a means of attracting
investors or partners. For a TMC, the Business Concept lays out specific
goals and objectives, desired end states, and key roles/functions of the
TMC so that managers, policy and decision makers will have a quick,
concise understanding of what it is they are buying into.

The Business Concept provides the framework and context for the entire
TMC Business Plan. It is from the Business Concept that the Value
Proposition is defined, Strategy Sets and specific actions are
identified, and the resources to operate, fund and execute the Business
Plan are derived.

Articulating the TMC Business Concept can take a number of forms --
depending on the size and complexity of the TMC, previous ITS strategic
planning or operations planning efforts, current institutional
environment, and a host of other factors. Because the Business Concept
serves several purposes within the Business Plan -- as an impetus for
more detailed discussions about institutional or funding needs, or as an
'executive level' synopsis of what/where/how the TMC needs to function
-- a recommended outline for a Business Concept would address the
following:

-   Introduction;

-   Goals and Objectives;

-   End States;

-   Partnerships; and

-   Risks.

**5.4.1 Introduction and Overview**

It will be important for the readers of the Business Plan to have some
sort of context for how the TMC fits within or has evolved as part of
the broader transportation management and operations program. An
introduction to the Business Concept, including:

-   Why the Business Plan is being prepared;

-   History and background of the TMC;

-   Need for proactive business planning for the TMC;

-   Regionally significant issues that are to be addressed in the
    Business Concept; and

-   Key Partners.

**5.4.2 Goals and Objectives**

Building on the visioning and discussion of key high priority functions,
goals and objectives for the TMC should be defined as part of the
Business Concept. Again, if there are already established goals for the
TMC that have been defined as part of other processes or documents, the
Business Concept can reiterate and build on those that are relevant. In
its *TMC Master Plan,* Caltrans provides an example of three priority
goals for its TMCs and supporting objectives. From these goals and
objectives, which address standardization, regionalized approach, and
partnerships, it is clear that the Master Plan contains strategies,
timeframes, and responsibilities aimed at addressing those three
priority goals.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5l: Caltrans TMC Master Plan*                                |
|                                                                       |
| **[Goal 1:]{.underline}**                                             |
|                                                                       |
| Standardize systems, operations, and facilities to ensure             |
| cost-effectiveness, uniform functionality statewide, and to achieve   |
| economies of scale.                                                   |
|                                                                       |
| *Objectives:*                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   To specify a standard system design for all aspects of the TMS.   |
|                                                                       |
| -   To deploy a standardized computer system for all TMCs.            |
|                                                                       |
| -   To deploy a standardized communications systems for all TMCs.     |
|                                                                       |
| -   To specify standard TMC operational procedures statewide.         |
|                                                                       |
| **[Goal 2:]{.underline}**                                             |
|                                                                       |
| Establish a regionalized structure that will provide an integrated,   |
| statewide framework for transportation management.                    |
|                                                                       |
| *Objectives:*                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   To establish three regions: Coastal, Valley, and Southern with a  |
|     Regional TMC at the core of each region.                          |
|                                                                       |
| -   To define roles of Regional and Urban TMCs.                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   To define roles of Satellite Operations Centers (SOCs) and Mobile |
|     Operations Centers (MOCs).                                        |
|                                                                       |
| -   To establish communication links to all TMCs to ensure remote     |
|     operations during an emergency.                                   |
|                                                                       |
| -   To establish authority and resource requirements necessary to     |
|     manage transportation-related activities.                         |
|                                                                       |
| **[Goal 3:]{.underline}**                                             |
|                                                                       |
| Enhance public and private partnerships that promote multimodal       |
| transportation activities and services.                               |
|                                                                       |
| *Objectives:*                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   To be proactive in developing new partnerships with other         |
|     transportation stakeholders.                                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   To develop a variety of databases that are easily accessible,     |
|     secure, and provide uninterrupted service.                        |
|                                                                       |
| -   To create and maintain a reliable real-time traveler information  |
|     system.                                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Goals and objectives within the Business Concept provide a foundation
for the next major section of the Business Plan, which is the Value
Proposition and measurable benefits.

This section also is the ideal location within the Business Concept to
demonstrate the relationship between the TMC and recommendations
contained in the Business Plan to broader agency goals and objectives.
How does the TMC support or strengthen the agency's 'bigger picture'
strategic objectives, mission, or core values? Articulating how the
TMC's role or functions help to support the agency (or region's)
strategic objectives or overall mission will strengthen the Business
Plan's purpose.

**5.4.3 End States**

Visioning discussions among stakeholders as part of the Business
Planning process will likely result in several 'what if it could do...'
statements. Future 'what if' discussions are often critical to many
consensus-based processes to help define a desired outcome or specific
direction. All to often, vision statements remain just lofty, broad
philosophical statements that contain all the right 'words', but lack
real-world applicability.

For the TMC Business Concepts, it is important to take the visioning a
step beyond philosophical and state desired outcomes, functions and
functionality in terms of 'end states'. What end states do for the
Business Concept is articulate how the TMC will function, how it will
support regional or agency needs, how it benefits the public, etc., and
they do so in an affirmative tone rather than a needs statement. The end
state signifies how the TMC will operate once the goals and objectives
are achieved, the needed funding is available, the TMC is adequately
staffed, partnerships are in place and other key needs are met.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5m -- End States in the MAG Region*                          |
|                                                                       |
| In the MAG Regional Concept of Transportation Operations, several     |
| 'end states' went into shaping the overall vision for the Region's    |
| transportation system. Rather than articulate these in terms of "need |
| to have funding" or "need to share information among agencies,"       |
| stakeholders opted for more affirmative 'end states', such as         |
| Identifying and securing funding sources, or A high degree of         |
| information sharing, integration and coordination.                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5m -- End States in the MAG Region (continued)*              |
|                                                                       |
| ![](media/image11.wmf){width="5.427083333333333in"                    |
| height="3.220138888888889in"}                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**5.4.4 Partnerships**

Regardless of the business model that the TMC is following (or desires
to achieve), there will be some level of partnering to achieve desired
outcomes or end states. These partnerships may be internal or external,
public or private. There will likely be several levels of partnerships
-- partners that are needed to operate or interface with systems, or
partners that will need to champion or approve funding for desired
operations. Needed partnerships, their role in current or future TMC
operations, and other aspects will likely be defined as facilitators
move through the Business Planning process. Some partners will be
obvious at the early stages of the business plan development; the need
for others might arise through discussions on Value Proposition,
Organization and Management, and other components of the plan.

The Business Concept should succinctly and clearly outline anticipated
partners that will support the goals and objectives, end states and
overall TMC Business Plan.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5n -- Caltrans TMC Master Plan*                              |
|                                                                       |
| The Caltrans TMC Master Plan recommends several public and private    |
| partnerships that are critical to efficiently and effectively meeting |
| the needs of the transportation system. Although the primary          |
| stakeholders in Caltrans' TMC program are Caltrans and CHP. Other     |
| stakeholders are included in the Master Plan along with their         |
| potential roles and responsibilities. These partners include:         |
|                                                                       |
| -   Metropolitan Planning Organizations;                              |
|                                                                       |
| -   Local Agency TMCs;                                                |
|                                                                       |
| -   Local Emergency Responders;                                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   Local Mass Transit/Public Transportation;                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   Academia (Research and Evaluation);                               |
|                                                                       |
| -   Media;                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| -   Federal Highway Administration; and                               |
|                                                                       |
| -   Private Entities.                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**5.4.5 Risks**

Articulating risks and dependencies as part of the Business Concept
helps to provide a balanced view of the TMC Business Plan. A private
investor would raise a few questions prior to buying in to a proposed
business concept, and public agency TMCs should not be treated
differently.

There are a range of factors or challenges that could impact how or if
the concepts in the TMC Business Plan get implemented, and stating these
up-front will provide potential partners, managers, decision makers and
key stakeholders to weigh options and implications of those factors.

For example, if recommendations and strategies in the TMC Business Plan
are dependent on voters approving a bond, or on specific partnerships
being in place, or on institutional issues being resolved (such as
hiring freezes), then those issues should be articulated as part of the
Business Concept. If the TMC end states or desired functionality is
dependent on certain policies being in place, the Business Concept
should stress the importance of these policies to TMC operations.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 5o -- Las Vegas Advanced Travel Information System Business  |
| Plan*                                                                 |
|                                                                       |
| For the FAST ATIS Business Plan, several legal or institutional       |
| issues were examined prior to recommending a specific business model  |
| or operational parameters between the public and private sector.      |
| Below is an excerpt from the ATIS Business Model Legal Restraints     |
| technical memorandum:                                                 |
|                                                                       |
| Prior to conducting the interviews, other ATIS business plans and     |
| agreements were reviewed. The result of these reviews and a review of |
| the FAST Agreement identified a number of areas for potential legal   |
| and administrative issues that could affect this ATIS. The following  |
| topics and questions were discussed with the agencies' legal staffs:  |
|                                                                       |
| -   Can FAST provide a regional ATIS program?                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   FAST Organization, Legal Representation                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   What are the FAST Administrative and Contracting Authorities?     |
|                                                                       |
| -   What methods of contracting, soliciting for goods services are    |
|     available to FAST?                                                |
|                                                                       |
| -   What contract form is preferable with the different               |
|     public/private information providers?                             |
|                                                                       |
| -   How does FAST address content and quality of data, liability for  |
|     data?                                                             |
|                                                                       |
| -   Can FAST restrict or limit access to data?                        |
|                                                                       |
| -   Resale of data                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Placing prohibitions, restrictions, or warnings on the use of     |
|     data                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| -   Data privacy issues                                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Intentionally Left Blank

# TMC Defining the Value Proposition

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives:]{.underline}*

The Value Proposition is a thorough and objective statement of the
various benefits (or value) expected to accrue to TMC stakeholders.
Ultimately it will be the basis on which the TMC can be sustained.

This chapter presents an overview of the principles and considerations
involved in developing a value proposition for agencies to deploy and
operate a TMC. The chapter outlines how value can be established in
measurable terms from the point of view of key stakeholders that are
expected to invest resources, operational attention, or political
support in the TMC. The chapter also addresses the establishment of
performance expectations and accountabilities for the TMC.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

-   To motivate investment and effort by participating agencies and
    stakeholders, the TMC value proposition must reflect not only a set
    of overall "good" objectives for regional transportation---but
    should offer specific value from the point of view of each key
    stakeholder, especially those particular agencies that have core
    missions that extend outside of transportation management.

-   The value proposition provides an important framework for
    performance measurement, and the assessment of value realized by
    participants and stakeholders on a continuing basis.

*[Key Topics and Issues to be covered]{.underline}*:

-   What a value proposition is;

-   Context for agencies' views of TMC value proposition;

-   Examples of important components of the TMC value proposition;

-   Suggested steps in value proposition development; and

-   Performance measurement -- assessing the value realized by the TMC.

*[How This Chapter Relates to Other Chapters]{.underline}*:

Development of value propositions follows the TMC visioning process and
introduces the value proposition as a key component of TMC business
planning, by essentially defining the value incentives for stakeholder
participation and support. This incentive aids in establishing practical
designs for the TMC organization, processes, and priorities -- and
establishes the high-level performance measures that will be needed.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.733333333333333in"
height="3.502083333333333in"}

Figure 6-1: Business Plan Steps and Processes

*[Remaining Sections:]{.underline}*

6.1 What is the value proposition?

6.2 Principles for developing effective value propositions

6.3 Performance measurement and value assessment

**6.1 What is a value proposition, and why do we need it?**

In transportation regions or corridors, many agencies have mandates,
missions, and functions that touch in some way on transportation, and
can affect the mobility and safety of the public. Some of these agencies
view the transportation mission as an important part of their core
business -- while other agencies may attach importance to transportation
management, but transportation is not itself a *core* responsibility or
concern of the agency.

For most government agencies, primary missions and accountabilities
encompass or affect some aspects of transportation, but these missions
usually extend outside transportation operations. They often include
broader missions in (for example) public safety, health, security, and
environmental protection.

Agencies' tendencies to focus inward on their respective mandated
authorities and responsibilities have historically had a stove-piping
effect on agency operations and communications. Unfortunately,
multi-agency information and coordination opportunities that could be
very useful in transportation management have often been trapped by this
stove-piping.

The table following has examples of transportation-related agencies and
core missions that illustrate how these agency types might view the
value of a TMC differently.

**Table 6-1 Stakeholder Groups and Example Core Missions**

  ------------------------- ---------------------------------------------
  **TMC Stakeholder Type**  ***[Examples]{.underline}* of Core Missions**

  Transportation Providers  Efficient, safe, and convenient transit

  Infrastructure Managers   Highway condition and facilitated use
                            (traffic)

  Emergency Responders      Fast and effective incident response

  Law Enforcement           Safety, security, and law/regulation
                            compliance

  Sub-regional              Local development and commuter access
  Transportation Management 
  Associations              

  Local 911's               Incident notification

  Information Providers     Gathering/disseminating transportation
                            information
  ------------------------- ---------------------------------------------

Today's growing transportation management challenges and public
expectations have focused new light on the need for better
transportation management coordination and more information sharing for
stakeholder agencies to be effective in their missions. Multiple
entities are investing in ITS deployment, and the value of
Transportation Management Centers is becoming more evident in many
regions of the nation.

For most effective overall transportation system management, many
entities have to share messages and information, and make decisions
according to their mission responsibilities. They need to take
appropriate, coordinated action together or separately, often in short
order.

To establish, to sustain, and to extend TMC capabilities requires
significant investments by agencies that commit to it. Demands on the
transportation network will continue to increase, and transportation
management will require ever increasing resources and technology. So,
TMC participants/partners will need to continually "invest" various
combinations of funding, staffing, management attention, information,
field resources, and other support. The benefit to be realized needs to
be clearly established, and continually assessed for TMCs to be
sustained long-term.

TMC business models can evolve along a number of lines, as has been
discussed in Chapter 4, combining a number of variables:

-   Single, multiple, regional, or super-regional jurisdictions;

-   Single or multiple operating agencies; and

-   Publicly or privately operated, or combinations of the two.

The value proposition for a single jurisdiction, single agency is the
simplest case, as it addresses the agency's own mission, coordination
requirements, and explicit performance measures. While a single-agency
TMC can have a broad benefit to the region, it mainly improves the
operational performance of the agency, and its ability to coordinate
effectively with other agencies. For example, a state DOT district TMC
would enhance the DOT's traffic management capability and its
communications with emergency responders. In this way, agencies that
coordinate more efficiently with the DOT (via the TMC) could realize
some secondary benefit or value in their own missions.

TMCs that are supported in some way by multiple agencies -- adds new
dimensions to the value proposition (and to an extent performance).
There are [explicit]{.underline} mission-related values to be addressed,
and there are also perceived [implicit]{.underline} internal agency
benefits that can be made part of the TMC value proposition. The
explicit benefits of effective TMC operation can be illustrated with
examples based on mission examples shown earlier:

**Table 6-2 Stakeholder groups and Example Explicit Benefits**

+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| **TMC Stakeholder       | ***[Examples]{.underline}* of possible     |
| Type**                  | explicit benefits**                        |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Transportation          | -   Buses can avoid incidents, meet        |
| Providers               |     schedules                              |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Better lane closure information        |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Better management of short-term mode   |
|                         |     shifts                                 |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Infrastructure Managers | -   Improved traffic monitoring, signal    |
|                         |     management                             |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Better, safer work zone deployment     |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Faster incident response               |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Emergency Responders    | -   Improved transmission of notifications |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   More complete situational information  |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Better dispatching and routing         |
|                         |     information                            |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Law Enforcement         | -   Improved surveillance and monitoring   |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Faster response by coordinating        |
|                         |     agencies                               |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Sub-regional            | -   Real-time traffic and agency           |
| Transportation          |     operations data                        |
| Management Associations |                                            |
|                         | -   Better information on planned lane     |
|                         |     closures                               |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Local 911's             | -   Simplified, fewer notification points  |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Better network status information      |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Information Providers   | -   "One-stop shopping" for traffic        |
|                         |     information                            |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Better network status/performance      |
|                         |     information                            |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+

These examples can be assigned values for each agency \-- in terms of
operating costs, and service reliability or quality.

Perceived implicit benefits of effective TMC operation can also accrue
to participating agencies. These are often perceived as reductions in
management risks and better information for decision-making. The
benefits address performance of mandated responsibilities within
participating agencies. Some examples of these implicit benefits:

**Table 6-3 Implicit TMC Benefit Examples**

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ***[Examples]{.underline}* of implicit TMC benefits to agencies**     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   More reliable receipt of timely incident notifications and        |
|     situational information                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   More reliable sending of notifications and coordination requests  |
|     as needed                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Better knowledge of the transportation network "big picture" at   |
|     all times                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Reducing cost of ad-hoc efforts to obtain needed information      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Access to monitoring and functional staff resources not otherwise |
|     available                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Redundancy in communications links, possibly needed in            |
|     emergencies                                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Shared accountabilities for shared transportation challenges      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

The last implicit value statement in table 6.2 is an important element
of the value proposition for jointly-supported TMCs. Congestion and
safety management are two areas to illustrate this point. In the public
eye, network "owners" operators and law enforcement agencies are
perceived as responsible in significant ways for traffic conditions and
safety. Yet, alone, each agency is actually able to manage only a few of
many factors governing congestion and safety. Establishment of joint TMC
operations is often recognition of this reality. While joint TMCs do not
necessarily mean joint decision-making or joint operations, they can
provide a platform on which common performance goals can be set and
acted upon by participating agencies.

The value proposition is a case made to state the expected value of the
TMC to the missions of each of the participating agencies and key
stakeholders.

-   It defines value in measurable terms from the points of view of all
    stakeholders that are expected to invest resources, operational
    attention, or political support in the TMC

-   It establishes performance expectations and accountability for the
    TMC

-   It also provides a basis for realistic and practical business
    planning assumptions and decisions -- The objective of the value
    proposition is to provide a basis for a realistic planning and
    performance measures -- as well as grounds for stakeholders to
    rationalize resource investments for the TMC

-   The expected operational effects of a TMC should be translated into
    expected payoff for specific stakeholders, in terms of economic
    benefits, organizational objectives met, commercial development
    benefits, level of service, productivity, reduced management risks,
    etc.

**6.2 Value Proposition Development Principles**

Developing the case for TMC value requires a thorough initial
understanding of the stakeholders in all jurisdictions involved, as well
as the operational policies, mandates and constraints each organization
must address relative to the transportation network.

The value proposition is developed through direct stakeholder
participation in defining their values in terms of each agency's role in
transportation management. The relationship between TMC Vision and
Objectives, and stakeholder benefits should be logical, and
conservatively derived

-   Relevant facts and statistics on the "status quo" should be clearly
    established and agreed upon by the stakeholders. Safety statistics,
    traffic efficiency, and incident response patterns are key baseline
    data. Research of regional transportation economics and productivity
    issues provide potential benefits baseline for some stakeholders

-   Based on the TMC concept of operations, and realistic operations
    scenarios, a credible estimate should be made of measurable overall
    transportation outcomes in safety, response, and efficiency.
    Explicit and implicit operational benefits to each agency should
    also be estimated

-   The estimates require objective, real-world data, and a practical
    measurement approach, using a few basic scenarios to which planners
    can relate (or extrapolate) their situation.

-   Finally, display and communication of the value proposition needs to
    be simply delivered and understood.

**6.3 Performance Measurement -- Principles and Approaches**

The value proposition establishes the basis for performance measurement.
Performance measures and monitoring is required to chart the progress
toward achieving the anticipated benefits quantified by the value
proposition.

Benchmarks measure progress toward the goals. Performance measures
should directly address each element of the agency-by-agency value
proposition, serve as indicators of whether or not participating
agencies are realizing expected benefits.

To illustrate the kinds of measures that could be agreed on and adopted,
we can use the explicit and implicit example benefits outlined in
**Tables 6-1** and **6-2** as a framework:

**Table 6-4** Examples of explicit TMC-related performance indicators

+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| **TMC Stakeholder       | ***[Examples]{.underline}* of possible     |
| Type**                  | explicit measures**                        |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Transportation          | -   Schedule adherence on arterials        |
| Providers               |                                            |
|                         | -   Number of planned re-routings          |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Ridership on "special service"         |
|                         |     pull-outs                              |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Infrastructure Managers | -   Peak hour speeds                       |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Number of work zone incidents          |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Incident response time improvements    |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Emergency Responders    | -   Response times                         |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   After-action grading of situational    |
|                         |     information                            |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Transit times                          |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Law Enforcement         | -   Grading value of surveillance and      |
|                         |     monitoring                             |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Grading response by coordinating       |
|                         |     agencies                               |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Sub-regional            | -   Satisfaction with traffic operations   |
| Transportation          |     data                                   |
| Management Associations |                                            |
|                         | -   Satisfaction with planned              |
|                         |     closure/event data                     |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Local 911's             | -   Incidence of notification problems     |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Satisfaction with network status       |
|                         |     information                            |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Information Providers   | -   Satisfaction with quality of traffic   |
|                         |     information                            |
|                         |                                            |
|                         | -   Satisfaction with status/performance   |
|                         |     data                                   |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------------+

**Table 6-5** Examples of implicit TMC-related performance indicators

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ***[Examples]{.underline}* of implicit TMC benefit measures for       |
| agencies**                                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Satisfaction with reliable, timely incident notifications and     |
|     situational information                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   More reliable sending of notifications and coordination requests  |
|     as needed                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Management satisfaction in knowledge of network "big picture" at  |
|     all times                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Reduced investment in network information-gathering               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Utilization of TMC monitoring and functional staff resources      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   After-action review of communications issues                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   Accountability for shared transportation challenges -- [see       |
|     below]{.underline}                                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

The last item refers to the shared responsibilities of the
transportation management community in typical regions. Where a regional
TMC is established that involves most of the transportation network
stakeholders in significant roles, it may be realistic to assign some
overall regional accountability to the TMC "owners" for network
performance. Examples of these measures are shown below, and are based
on ***Performance Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting Handbook, NCHRP
Performance Measurement Documents***:

**Table 6-6** Shared Performance Measures

+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| ## Category   | **Example "Shared" TMC Performance Measures**        |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| Mobility      | Improvement in average speed by time of day          |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
|               | Improvement in average speed by route                |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| Safety        | Improvement in accident rate                         |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
|               | Improvement in response and clearance times for      |
|               | incidents                                            |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| Maintenance   | Percentage of system Uptime; including field devices |
| and           |                                                      |
| Reliability   |                                                      |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
|               | Average time to resume service if system failed      |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+

Some agencies will make investments in deploying and sustaining TMCs
because it is obvious that they can enhance agency operations and
efficiency -- e.g., in most DOT districts it makes sense in light of the
substantial resources that must be deployed in the field for maintenance
and emergency events, and because of the extensive signal and sign
assets that need management. But to attract similar commitments from
other agencies that share transportation management roles \-- yet have
mandates outside of transportation -- a clear and persuasive TMC value
proposition is needed.

Intentionally Left Blank

# Strategy Sets

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives:]{.underline}*

Strategy sets provide the basis for the overall form and function of the
TMC Business Plan. This chapter takes a more in-depth look at strategy
sets -- what they are, how they relate to the Business Concept and Value
Proposition, and how to go about developing strategy sets to achieve the
TMC vision, objectives, and desired end states. Up until this point, the
handbook has focused on how to engage players in determining the overall
role and function of the TMC in relationship to broader transportation
goals, and how to articulate the 'where does the TMC need to be'
perspective. This chapter takes the needs and objectives a step further
and helps readers understand the importance of articulating specific
actions and strategies to achieve the desired objectives and end states.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

-   Strategy sets provide the basis for the overall 'form and function'
    of the TMC Business Plan;

-   Articulating the vision for the TMC in terms of needs, objectives,
    and strategies allows those developing the business plan to outline
    specific directions, actions, and end results; and

-   Strategies translate into specific actions and outcomes so that
    decision-makers and authorities have a succinct understanding of
    overall objectives and how the end states of the Business Concept
    and Value Proposition can be realized.

*[Key Topics and Issues to be Covered:]{.underline}*

Identifying strategies and action items that meet the objectives for the
specific TMC, developing a deployment schedule, and developing an action
plan.

*[How This Chapter Relates to Other Chapters:]{.underline}*

This chapter builds on the business concept and value proposition
chapters and provides the basis for the organization and management and
financial plan chapters that will quantify the impact of the strategies
that are selected.

*[Remaining Sections:]{.underline}*

7.1 Defining Strategy Sets

7.2 Converting Objectives and End States into Action Items

7.3 Assigning Roles and Responsibilities to Stakeholders

7.4 Establishing Timeframes

7.5 Identifying and Documenting Dependencies

7.6 Developing Strategy Sets

**7.1 Defining Strategy Sets**

Strategy sets provide specific strategies or actions that are needed to
meet the objectives and end states articulated in the TMC Business
Concept and Value Proposition. Defining specific strategies as part of a
Business Plan is a critical element to the overall process. Although the
visioning and value proposition processes allow stakeholders and key
participants to identify longer term end states of how the TMC should
function or need to function, the strategies help to define how to
achieve the desired objectives. A typical strategy set is comprised of
the following:

-   Overarching objectives and desired end states;

-   Action items that will allow/enable the objectives and end states
    previously identified, to be met;

-   Stakeholder roles and responsibilities associated with the action
    items;

-   Timeframes for the completion of the action items; and

-   Dependencies that could impede or prevent completion of the action
    items.

Organizing these components into modular, phased sets provides the
stakeholders of the TMC Business Plan with definitive, strategic
direction for future activities related to organization, management, and
financial planning of the TMC. **Figure 7-1** shows how strategy sets
relate to the other components of the TMC Business Plan process.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.733333333333333in"
height="3.502083333333333in"}

Figure 7-1: Strategy Sets Steps and Processes

As has been previously discussed, there are few documents currently
available from Transportation Departments that are exclusively focused
on TMC business planning. As such, there are few examples of strategy
sets that contain all of the components described herein.

There are, however, numerous documents that contain some form of
strategy sets as they relate to TMC planning and business planning.
These de facto strategy sets are typically found in documents like
Strategic Plans, Deployment Plans, and Concept of Transportation
Operations. More often than not, strategies included as part of most
planning documents are typically in the form of projects. Strategic
Plans and Deployment Plans often consist of lists of projects and
timeframes to implement necessary ITS services or components or
integrate systems. In the context of Business Planning for a TMC,
strategies should be aimed more at specific actions, institutional or
technical requirements, partnerships, training, and other activities
that are needed to achieve the desired end states. For the TMC Business
Plan, some strategies might very well depend on specific projects being
implemented or systems integrated; perhaps a strategy might be to
'implement near-term projects identified in the regional ITS Strategic
Plan'. The challenge in business planning for a TMC is that it requires
agencies and managers to shift their planning focus from
project-specific to strategy development.

Discussions with several TMC managers around the country revealed that
most agencies undergo some form of strategy development, either as a
stand-alone effort or as part of annual program activities; as such,
there are some examples of how other agencies and TMCs have developed
and articulated strategies or actions to achieve desired operational
goals or objectives. The terminology used to describe strategy sets
varies between documents and includes the terms strategies, objectives,
tasks, projects, functions, actions, and next steps.

Regardless of terminology, document title, or context, strategy sets are
an integral component of the business planning process because:

-   They define what specific actions need to occur to meet the
    overarching objectives and desired end states;

-   They assign responsibility to groups or individuals who need to
    perform those actions;

-   They establish timeframes for when those actions need to be
    completed; and

-   They identify what dependencies could potentially impede or prevent
    those actions (and ultimately the end states) from being completed
    or achieved.

**7.2 Converting Objectives and Desired End States into Action Items**

Strategy sets include specific action items (defined tasks, projects,
etc.) that state what needs to happen to accomplish the objectives and
end states defined in the Business Concept and Value Proposition. These
action items are based on the Business Concept and Value Proposition but
contrast with the high-level nature of those earlier components of the
Business Plan by being specific, measurable actions or tasks. Action
items are the bridge between high-level objectives and detailed work
assignments. Detailed work assignments are outside of the scope of the
TMC Business Plan.

For example, if one of the high-level objectives defined in the Business
Concept were to decrease traffic congestion on freeways, then one of the
action items under that objective could be to develop criteria,
parameters, and algorithms for the TMC to include the functionality to
implement adaptive ramp metering in areas currently experiencing
excessive congestion. This kind of action item outlines what would need
to be done prior to implementing an adaptive ramp metering project.
Following the activity associated with the action documented in the
Business Plan, one of the detailed work assignments resulting from the
findings of the action item could be to implement adaptive ramp metering
at a specific location.

Following are some real-world examples showing how agencies have gone
from high-level objectives and desired end states to specific action
items. While some of the documents in these examples refer to other
transportation-related topics rather than a TMC business plan, the
process of developing action items from objectives and desired end
states is similar.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7a -- Wichita Falls TxDOT District Concept of Operations     |
| (Draft May 2004)*                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| *One of the goals of the Wichita Falls TMC was to improve the safety  |
| of the traveling public by providing advance traveler information and |
| real time incident response. To meet this goal, the following action  |
| items were developed:*                                                |
|                                                                       |
| -   Provide accurate weather conditions from the deployed             |
|     Environmental Sensor Subsystem sites to warn TxDOT and the        |
|     traveling public of possible icing conditions;                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Improve the dissemination of valuable information, including      |
|     Amber Alerts, to the traveling public through the use of Dynamic  |
|     Message Signs and the informational web site;                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Provide the City of Wichita Falls Police Department and other     |
|     emergency response vehicles including EMS and Fire with critical  |
|     information for responding to incidents more accurately and       |
|     quickly; and                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   Integrate the following field devices: Dynamic Message Signs,     |
|     Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras, and Environmental       |
|     Sensor Stations.                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7b -- Caltrans TMS Transportation Management Centers:        |
| Development Considerations and Constraints (December 2002)*           |
|                                                                       |
| *In order to satisfy the goal that a system engineering process be    |
| used to justify the need to develop a new TMC or update an existing   |
| one, Caltrans created action items recommending studies be performed  |
| by Caltrans to:*                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   Develop space standards for each TMC function;                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Evaluate the impact co-location has on the long-term operating    |
|     environment; and                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| -   Evaluate the current TMC organizational and staffing design.      |
|                                                                       |
| Performing these action items was anticipated to facilitate the       |
| decision-making process for determining need, and to support the      |
| planning and development effort if need was demonstrated.             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7c -- Caltrans District 4 Operations Procedures and          |
| Strategies Report (January 1994)*                                     |
|                                                                       |
| *District 4 of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) |
| in the San Francisco Bay Area developed goals that were high level    |
| statements of desired results and were not necessarily intended to be |
| measured. For each of the recommended goals, a group of supporting    |
| objectives was developed that could be expressed in more measurable   |
| and achievable terms. These goals and objectives supported the        |
| missions of the various operating and policy-making agencies          |
| sponsoring the San Francisco Bay Area Traffic Operations System       |
| (TOS). Specific techniques and action items were then identified to   |
| achieve the aforementioned goals and objectives.*                     |
|                                                                       |
| > ***Goals of the Bay Area TOS***                                     |
|                                                                       |
| 10. Improve Safety                                                    |
|                                                                       |
| 11. Improve Efficiency                                                |
|                                                                       |
| 12. Improve Quality of Life                                           |
|                                                                       |
| 13. Improve Systems Administration                                    |
|                                                                       |
| *Objectives were developed for each of the goals. For example, "Goal  |
| 3 -- Improve Quality of Life" had two corresponding objectives:       |
| Enhance traveler comfort; and Improve Environmental Quality. Under    |
| each of these objectives were bullet lists giving more information as |
| to what each objective entailed.*                                     |
|                                                                       |
| > ***Objective 1: Enhance Traveler Comfort***                         |
|                                                                       |
| 14. Assist stranded travelers                                         |
|                                                                       |
| 15. Reduce traffic turbulence                                         |
|                                                                       |
| 16. Maintain consistent travel times                                  |
|                                                                       |
| 17. Inform travelers of traffic conditions                            |
|                                                                       |
| 18. Reduce travel times                                               |
|                                                                       |
| > ***Objective 2: Improve Environmental Quality***                    |
|                                                                       |
| 19. Reduce vehicle-generated pollutants                               |
|                                                                       |
| 20. Reduce energy consumption                                         |
|                                                                       |
| 21. Reduce freeway noise levels                                       |
|                                                                       |
| 22. Support economic vitality                                         |
|                                                                       |
| *These objectives guided the development of specific congestion       |
| management techniques. For example, ramp metering and HOV lanes were  |
| techniques identified as potentially being able to accomplish many of |
| the bullet items under Objective 1 and Objective 2.*                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7c -- Caltrans District 4 Operations Procedures and          |
| Strategies Report (January 1994) (continued)*                         |
|                                                                       |
| *In order to implement the congestion management techniques           |
| identified, a set of action items was developed. For example, the     |
| action items for the technique of ramp metering included the          |
| following:*                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Create consensus with local governments regarding how freeway     |
|     ramp metering and traffic management strategies will be           |
|     implemented and operated and how impacts upon local street        |
|     systems will be monitored and controlled.                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   Incorporate ramp metering and related traffic surveillance and    |
|     management in reconstruction projects to reduce implementation    |
|     costs and protect investments in upgraded facilities.             |
|                                                                       |
| -   As appropriate, perform ramp metering pilot projects to           |
|     demonstrate the effectiveness of metering in improving traffic    |
|     operations and flow. Document the results of such projects and    |
|     previous Bay Area ramp metering evaluation studies. Share this    |
|     information with local governments and public media               |
|     organizations.                                                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7d -- MCDOT TMC Implementation Plan: Action Plan (October    |
| 2001)*                                                                |
|                                                                       |
| *As part of its TMC Implementation Plan, Maricopa County DOT in       |
| Phoenix, AZ developed an Action Plan of recommended action items.     |
| These action items were based on the needs and functional             |
| requirements identified by stakeholders and included estimated costs, |
| equipment, and space required to complete the action items. A         |
| timeframe for the action items was determined from the corresponding  |
| functional requirements, which were prioritized and given proposed    |
| phasing timeframes relative to planned future TMC expansion.*         |
|                                                                       |
| For example, under the functional requirement (objective) of detector |
| data monitoring and archiving, three action items were recommended:   |
|                                                                       |
| -   Procure and integrate Traffic Management System (TMS) software    |
|     and hardware;                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Complete implementation of "SMART" Corridors; and                 |
|                                                                       |
| -   Complete implementation of Regional Archived Data Server (RADS).  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**7.3 Assigning Roles and Responsibilities to Stakeholders**

After taking part in developing the high-level Vision, Business Concept,
and Value Proposition, it is through strategy sets that stakeholders
first see their roles and responsibilities clearly defined. The
assignment of action items to specific stakeholders gives these
stakeholders a sense of ownership regarding the Business Plan, Business
Concept, and overall Vision. The process of developing strategy sets
should involve all stakeholders who will have roles and responsibilities
defined by the action items in the strategy sets. Including stakeholders
in the strategy process allows the stakeholders' decision-makers and
authorities to better understand how and when the end states of the
Business Concept will be realized and what decisions and actions are
needed from each respective stakeholder to reach the desired end states.

Following are some examples showing how specific action items from
strategy sets were assigned to participating stakeholders.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7e -- Caltrans TMC Master Plan (Revised December 1997)*      |
|                                                                       |
| Caltrans, in conjunction with CHP, developed strategy sets to achieve |
| their overall goals and objectives that included specific actions to  |
| be performed by stakeholders within a defined timeframe.              |
|                                                                       |
| For example, for the objective of "create and maintain a reliable     |
| traveler information system", CHP was designated as the primary       |
| stakeholder responsible for accomplishing the action item of          |
| providing incident and transportation information to the TMC Caltrans |
| employee and the media via the CHP Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD),     |
| telephone, and fax.                                                   |
|                                                                       |
| Caltrans' corresponding action items under the same objective         |
| included disseminating real-time traffic information to interested    |
| parties by operating and maintaining an Advanced Traveler Information |
| System (ATIS).                                                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7f -- MCDOT ITS Strategic Plan (October 2001)*               |
|                                                                       |
| *MCDOT developed a number of action items to achieve strategic goals  |
| and objectives previously identified. A table was created that        |
| showed, among other things, the overarching objectives, the action    |
| items, and the partners or stakeholders to be involved in the         |
| implementation and funding of an action item. The Metropolitan        |
| Planning Organization (MPO) for the region, known as the Maricopa     |
| Association of Governments (MAG), was identified as a partner agency  |
| for those action items that had already been identified in the MAG    |
| Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) or the MAG ITS Strategic     |
| Plan Update because of MAG's potential to fund the action item.*      |
|                                                                       |
| *For the strategic goal or objective of expanding the Advanced        |
| Traffic Management System (ATMS) on roads of regional significance,   |
| the following action items and responsible partners were identified:* |
|                                                                       |
| > **Action Items Partners**                                           |
| >                                                                     |
| > Deploy, expand, and improve MCDOT ITS (Lead), Local agencies\       |
| > "SMART" Corridors MAG                                               |
| >                                                                     |
| > Deploy ITS infrastructure elements MCDOT ITS (Lead), MAG\           |
| > (detection, CCTV cameras, Variable\                                 |
| > Message Signs \[VMS\], etc.) at site\                               |
| > specific locations as needed                                        |
| >                                                                     |
| > Deploy communications infrastructure MCDOT ITS (Lead), Local\       |
| > (center-to-center, regional backbone, agencies, Arizona DOT\        |
| > center-to-device)                                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7f -- MCDOT ITS Strategic Plan (October 2001) (continued)*   |
|                                                                       |
| > **Action Items Partners**                                           |
| >                                                                     |
| > Deploy central signal system control MCDOT Traffic Engineering\     |
| > in TMC (Lead), MCDOT ITS                                            |
| >                                                                     |
| > Deploy signal preemption for MCDOT ITS (Lead), MCDOT Traffic\       |
| > emergency vehicles Engineering                                      |
| >                                                                     |
| > Integrate ITS technologies into work MCDOT ITS (Lead), MCDOT\       |
| > zone activities Operations                                          |
| >                                                                     |
| > Establish a railroad/highway grade MCDOT ITS\                       |
| > crossing monitoring system                                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**7.4 Establishing Timeframes**

Assigning timeframes to action items in a strategy set permits
stakeholders to evaluate how important a particular action item is in
terms of meeting the goals and objectives developed previously in the
Business Planning process. In particular, those action items with the
best payoff, or return on investment, as defined in the Value
Proposition, should be given the highest priority. Funding and other
dependencies should be considered in establishing timeframes for the
completion of action items.

It is important to note that high priority items might not always
translate into near-term achievable actions. There are several factors
that could impact the likelihood of being able to carry out specific
actions, such as funding, institutional barriers or challenges, maturity
of technology, required partnerships. Some of these are internal to the
TMC managing agency and/or key partners; others could be external, such
as regional planning processes or legislative decisions that could
impact available funding. The next subsection of this chapter discusses
these and other dependencies and the importance of documenting specific
(or potential) dependencies in the Business Plan.

By focusing on the action items with immediate and near-term (three to
five years) priorities, stakeholders can better identify facility,
resource, staffing, partnering, budget and technical requirements in the
subsequent Business Planning steps of Organization and Management
(Chapter 8) and Financial Plan (Chapter 9). Longer-term strategy sets
should feed into future updates of the Business Plan, a process that
will be described in Chapter 10.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7g -- Caltrans TMS Master Plan (December 1997)*              |
|                                                                       |
| Caltrans divided its strategy sets into short-term and long-term      |
| horizons. For the short-term horizon (two to three years), specific   |
| action items were identified to help Caltrans meet the goal of        |
| preparing for and supporting future aggressive TMS implementation.    |
| For the long-term horizon (four to ten years), specific action items  |
| addressed how Caltrans will meet the goals of restoring lost          |
| capacity, reducing projected freeway congestion, and improving travel |
| time reliability.                                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7h -- Wichita Falls TxDOT District Concept of Operations     |
| (Draft May 2004)*                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| As was previously mentioned in Section 7.2, the Wichita Falls TxDOT   |
| District developed the following action items to meet the goal of     |
| improving the safety of the traveling public by providing advance     |
| traveler information and real time incident response:                 |
|                                                                       |
| -   Provide accurate weather conditions from the deployed             |
|     Environmental Sensor Subsystem sites to warn TxDOT and the        |
|     traveling public of possible icing conditions;                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Improve the dissemination of valuable information, including      |
|     Amber Alerts, to the traveling public through the use of Dynamic  |
|     Message Signs and the informational web site;                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Provide the City of Wichita Falls Police Department and other     |
|     emergency response vehicles including EMS and Fire with critical  |
|     information for responding to incidents more accurately and       |
|     quickly; and                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   Integrate the following field devices: Dynamic Message Signs,     |
|     Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras, and Environmental       |
|     Sensor Stations.                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| The aforementioned action items were then prioritized to assist       |
| decision-makers in understanding which action items should be         |
| implemented first. The order of priority, from highest to lowest,     |
| was:                                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| -   Environmental Sensor Stations;                                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Dynamic Message Signs;                                            |
|                                                                       |
| -   Public information web site;                                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   CCTV cameras;                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   External access to the system to the City of Wichita Falls Police |
|     Department;                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   External access to the system to TxDOT Area Offices; and          |
|                                                                       |
| -   Vehicle detection.                                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**7.5 Identifying and Documenting Dependencies**

While there may be several objectives and corresponding action items
that stakeholders desire to implement with respect to the TMC, it must
be recognized that there are factors that could impede, prevent, or
otherwise adversely impact their implementation. These factors are
typically termed dependencies or constraints.

Identifying and documenting potential dependencies up front provides
stakeholder decision-makers with the information they need to identify
critical path items, weigh their options and the implications of those
options on the overall Business Concept, and ultimately determine which
action items should be pursued. Timeframes and priorities associated
with action items may need to be adjusted to account for these
dependencies.

Dependencies also include risks. Most private sector business plans
document risks so that stakeholders/shareholders/investors can make
informed decisions about potential or known impacts.

**Table 7-1** shows potential dependencies and key questions planner
should ask when evaluating risks and contingencies.

Table 7-1 -- Potential Dependencies

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **Dependencies**                  | **Key Questions**                 |
+===================================+===================================+
| Facilities                        | -   Are the current facilities    |
|                                   |     adequate for what the TMC     |
|                                   |     needs to accomplish?          |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Are there any restrictions on |
|                                   |     space, usage, functions, or   |
|                                   |     partnerships relative to the  |
|                                   |     facilities?                   |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Does it have to fit into an   |
|                                   |     existing building/space?      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Technologies                      | -   Is there a technology plan in |
|                                   |     place to address new or       |
|                                   |     maintenance of existing       |
|                                   |     systems?                      |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   What other groups, divisions  |
|                                   |     or partners need to provide   |
|                                   |     input (or approval) for       |
|                                   |     technology issues?            |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Partnerships (existing and        | -   Are there functions or roles  |
| future)                           |     that the TMC needs to address |
|                                   |     that will require active      |
|                                   |     participation of partners?    |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Who are those partners and    |
|                                   |     are they willing to           |
|                                   |     participate?                  |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Are there needs that have     |
|                                   |     been undefined by the         |
|                                   |     partnership?                  |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Will partners be required to  |
|                                   |     make financial commitments?   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Leadership and organizational     | -   What are the current          |
| structure                         |     institutional issues or       |
|                                   |     challenges that could impact  |
|                                   |     the overall TMC Business      |
|                                   |     Concept?                      |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Are there internal or         |
|                                   |     external management practices |
|                                   |     or processes that the         |
|                                   |     Business Plan needs to work   |
|                                   |     through?                      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Funding (amounts as well as       | -   Is adequate funding available |
| schedules for fiscal programming) |     in time to carry out the      |
|                                   |     actions, address technical or |
|                                   |     facility needs, and other     |
|                                   |     operations/maintenance        |
|                                   |     requirements?                 |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Personnel and staffing resources  | -   Is there adequate staffing to |
| (including numbers and types of   |     fulfill the functional and    |
| staff)                            |     operational end states        |
|                                   |     identified in the Business    |
|                                   |     Concept?                      |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Are there staffing needs or   |
|                                   |     gaps, either in numbers of    |
|                                   |     staff or technical            |
|                                   |     capabilities?                 |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Project                           | -   Are there significant         |
| implementations/timeframes        |     projects that will need to be |
|                                   |     in place to support the       |
|                                   |     functional or operational end |
|                                   |     states identified in the      |
|                                   |     Business Concept?             |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Who is/are responsible for    |
|                                   |     those projects?               |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Are they funded and           |
|                                   |     programmed?                   |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   Do the timeframes for those   |
|                                   |     projects or programs fit      |
|                                   |     within the timeframes and     |
|                                   |     objectives outlined in the    |
|                                   |     Business Plan?                |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Legislation                       | -   Are there pending legislative |
|                                   |     issues that could impact the  |
|                                   |     organization, funding or      |
|                                   |     project implementations or    |
|                                   |     that may be required?         |
|                                   |                                   |
|                                   | -   What is the role of the       |
|                                   |     legislature in determining    |
|                                   |     agency priorities, and what   |
|                                   |     kinds of factors need to be   |
|                                   |     considered?                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

Following are examples of how agencies identified and documented
dependencies as they relate to the action items of strategy sets.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7i -- Caltrans TMC Master Plan (Revised December 1997)*      |
|                                                                       |
| Caltrans identified a number of dependencies that needed to be        |
| satisfied before the proposed action items related to developing TMCs |
| could be implemented. These dependencies included:                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Justification for development (needs analysis);                   |
|                                                                       |
| -   Identified source of funding;                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Approval of a Project Report; and                                 |
|                                                                       |
| -   The State TMC Architecture must be compliant with the National    |
|     ITS Architecture.                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7j -- Arizona DOT Fiscal Years 2005-2009 Strategic Plan      |
| (Draft 2003)*                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| To increase the probability that funding could be secured annually    |
| for the operations and maintenance of transportation infrastructure   |
| and equipment, ADOT recommended the action item that Life Cycle       |
| Costing be applied to the operations and maintenance costs for any    |
| new features that might be added to ADOT's system. Implementation of  |
| this action item hinged on the dependency that legislative approval   |
| was required.                                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7k -- FHWA TMC Concept of Operations Implementation Guide    |
| (December 1999)*                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| This document identified several dependencies, or constraints, on     |
| agencies with regards to TMCs. These dependencies included:           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Ensuring adequate staffing levels and budget for TMC operations   |
|     and maintenance;                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| -   Losing qualified TMC maintenance personnel to the private sector; |
|                                                                       |
| -   Addressing technological evolution and obsolescence;              |
|                                                                       |
| -   Estimating the time it takes for a TMC to become operationally    |
|     stable;                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Mitigating false alarm rates; and                                 |
|                                                                       |
| -   Workloads.                                                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

**7.6 Developing Strategy Sets**

In summary, then, a strategy set is comprised of the following:

-   Overarching objectives and desired end states;

-   Action items that will allow/enable the objectives and end states
    previously identified, to be met;

-   Stakeholder roles and responsibilities associated with the action
    items;

-   Timeframes for the completion of the action items; and

-   Dependencies that could impede or prevent completion of the action
    items.

Stakeholders should be involved in developing each component of a
strategy set. The strategy sets should then be compiled in a format that
allows the reader to easily identify how the strategy sets define what
specific actions need to occur to meet the overarching objectives and
desired end states, who needs to perform those actions, when those
actions need to be completed, and what dependencies could potentially
impede or prevent those actions from being completed.

Determining implementation costs and staffing resource requirements
associated with each action item are not part of a strategy set, as
defined herein, but are the next natural steps in the Business Planning
process and will be discussed in further detail in subsequent chapters
(Organization and Management -- Chapter 8 and Financial Plan -- Chapter
9).

Following are examples of strategy sets that contain the components
described above. These examples also include many of the other
components of the Business Planning process, including financial and
staffing needs within the strategy sets, illustrating that agencies may
choose to discuss these issues in conjunction with the development of
strategy sets.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7l -- Nebraska ITS/CVO Business Plan (August 1998)*          |
|                                                                       |
| *After defining the overall mission, vision, goals, and objectives,   |
| the Nebraska ITS/CVO Business Plan identified needs and then          |
| corresponding strategy sets (called tasks in this document) to meet   |
| those needs. Each strategy set contained the following headings:*     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Task description;                                                 |
|                                                                       |
| -   Objective;                                                        |
|                                                                       |
| -   Outcome;                                                          |
|                                                                       |
| -   Lead agency;                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   Other participating agencies;                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Market;                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Approach;                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   Key issues;                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   Products;                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   Schedule;                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   Cost; and                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| -   Estimated task management requirement (staffing needs).           |
|                                                                       |
| In this example, the action item (task description) is stated first   |
| and is followed by the overarching objective and outcome (desired end |
| state). The roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders are next   |
| identified. Then, the schedule provides a timeframe for the           |
| completion of the action item and the key issues highlight the major  |
| dependencies.                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| To further assist stakeholders in understanding the proposed strategy |
| sets, all of the action items were prioritized in order of            |
| importance. The action items were also grouped by:                    |
|                                                                       |
| -   Stakeholder responsibilities;                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Deployment scheduling; and                                        |
|                                                                       |
| -   Costs and funding sources.                                        |
|                                                                       |
| Presenting these tasks, or strategy sets, in various formats allowed  |
| the stakeholders to quickly find the information they were looking    |
| for and in the format that best suited their purposes.                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 7m -- MAG Regional Concept of Transportation Operations      |
| (January 2004)*                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) in Phoenix, AZ developed a  |
| series of technical memorandums that covered much of the Business     |
| Planning process. First, vision and mission statements were           |
| established, followed by 3-year and 5-year goals, performance         |
| measures, and policies and practices needed to achieve the goals. A   |
| set of functions, or objectives, were then developed that mapped to   |
| the 3-year and 5-year goals.                                          |
|                                                                       |
| For each function, a table was created that included:                 |
|                                                                       |
| -   Specific action items;                                            |
|                                                                       |
| -   Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders (broken down into      |
|     planning, implementation, operations, and maintenance);           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Resources required and estimated costs; and                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   Additional pertinent information (such as dependencies).          |
|                                                                       |
| While not explicitly stated, the timeframe for the action items was   |
| either three or five years, depending on which goal the overarching   |
| objective was mapped to.                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Applied specifically to the TMC Business Planning process, a sample
strategy set might be developed as shown below. The Business Plan would
then contain several such tables of strategy sets.

**Strategy Set #1**

**Objective #1: Improve Incident Management Response on Freeways**

***Action #1: Develop incident response protocol guidelines***

> Responsible Stakeholder(s): DOT and Highway Patrol (Co-Leads), other
> local emergency response agencies
>
> Timeframe/Priority: Complete 6 months prior to construction of TMC
>
> Dependency: 1) Assumes coordination between DOT TMC operators, Highway
> Patrol dispatchers, and local emergency response units
>
> 2\) DOT and Highway Patrol expected to equally fund action item

***Action #2: Prepare CCTV Camera and DMS Deployment Plan***

> Responsible Stakeholder(s): DOT (Lead), Highway Patrol, local
> transportation, and law enforcement agencies
>
> Timeframe/Priority: Complete 12 months prior to construction of TMC
>
> Dependency: 1) Assumes funding is available for deployment of field
> equipment
>
> 2\) Assumes completion of ongoing FMS conduit/fiber infrastructure

***Action #3: Procure central system software to control, display
cameras and DMS***

> Responsible Stakeholder(s): DOT (Lead), Highway Patrol, State
> Information Technology Department
>
> Timeframe/Priority: Complete 6 months prior to construction of TMC
>
> Dependency: 1) Assumes MPO funding will be available
>
> 2\) Software must be compatible with existing field equipment and ITS
> standards compliant

**Strategy Set #2**

**Objective #1: Facilitate inter-agency agreements to extract CAD data
to travel information services and TMC**

***Action #1: Implement Highway Patrol CAD System***

> Responsible Stakeholders: TMC (Lead), Highway Patrol dispatch, other
> local agencies
>
> Timeframe/Priority: Not specified
>
> Dependency: 1) Assumes the Highway Patrol is willing to establish and
> support a CAD system
>
> 2\) System should have export functionality to travel information
> services and the DOT system as a procurement specification

***Action #2: Make capital improvements to the Highway Patrol CAD
System***

> Responsible Stakeholders: TMC (Lead), Highway Patrol dispatch, other
> local agencies
>
> Timeframe/Priority: Not specified
>
> Dependency: 1) Assumes funding is available for necessary capital
> improvements

***Action #3: Develop institutional arrangements***

> Responsible Stakeholders: TMC (Lead), Highway Patrol dispatch, other
> local agencies
>
> Timeframe/Priority: Not specified
>
> Dependency: 1) Establishment of a Transportation Incident Management
> Policy Group
>
> 2\) Establishment of a Transportation Incident Management Working
> Group
>
> Intentionally Left Blank

# Organization and Management

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives:]{.underline}*

Present key considerations and strategies for outlining an effective TMC
Organization and Management structure. Many possible variations are
possible, depending on jurisdictional, functional, and agency mission
realities. The chapter addresses how the considerations affect
organizational approach and how these considerations have been handled
by other TMCs.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

-   Importance of scale, functional focus, and stakeholder missions in
    defining organizational realities; and

-   A planned organization and management approach is much more than an
    organization chart.

*[Key Topics and Issues to be Covered]{.underline}*:

Principles of TMC organization and management structure to respond
effectively respond to:

-   Agencies participating in developing and sustaining a TMC;

-   What roles each agency wants to (or must) play as a condition of TMC
    partnership;

-   The overall jurisdictional authority and scale of the TMC;

-   The transportation management functions required of the TMC;

-   The assets at the disposal of the TMC; and

-   Operational management and administration needs.

*[How This Chapter Relates to Other Chapters]{.underline}*:

Chapter 8 guides the planner's thinking on realistic organization
options, which narrows the range of possible plan variations in a number
of areas, including staffing, budgeting, decision-making, functional
versus service or operational focus, and other considerations.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.404861111111111in"
height="3.2909722222222224in"}

*[Remaining Sections:]{.underline}*

8.1 General Organizational Feature Definitions

8.2 Agency Participation, Resources, and Mission Issues

8.3 Agency Leadership and Decision-Making

8.4 Organizational Likes to Participating Agencies

8.5 Variations in Organizational Strategies

8.6 Summary

**8.1 General Organizational Feature Definitions**

Organizational development commonly displays basic features that will be
referred to from time to time in this chapter:

-   *Line-of-authority (or Line) organization elements* -- These are
    common in widely dispersed operations, where each organizational
    unit needs to incorporate enough authority, resources, and functions
    to be self-sufficient and responsive to operational needs. A
    District office is typically a line organization with respect to the
    overall DOT structures.

-   *Functional organization elements* -- These are elements of
    organizations that incorporate authority and resources to perform
    specific functions in the overall enterprise, such as project
    development, traffic management, construction management, or
    maintenance of assets. They sometimes exist within line
    organizations

-   *Matrix, or cross-cutting elements* -- These elements or units exist
    where it is not always economical or feasible to build certain
    specialties or common service capabilities into line or functional
    units; instead they act as cross-cutting support services or
    resources to the line and functional units. Common examples include
    technical specialties like IT and geology, or services like
    financial management, legal services, benefits administration, etc.

Most organizations incorporate combinations of these elements at some
levels.

**8.2 Agency Participation, Resources, and Mission Issues**

TMCs can involve one, two, or many agencies that may contribute to
and/or benefit from its operational functions. What agencies participate
in the TMC, and how they participate -- are the most important
considerations in determining how the TMC might be organized and how
decisions and priorities are determined. For each participating agency,
the key issues are:

-   What is each agency's transportation management scope and
    jurisdiction? (e.g.:)

    -   Geography

    -   Mode

    -   Facility infrastructure

    -   Regional service

-   How does each agency expect to participate operationally? (e.g.:)

    -   Staffing and management of the TMC

    -   Communications and monitoring linkage

    -   Integrated systems (such as CAD or operational status)

    -   Resource sharing (ITS, equipment, infrastructure, information)

-   What responsibilities and decisions can be delegated to the TMC?
    (e.g.:)

    -   Traffic monitoring

    -   Signal and sign management

    -   Dispatching

    -   Operations coordination

    -   Public information

-   What resources are being invested by each agency?

    -   Funding

    -   Staff and management

    -   Deployed ITS

    -   Information

The answers to these questions are keys to determining the high-level
requirements for the organization structure, how leadership decisions
are made, and how TMC performance will be assessed by the participating
agencies. Of course there are myriad possible organization situations
that can reasonably exist. Chapter 4 of this handbook described and
discussed the various TMC business models that are known to exist, with
variations in agencies involved, and jurisdictions covered. The sections
below include discussions of how agency participation, resources and
mission considerations affect organizational design in the various
business models. Focus in these sections is on:

-   Leadership and decision-making structures;

-   Function and matrix links to participating agencies; and

-   Variations in organizational strategies.

**8.3 Agency Leadership and Decision-Making**

**8.3.1 Participation and Delegation**

A TMC operated by a single agency, to support the transportation
management mission of that agency, with a clear definition of
jurisdictional boundaries, is the least complicated case to address
organizationally. It can be organized, funded, and managed as a
functional organization within the parent agency, placed at a level
fitting to the priority and management focus that senior agency
management deems appropriate.

If little or no operational authority is needed at the TMC, a functional
management organization with established procedures and processes is
suitable. Organization and management structure may be satisfied by
means of a simple point of contact structure through which information
can be accessed, managed, and disseminated.

Leadership and decision-making becomes far more complex when the TMC
vision is for it to involve multiple agencies; to execute multiple
program responsibilities beyond transportation network monitoring; and
to utilize funds and operational assets of more than one agency.

At the highest level, where agency-delegated of transportation
management decisions are expected to reside at the TMC, a multi-agency
organization structure necessitates the incorporation of a formal,
chartered decision model, e.g., steering committees, leadership teams,
and processes and rules for voting and consensus.

With decision-making authority, the TMCs organization and management
requires more structured rules, with additional external controls and
interfaces. TMCs that coordinate or share multiple-agency resources need
formal agreements and conditions of use from the delegating agencies,
underscoring the need for formal oversight. The organization and
management structure should also clearly reflect the interests of the
primary "owners" of the TMC, usually the primary funding agency. As a
practical matter, in these cases the agency's organization structure and
lines of authority have a strong influence on the "ideal" TMC structure.

**8.3.2 Jurisdiction**

Multi-state or county agencies (e.g., two state DOTs in an urban region)
with similar but distinct missions and policies may require special
coordination or decision-making provisions, and involve more "dotted
lines". They may also require joint "representative" staffing of the
center or -- depending on the limitations of the agency agreements --
there may have to be specific functional organization units in the
center (e.g., a city police dispatcher). The operational jurisdiction of
multi-agency regional TMCs could be a complex patchwork, with variations
in the operating authority that the TMC can assert in various parts of
the region.

Super-regional or statewide TMCs organizations may have to provide for
separate regional focus in some functions for effective coordination and
decision-making on more local regional issues.

Corridor-focused organizations with many stakeholders might need a
functional organization with strict operational intervention "rules" to
be viable for the constituent sub-regions[^1]. While integration of
corridor transportation management is a sound strategy for corridor-wide
transportation issues and events, many transportation management issues
continually arise in corridor sub-regions -- that can and are managed
effectively by agencies in that region.

**8.3.3 Resource Issues**

Agencies may participate in a TMC via contribution of funding, staff,
sharing of assets on the transportation network, and by providing access
to relevant information. These all require input (if not direct control
by some agencies) on the use of those assets, which needs to be
considered in the organizational design of the TMC. For example, the TMC
needs to be accountable to participating agencies for operations
expenses and capital investments, and/or the use of the other resources
mentioned above.

Differences in duty hour policies and/or treatment of shiftwork and
overtime among participating agencies can be a barrier to a fully
integrated joint operation. Staff may have to separate organizationally
in the TMC to manage shift assignments, supervision, assessment, and
other HR-related issues.

Agencies that have acquired and own capital assets that are used by or
shared with the TMC may -- by policy -- remain accountable for the
efficient use of those investments. Liability issues usually remain with
asset owners. These issues imply that a joint-agency TMC needs to be
organized to focus clear accountability for asset ownership and use.

Where the TMC taps information resources of participating agencies, or
accesses agency systems directly, security and systems use policies come
into play. Related policies are often managed centrally in participating
agencies with broad missions beyond transportation management -- as a
result, these policies are hard to change, and may need some form of
coordination or gate-keeping function to be included in the TMC
structure.

**8.4 Organizational Links to Participating Agencies**

In principle, a TMC is a functional organization unit from the
perspective of the parent structures of participating agencies.
Parent-agency operations management, technical support, personnel
administration, and cost accounting are examples of "home-team"
functions that are organized in a matrix relationship to the TMC.

IT support is a good example of the kind of matrix support that usually
is needed by a TMC structure. The participating agency with the greatest
IT investment in the enterprise is the logical source for IT support,
but integration of the multiple technologies of other agencies may call
for attention of specialists from other agencies to manage "translation"
software, or specialized ITS technology.

**Table 8-1** below shows the connection between TMC functional
objectives and linkages to participating agencies. The links typically
require delegated authorities and operating rules.

Table 8-1: TMC Functions and Sample Organizational Implementation

+--------+-------------+------------------+---------------------------+
| **TMC  |             | **Operational    | **Organization            |
| Funct  |             | Management**     | Implications (Examples)** |
| ions** |             |                  |                           |
+--------+-------------+------------------+---------------------------+
| Basic  |             | Supervising      | Line organization,        |
| t      |             | technicians and  | producing information.    |
| raffic |             | analysts,        | Most support matrixed     |
| moni   |             | transmit         | from agencies             |
| toring |             | information      |                           |
| and    |             |                  |                           |
| survei |             |                  |                           |
| llance |             |                  |                           |
+--------+-------------+------------------+---------------------------+
| Added  | Signal and  | Authorized       | -   Unit with delegated   |
|        | sign        | decision-making  |     authority and         |
| Fun    | management  | on traffic       |     "rules-of-engagement" |
| ctions |             | management       |     or                    |
|        |             | actions          |                           |
| (Exa   |             |                  | -   Direct communication  |
| mples) |             |                  |     link to a primary     |
|        |             |                  |     agency point of       |
|        |             |                  |     contact with          |
|        |             |                  |     authority to          |
|        |             |                  |     represent             |
|        |             |                  |     participants'         |
|        |             |                  |     interests             |
|        |             |                  |                           |
|        |             |                  | -   24/7 implications     |
+--------+-------------+------------------+---------------------------+
|        | Shared ITS  | Coordination of  | -   Unit to manage use    |
|        | and systems | ITS resource use |     and condition of the  |
|        | resources   | and integration  |     resources             |
|        |             | of data          |                           |
|        |             |                  | -   Increased             |
|        |             |                  |     surveillance          |
|        |             |                  |     resources mean        |
|        |             |                  |     increased monitoring  |
|        |             |                  |                           |
|        |             |                  | -   Unit to manage        |
|        |             |                  |     acquisition,          |
|        |             |                  |     translation, use, and |
|        |             |                  |     dissemination of data |
+--------+-------------+------------------+---------------------------+
|        | Dispatching | Deployment of    | -   Unit with delegated   |
|        |             | field units      |     authority and         |
|        |             | usually a key    |     "rules-of-engagement" |
|        |             | action in        |     or                    |
|        |             | performing       |                           |
|        |             | agency missions  | -   Unit linked to        |
|        |             |                  |     incident and event    |
|        |             |                  |     notification          |
|        |             |                  |     resources and 911s    |
|        |             |                  |                           |
|        |             |                  | -   Centralized work crew |
|        |             |                  |     assignment            |
|        |             |                  |     information           |
|        |             |                  |                           |
|        |             |                  | -   Function to handle    |
|        |             |                  |     service request       |
|        |             |                  |     call-ins from the     |
|        |             |                  |     public                |
|        |             |                  |                           |
|        |             |                  | -   Unit to maintain      |
|        |             |                  |     resource status and   |
|        |             |                  |     network situation     |
|        |             |                  |     data                  |
|        |             |                  |                           |
|        |             |                  | -   24/7 requirements     |
+--------+-------------+------------------+---------------------------+
|        | C           | Centralize       | Jointly staffed,          |
|        | oordination | decision-making  | authorized units          |
|        |             | for speed        |                           |
+--------+-------------+------------------+---------------------------+
|        | Public      | Smooth access to | Multi-agency-authorized   |
|        | Information | network and      | spokespersons or POC      |
|        |             | event status     |                           |
+--------+-------------+------------------+---------------------------+

**8.5 Variations in Organizational Strategies**

Establishing and operating a TMC has been shown to significantly improve
transportation agencies' ability to manage over-stress networks and
increased public demand for safety and mobility. In today's climate of
government streamlining and reduction, the most difficult TMC investment
for agencies to make is providing staff effort and attention to the
operation.

Yet, as indicated above, TMCs need to incorporate authorized
decision-making units in order to perform proactive roles in
transportation management[^2]. Accountable decision-making requires
staff with vested authorities, rules, and processes to act timely and
effectively.

Chapter 4 describes various business models that have been established
to meet practical staffing and organizational constraints. The case
studies in the Appendix to this handbook show a mix of these scenarios,
and illustrate some of the strengths and weaknesses of the different
organization strategies:

-   *Single agency with agency mission focus and jurisdiction* -- The
    simplest situation, with clear functions, and lines of authority to
    act. This approach can be staffed with agencies personnel, augmented
    by contract staff or services, or performed under turnkey contract
    arrangements with operating rules and performance objectives. Does
    not leverage the capability of other agencies to help improve
    regional transportation operations.

-   *Multi-agency joint program --* Usually initiated as a joint program
    combining interests of infrastructure management (DOT) with law
    enforcement and emergency response agencies. Collocation of
    coordinators and decision-makers with complementary but distinctly
    delineated roles. This is the most common case, where three or fewer
    agencies reach agreement on structure, funding, staffing, and
    transportation management roles.

-   *Multi-agency specialized programs --* TMC initiatives involving
    many regional agencies take on greater organizational challenges due
    to jurisdictional issues, a variety of agency missions, and
    differentiated perception of value to be gained from the TMC
    operation. Agreement on funding, staffing, and authorized management
    roles is difficult. In these situations the organization strategy
    calls for specialized TMC roles that resonate with participants'
    values, such as communications and information sharing, timely
    operational status reporting. Public-private partnership and new
    chartered entities (see below) are common alternatives.

-   *New chartered public sector entity --* An ambitious but probably
    effective solution to multi-agency TMC programs. The FAST TMC in
    Nevada involves cost sharing and transfer of specific transportation
    management roles to a new separate entity, with authority to perform
    those roles, and an oversight committee that includes
    decision-makers form six participating agencies.

-   *Chartered public/private partnership* -- A second variation on the
    chartered TMC operations entity, this approach involves private
    sector management under a concession arrangement. Authority for
    traffic management and control actions, and to dispatch agency
    resources is difficult to transfer to this type of organization
    arrangement. Cases of this type have gravitated toward roles that
    focus on transportation and incident monitoring, and sharing of
    information useful to participating agencies and motorists.
    Organization funding for this kind of operation is easier for
    agencies to contribute and share than TMC staffing.

-   *Contracted operations* -- This approach is used essentially for
    specific TMC functions or services, such as breakdown assistance
    dispatching, maintenance of ITS assets, IT support, and information
    dissemination. There are precedents for regional information
    services providers to staff monitoring functions at TMCs, in return
    for rights to provide traffic information services to private and
    commercial customers.

**8.6 Summary**

A Business Plan for a TMC that involves multiple agencies, multiple
missions, and proactive traffic control and incident management
decisions \--should clearly delineate key organizational factors,
including models and processes to make those decisions and commit
resources, and should define the overarching joint leadership structure
to which the TMC is accountable. Authorization to make functional
decisions needs to be spelled out for agreement by the participating
agencies, as do plans to manage specific technical, policy or staffing
issues.

Single agency, single mission TMCs are usually treated as line
organizations in the overall agency structure, with functional
components -- some of which lend themselves to contracting out.

TMCs combining two or three agencies' missions and jurisdiction tend to
be organized in functional groupings, with clearly delineated roles.
Staff tends to be co-located, but not extensively shared. This
simplifies the linkages with "home organization" operations, personnel
management, and administrative functions.

TMCs combining many agencies, many missions, multiple jurisdictions, and
multiple proactive transportation management roles -- need a more
ambitious organization design. Two ways these challenges are being met
include (1) a public-private partnership in which some TMC roles are
performed under concession arrangements, or (2) a separate public sector
operating entity has been formed under an over multi-agency leadership
committee, defining overall jurisdiction and operating authorities.

Intentionally Left Blank

# Financial Plan 

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives:]{.underline}*

This chapter describes how to develop a Financial Plan to support the
Business Concept. By developing a comprehensive picture of funding needs
and a funding strategy, a financial plan will help document fiscal needs
and responsibilities based on the Strategy Sets. This chapter also
discusses challenges associated with financial planning for TMCs,
including how to justify TMC needs versus other competing priorities
within a department, agency, or region. Examples of how to document
funding needs, timelines, potential sources, etc. are included in this
chapter.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

The Financial Plan needs to address the TMC-specific funding
requirements, and tie these requirements back to the Business Concept,
Value Proposition, improvements required to develop the capabilities
required, and the strategies and services needed to manage, operate, and
maintain a TMC.

*[Key Topics and Issues to be Covered:]{.underline}*

The previous chapters have already justified the proposed strategies,
support services and operations of the TMC; identified the multi-year
plan component that lays out what is required to support these items;
indicated what influence that they would have on performance measures
and benefits provided based on investment; and discussed how,
collectively, these various initiatives would be rolled up and
identified as capital cost and an annual cost per year. This chapter
addresses a series of questions including:

-   What are the appropriate sources of funding within the agency and/or
    region?

-   What are the funding cycles and key milestones that need to be
    factored in to the business planning process?;

-   What are other issues to consider and other key factors with
    funding?

*[\
How This Chapter Relates to Other Chapters:]{.underline}*

The Financial Plan builds on all the previous chapters in that it
estimates the financial impact of the proposed TMC considering the
Business Concept, Strategies, and Organization and Management. It is the
last part of the Business Plan content, yet in many cases it is often
the most critical piece of the plan as it maps dollars to end-states and
strategies; it is the 'bottom line' that usually speaks to the key
decision makers and authorities.

As illustrated in **Figure 9-1**, the Financial Plan utilizes specific
input from Chapter 7, Strategy Sets and Chapter 8, Organization and
Management, and describes how the financial needs are derived and
various means of funding both the one-time capital expenditures and the
annual operating expenditures.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.35in" height="3.252083333333333in"}

Figure 9-1: Business Plan Steps and Process

There are several issues that need to be considered when developing a
Financial Plan as part of a TMC Business Plan. While many agencies
develop funding requirements for overall TMS programs, the specific
needs, roles and functions of the TMC, as articulated in the TMC
Business Concept, need to be specifically oriented towards a sustainable
funding stream to not only design and build the facility but also to
operate and maintain it for an extended period.

*[Remaining Sections:]{.underline}*

9.1 Assigning Funding Requirements to Strategy Sets

9.2 Budgeting and Funding Definitions, Issues, and Challenges

9.3 Budget Planning Process

9.4 Fund Sharing Models

**9.1 Assigning Funding Requirements to Strategy Sets**

The first step in developing the Financial Plan is to determine the
estimated costs to carry out the strategies and action plans resulting
from the previous activities in the development of the Business Plan.
These funding requirements should take into consideration items such as:

-   Initial capital costs;

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-   Planning and design costs;

-   Contractor and vendor costs;

-   Integration costs;

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-   Operating and Maintenance costs over the timeframes previously
    identified;

-   Replacement costs; and

-   Staffing requirements (new positions, staff training needs, etc.).

One of the shortcomings of agencies and consultants working on TMC
implementation plans is failing to account for some of the ancillary and
incidental costs associated with implementing a TMC. Often the annual
operating responsibilities and associated costs are not addressed early
enough in the program development, and operating units find themselves
struggling to fund the TMC operational expenses from existing program
annual maintenance budgets or other operating unit annual budgets. This
obviously results in less than adequate resources for the TMC and also
reduces the effectiveness of the other activities' budgets that get
reduced. This is a "lose-lose" situation which can, and should, be
avoided with some advance planning that leads to a strong Financial Plan
that management supports and endorses.

To help account for the array of costs associated with a Traffic
Management Center program, templates are presented in **Figures 9-2**
and **9-3** itemizing the various elements of a capital and operating
budget for a new TMC. Any specific TMC program will have various
combinations of the illustrated cost items requiring the template to be
customized for each specific situation. The objective of the illustrated
template is to trigger the thought process that needs to go into a TMC
Financial Plan.

![](media/image12.wmf)

Figure 9-2: TMC Capital Expenditure Template

![](media/image13.wmf)

Figure 9-3: TMC Annual Operating Expenditure Template

Costs should be estimated for each of the activities and strategies
associated with the TMC program. There are a number of resources
available to help determine an opinion of probable cost for the various
components. Resources include:

-   *Traffic Control System Operations -- Installation, Management, and
    Maintenance* ITE, 2000

-   *BiState St. Louis Area Intelligent Vehicle Highway System Planning
    Study*, 1994

-   *Intelligent Transportation Systems Benefits and Costs 2003 Update*,
    May 2003
    <http://www.mitretek.org/its/benecost/BC_Update_2003/index.html#app_a>

The template includes several operational scenarios from 8 hour per day
operation up to 24 hour per day operation. These differing estimates of
cost are associated with differing performance levels. This type of
information in the Financial Plan will assist the decision makers in
their decision on a preferred service level.

Examples of a summary of the TMC facilities and requirements are
presented for the reader.

***Example 9a: TMC Building Requirements Estimate***

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ***Estimate of Probable Cost for a 18,000 ft TMC building***          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Architectural (building) \$1,611,480.00                               |
|                                                                       |
| Civil Construction \$227,425.00                                       |
|                                                                       |
| Landscaping \$71,680.00                                               |
|                                                                       |
| Furnishings \$110,000.00                                              |
|                                                                       |
| Plumbing \$60,000.00                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| HVAC \$176,000.00                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| UPS \$184,000.00                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| Generator and Accessories \$157,900.00                                |
|                                                                       |
| Electrical \$130,200.00                                               |
|                                                                       |
| Fire Protection \$59,000.00                                           |
|                                                                       |
| Contingencies [\$172,938.00]{.underline}                              |
|                                                                       |
| **TOTAL \$2,960,623.00**                                              |
|                                                                       |
| Source: ADOT Central Control Facility Technical Memorandum            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Examples of operational and maintenance costs for four different sizes
of TMCs (regional, large, medium, and small) are presented to give the
reader an idea of how the operations and maintenance funding needs can
be presented in the Financial Plan.

*Example 9b: Traffic Operations Center -- Regional (Continous 24/7
operations)*

![](media/image14.wmf){width="6.460416666666666in"
height="6.641666666666667in"}

*Example 9c: Traffic Operations Center -- Large (Weekday, 12 hours per
day/ 5 days per week)*

![](media/image15.wmf){width="6.386111111111111in"
height="7.191666666666666in"}

Source: MAG Regional Concept of Transportation Operations -- Technical
Memorandum No. 5/6 (May 7, 2003)

*Example 9d: Traffic Operations Center -- Medium (Peak period coverage:
8 hours per day/5 days per week)*

![](media/image16.wmf){width="6.386111111111111in"
height="7.191666666666666in"}

Source: MAG Regional Concept of Transportation Operations -- Technical
Memorandum No. 5/6 (May 7, 2003)

*Example 9e: Traffic Operations Center -- Small (Special event or
incident response only)*

![](media/image17.wmf){width="6.386111111111111in"
height="7.191666666666666in"}

Source: MAG Regional Concept of Transportation Operations -- Technical
Memorandum No. 5/6 (May 7, 2003)

Once the funding requirements are known, it is useful to present the
costs in a timeline format, such as the one shown in **Figure 9-4**.
Such a timeline will enable capital and operating budgets to be
established for each fiscal year, including beyond the immediate
near-term needs. These opinions of costs are then in a useful format for
agency budgeting purposes.

![](media/image18.wmf){width="5.566666666666666in"
height="3.2222222222222223in"}

Figure 9-4: Sample Budget/Timeline

**9.2 Budgeting and Funding Definitions, Issues, and Challenges**

Once the financial needs have been established, the applicable funding
sources have to be identified. Funding sources can be federal, state, or
local. Federal funding is generally used for TMC projects. Several
federal fund categories can be used both for the initial capital
investment and for the on-going operations. The issue becomes whether
the state is willing to use federal funds in a category designated for
construction and spend those funds for operations and maintenance.
Currently available and applicable general funding programs are
summarized in **Figure 9-5.**

Figure 9-5: Summary of Funding Sources

**[National Highway System (NHS)]{.underline}** -- Provides for capital
and operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and control
facilities and programs. Funds provided on an 80/20 percent
federal/local match basis with no time limit for operations.

**[Surface Transportation Program (STP)]{.underline}** -- Provides for
capital and operating costs for traffic monitoring, management, and
control facilities and programs. Funds provided on an 80/20 percent
federal/local match basis within the initial project scope.

**[Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program
(CMAQ)]{.underline}** -- Provides funds for the establishment or
operation of traffic monitoring, management, and control facility or
program in non-attainment areas. Explicitly includes, as an eligible
condition for funding, programs or projects that improve traffic flow.
Funds provided for O&M on an 80/20 percent federal/local match basis for
2 years, or longer if the project demonstrates air quality improvement
benefits on a continuing basis.

**[Interstate Maintenance]{.underline}** -- The Interstate Maintenance
Program was created to provide funds to states to maintain
previously-completed sections of the Interstate System. Some states have
used these funds for capital investments in Traffic Management Centers
and operations that serve the Interstate System. Funds are provided on a
90/10 percent federal/local match basis.

**[SAFETEA/TEA-LU (2004 Reauthorization Bill)]{.underline}** -- will
also authorize several additional Federal funding mechanisms which are
available specifically to aid in the deployment and operation of ITS.

**[ITS Integration]{.underline}** -- This component of the ITS
Deployment Program provides funding for activities necessary to
integrate ITS infrastructure components that are either deployed
(existing) or will be deployed with other sources of funds. This may
include the integration of different ITS systems or sub-systems (e.g.,
freeway management, arterial management, etc.) or the integration of
like ITS components across jurisdictions. Eligible activities include
the system design and integration, creation of data sharing/archiving
capabilities, deployment of components that support integration with
systems outside of metropolitan areas. The ITS Integration Program can
fund up to 50 percent of an integration project\'s costs with a minimum
of 20 percent of the local match to come from non-federally derived
sources. The other 30% match could come from other federal funds or
non-federal funds.

The **[National Corridor Planning and Development Program and
Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program]{.underline}** -- was
established under Sections 1118 and 1119 of the Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). The Coordinated Border Infrastructure
Program aims to improve border infrastructure and transportation
telecommunications to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of
people and goods at or across the U.S.-Canada and the U.S.-Mexico
borders. The National Corridor Planning and Development Program provides
DOT authority to allocate dollars to states and metropolitan planning
organizations (MPOs) for coordinated planning, design and construction
of highway corridors. Criteria under which the Border Program project
funding applications will be reviewed include reduction in travel time
through a major international facility, potential for improvements in
border crossing vehicle safety and cargo security, and the applicability
of innovative techniques and technology to other border crossing
facilities. The Federal share for projects funded through these programs
is 80% (sliding scale applies).

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**9.3 Budget Planning Processes**

When federal funds are involved, it is important to understand the
budgeting process very early in the TMC program. As most agencies know,
there is typically a long lead time associated with getting the budgets
approved. The budgets must go through the approval process to be
included in the MPO Transportation Improvement Program, then in the
State Transportation Improvement Program, and finally to get the federal
money programmed.

The process to get a project included in the MPO Transportation
Improvement Program varies from agency to agency, but it can take up to
a year. In most cases, the TIP is for a three to five year period and if
a project misses the update cycle, either it has to wait for the next
TIP update or go through a process to amend the TIP during the life of
the TIP. It is important to identify and understand the defined process
for decision-making in the agency/region/state that includes the linkage
to budget-cycles/processes of all partner agencies, application
procedures, prioritization procedures, etc.

A typical timeline is presented in **Figure 9-6** to illustrate the
general time periods that might be involved.

![](media/image19.wmf){width="5.4319444444444445in"
height="1.9715277777777778in"}

Figure 9-6: Sample Budgeting Process Timeline

It is important to view the TMC program as part of a larger strategic
vision for transportation management, incident management, emergency
management, and homeland security for the region or state. With this
perspective, it may be possible to establish funding linkages to larger
goals for the area and have the TMC funded as part of other programs.
The TMCs vital role in a number of important regional transportation,
operations and incident management functions could greatly help support
funding justification for improvements, expansions, additional
functions, and integration strategies.

Another factor to consider in the planning is the fact that any new
building for a TMC may be the responsibility of the Finance and
Administration Department of state government or local government. As
such, there are additional steps and approvals that are necessary in
getting budgets approved before going to the MPO for inclusion in the
TIP.

When designing a new TMC site, the building architect and interior
building designer may consider these factors to ensure the building is
functional for TMC purposes:

-   Clear objectives for building the TMC;

-   Agencies to work in the TMC building;

-   Prioritized functions of the TMC;

-   Staff to work in the TMC building;

-   Rooms for functions and staff;

-   Equipment and number of staff in each room; and

-   Sizes of each room and the building.

In leading a TMC program, it is also important to plan for multi-year
strategic plans that determine the direction of budgeting activities
over a multi-year time horizon (Examples: Houston TranStar, TRANSCOM).
These are essential for obtaining political and funding support as well
as for establishing internal funding priorities.

The budgeting process is often quite lengthy; however, there are
numerous steps that follow to obligate the budgeted funds. This process
of obligating the funds and establishing a "project" with the FHWA (if
federal funds are being used) and in the agency's accounting system can
add six months to the overall process. It is important to recognize this
as the overall schedule for financing and deploying a TMC is developed
in the Business Plan. A typical process for a state to obligate funds
when federal funds are involved is described below:

1.  Project manager prepares a request for federal funds and submits the
    request to the administrative office which handles the requests for
    authorization with the FHWA.

2.  The agency administrative office prepares and submits to the FHWA a
    *Letter of Authorization and Project Agreement.* At this time a
    state project number and a federal project number is assigned.

3.  FHWA reviews and approves the authorization request.

4.  Project Manager schedules a presentation and presents the project to
    the agency's project review committee for approval before moving
    forward.

5.  Following approval by the project review committee, the Project
    Manager proceeds to present the project to a program project
    authorization committee.

6.  Once the project has been approved by staff through the above steps,
    it is ready for submittal to the state transportation board
    (appointed officials) for final approval.

7.  When the state transportation board approves the project, it becomes
    an authorized project and the next steps of design can begin.

The above typical process illustrates the importance of understanding
the total breadth of activities that are involved in getting funding
approved. The success of a timely deployment of a Transportation
Management Center is dependent on many things, not the least of which is
having a proactive approach to getting approval of the financial side of
the TMC deployment.

**9.4 Fund Sharing Models**

Transportation Management Center program funding models range from a
single agency funding the initial capital costs and the annual
operations and maintenance costs to a public/private arrangement where
the private partner provides improvements to the TMC, provides the
operators and the maintenance in exchange for traveler information. In
the latter, the traveler information is then used as a means to sell
advertising for the broadcast media.

**[Single Agency Funding]{.underline}** -- The simplest funding model is
for a situation where one agency funds the entire implementation and
operations costs, such as the INFORM center on Long Island, NY. This has
the advantage of the owning agency having full control and thus no
interagency coordination to contend with, but it also requires that the
owning agency obtain all the funding either locally or from other
federal or state funds.

**[Funding Allocation Based On TMC Utilization]{.underline}** -- A
funding model used in some large TMCs such as Houston TranStar splits
operating costs for facilities, computer systems, and telecommunications
systems among agencies co-located within the TMC according to
utilization of floor space, computer space and telecommunications usage.

**[Funding Allocation Based on TMC Coverages]{.underline}** -- When
multiple agencies utilize one TMC, it is possible to share the costs
among the agencies based on the number of field devices in each
jurisdiction that is sharing the TMC. The Las Vegas region's program,
FAST, uses a 'fair-share' funding formula based on the number of devices
in each jurisdiction.

**[Funding From User Fees or Dues]{.underline}** -- Depending on the
nature of the TMC functions, it may be possible for the users of the TMC
or the ones benefiting from the TMC to support it with user fees.
Operating costs for TRANSCOM's Traffic Operations Center are funded from
member agency dues, which are based on direct benefit and ability to
pay. TRANSCOM is a 501c3 (non-profit) corporation dedicated to
coordinating traffic information among members in the New York and New
Jersey areas. They effectively fund their program using user fees paid
by those benefiting from the TRANSCOM traveler information.

Intentionally Left Blank

# Using and Managing the TMC Business Plan 

*[Chapter Purpose and Objectives:]{.underline}*

This chapter provides guidance for agencies to use the TMC Business Plan
as an important tool for continued TMC operations and expansion. This
chapter also discusses the importance of developing a strategy and
timeframe for reviewing and updating the TMC Business Plan. Key
considerations for when agencies should revisit, and potentially update,
the TMC Business Plan are explored.

*[Key Messages/Themes:]{.underline}*

The overall usefulness and success of the TMC Business Plan rest on
effective implementation and continued monitoring. Monitoring and
managing the Business Plan is an ongoing process with specific
milestones. A key element of the implementation process is measuring
progress toward goals (i.e., how strategies, goals and end states
defined in the Business Plan are being implemented, or how they are
performing in relation to the Value Propositions) to demonstrate
continued value and benefit of the role and function of the TMC.

*[Key Topics and Issues to be Covered:]{.underline}*

Chapter 10 addresses the procedures for using, managing, and updating
the TMC Business Plan. A major focus of this chapter is the importance
of using the TMC Business Plan to guide ongoing planning and expansion
of the TMC, and for setting clear milestones to review and measure the
success or progress of the directives outlined in the TMC Business Plan.
The need to communicate these milestones and successes to stakeholders
also is stressed. Finally, this chapter discusses the importance of
treating the TMC Business Plan as a living document that needs to be
periodically reviewed and updated based on changing priorities or new
functional capabilities.

*[How This Chapter Relates to Other Chapters:]{.underline}*

The previous chapters show how to develop an effective TMC Business
Plan, including engaging stakeholders in visioning and developing a
sound business concept, identifying key strategies and timeframes,
articulating value propositions and anticipated benefits, implementing
an organization and management structure to support the strategies, and
developing a financial plan and funding strategy. This chapter provides
guidance on the processes that follow after completing the Business Plan
and how to use the plan as a management tool.

As illustrated in the following graphic, the implementation and
management of the TMC Business Plan is the next logical step after the
completion of the Business Plan. Each update to the Business Plan starts
the Business Plan Development cycle all over again, beginning with the
identification of stakeholders.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.35in" height="3.252083333333333in"}

*[Remaining Sections:]{.underline}*

10.1 Implementing the TMC Business Plan

10.1.1 Business Plans as a Management Resource

10.1.2 Monitoring Progress

10.2 Updating the Plan

10.2.1 General Principles

10.2.2 Approaches and Methods for Updating the Business Plan

**10.1 Implementing the TMC Business Plan**

Once all of the core components of the TMC Business Plan have been
developed, the next step is to put the Plan into action. Implementing
the Plan involves setting Business Plan implementation milestones based
on strategies, organization and management structure and the financial
plan and periodically reviewing the progress of these items toward the
desired end-states outlined in the Business Concept; in essence,
measuring how (or if) the milestones are being achieved. It also
involves communicating to internal and external stakeholders about the
Plan and its purpose and measuring progress towards meeting the Plans'
objectives.

An important question TMC managers and agency management will be asking
is "Are we achieving what we set out to achieve?" The Business Plan
implementation process is a systematic means of periodically asking that
question, and reviewing successes, challenges or identifying obstacles
that could impede the goals and vision set forth in the Business
Concept.

1.  **Business Plans as a Management Resource**

The TMC Business Plan is an effective resource for managers. The TMC
Business Plan:

-   Presents a clear direction of where the TMC is heading in relation
    to its key functions;

-   Defines the key strategies that must be undertaken in order to get
    there; and

-   Maps out the personnel, organization, and resources required to meet
    its goals and objectives.

The TMC Business Plan also is a key tool for the annual budget process.
In particular, the Financial Plan element includes financial information
that will be very helpful to managers when determining their budget
needs. The Financial Plan, contained in Chapter 9 of this handbook,
showed TMC managers how to outline significant near-term and future TMC
requirements in terms of technology needs, staffing, and related capital
and operating expenses.

The financial component of the TMC Business Plan is more than a 'laundry
list' of funding needs; it provides a carefully thought-out and
integrated funding strategy to address the TMC operations, staffing,
technology, and facility requirements. As an example, if one of the key
strategies and functions of the TMC is to expand from operating 12 hours
per day to 24/7 operations, these costs would not likely be reflected in
infrastructure-specific systems costs, but the additional staffing and
facility costs would need to be accounted for in the TMC Business Plan.
Tying these operational needs back to desired operational roles and
benefits, as identified earlier in the process, will help to
substantiate the need for funding for this specific function.

A key benefit of the Financial Plan component of the Business Plan, and
one that is particularly useful for annual budgeting processes is that
it establishes funding linkages and timeframes, which allows TMC
managers to be able to incorporate TMC funding requirements into local,
regional and state funding and programming schedules.

If the TMC Business Plan is to be used effectively, it will be essential
to identify the key staff or stakeholders responsible for implementing
and managing the plan. This "champion", or group of champions, will be
responsible for reviewing the key implementation milestones in the TMC
Business Plan to assess whether or not they are being met, and review
progress in relation to the established timeline for implementing
specific strategies or carrying out specific actions. In general, the
milestones involve:

-   Following the strategies set forth in the TMC Business Plan;

-   Establishing the organizational and management structure defined in
    the Plan; and

-   Meeting the budgetary goals laid out in the Financial Plan.

If milestones are not being met, or there are obstacles to implementing
specific strategies, it will be up to the champion(s) to bring this to
the attention of key decision makers and mangers so that appropriate
actions can be taken. The next section, Monitoring Progress, provides
some monitoring and reporting strategies to help champions assess how
well the components of the Business Plan are supporting the Business
Concept, and progress toward reaching the goals and desired end states
for the TMC.

1.  **Monitoring Progress**

Demonstrating progress toward established objectives and anticipated
benefits is fundamental to the long-term success and viability of the
TMC. To accomplish this, the TMC Business Plan should clearly state
which entities and individuals are responsible for monitoring and
reporting on performance. These individuals will likely be the same as
the individuals responsible for implementing the Plan since the two
tasks are closely intertwined. It is also likely that other individuals
representing other functional areas within the TMC would be involved in
assessing and reporting on progress and status. These could include:

-   Human resources;

-   Budgeting and fiscal resources representatives;

-   Information technology;

-   Private contractors, if applicable; and

-   Facilities management.

To effectively monitor and assess progress, the Plan will need to define
a process for reviewing, monitoring and reporting. These assessments
should include measurements of how the Business Plan is performing in
relation the Value Propositions, reports on progress toward the
objectives, inhibiting factors and constraints, and the resources and
needs to overcome them. The Plan must specify who will be responsible
for monitoring and reporting, as well as how the results will be
documented and distributed to management and decision makers.

Measuring or monitoring performance could be presented in the form of
annual reports or presented to subcommittees, leadership groups and
other meetings to which entities belong. The frequency, timeframes, and
details for reporting progress, status or results will vary. While
weekly, monthly, or quarterly reports are typically operations focused
and intended for internal audiences, annual reports are better suited
for management and can document key impacts and performance.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 10a -- Arizona Department of Transportation Strategic Action |
| Plan*                                                                 |
|                                                                       |
| As part of its Strategic Plan, the Arizona Department of              |
| Transportation requires each of its divisions to provide quarterly    |
| status reports on specific goals that have been identified for the    |
| divisions or groups. For each goal, strategies, performance measures, |
| action steps, milestone dates and timeframes, and owners (those       |
| responsible for the actions) are established. The Transportation      |
| Technology Group, which includes the ITS program, reports quarterly   |
| to ADOT management on progress for each of the actions and measures.  |
| In this context, the measures are very specific to system performance |
| and operations, such as:                                              |
|                                                                       |
| Goal: Provide Statewide Incident Management                           |
|                                                                       |
| Strategies:                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   Continue to improve incident management procedures at the Traffic |
|     Operations Center.                                                |
|                                                                       |
| -   Replace pagers and upgrade ADOT's pager system.                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Example 10a -- Arizona Department of Transportation Strategic Action |
| Plan (continued)*                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| Objectives:                                                           |
|                                                                       |
| -   For FY 2005, to provide incident management acknowledgement,      |
|     response, and closure times of 10, 30, and 120 minutes            |
|     respectively in Phoenix, and 15, 60, and 120 minutes in other     |
|     areas.                                                            |
|                                                                       |
| Measures:                                                             |
|                                                                       |
| -   Number of incidents entered into the system                       |
|                                                                       |
| -   Average incident acknowledgement time (urban)                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Average incident acknowledgment time (rural)                      |
|                                                                       |
| -   Average response time (rural)                                     |
|                                                                       |
| -   Average closure time (rural)                                      |
|                                                                       |
| Other goals focus on such items as workforce training, project design |
| and bidding, as well as improving public and political support        |
| through outreach. ADOT staff responsible for the Strategic Plan       |
| quarterly reporting also provide a summary of action items completed, |
| delayed and percent complete. These Strategic Plans are updated each  |
| year, but the interim reporting provides TMC staff as well as State   |
| DOT Managers with regular assessments of how well divisions and       |
| groups are performing against established goals, and how well systems |
| are performing against specific measures.                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Most facets of the TMC Business Plan will likely require longer periods
of time to allow for deployment, integration and operations prior to
assessing progress or impacts of a specific strategy.

There is a risk of overlap between the TMC performance monitoring and
other monitoring activities such as Concept of Operations monitoring and
Operations performance measurement. Such overlap will allow assessment
of multiple processes with the same set of performance measures. It will
be important to coordinate these efforts and realize that the focus of
the TMC Business Plan assessment and monitoring is on Business Plan
impacts, achievements, and milestones.

1.  **Updating the Plan**

The TMC Business Plan will need to be modified and updated on a regular
basis to reflect constraints, to address identified deficiencies and
areas for improvement, or to redefine a TMCs mission and core purpose
based on broader agency goals and priorities. The performance monitoring
process described in the previous section will drive the need for many
of these updates, although shifts in agency goals and priorities, major
reorganizations of staff or divisional responsibilities, or funding
issues could be significant impetus to updating or making substantial
revisions to the Business Plan. The rest of this chapter discusses the
general principles involved in updating the Plan, and presents various
methodologies for agencies to consider when formulating a Plan update
process.

1.  **General Principles**

There are a number of factors that must be considered in developing a
process for updating the TMC Business Plan. These include the following:

-   Update frequency;

-   Factors resulting in the need for updates;

-   Identifying who will make updates;

-   Responsibilities of the Plan maintainer; and

-   Critical components of the Plan that needs updating.

One of the first things to consider in the plan update process is to
determine when the Plan needs to be updated. This can be accomplished
either by setting a fixed timeframe for updates to occur (such as every
five years) or by updating the Plan as conditions necessitate.

One method in determining the update frequency is identifying the key
events that will drive the need for updates. These regionally
significant triggers may include major planning milestones such as:

-   Updates to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP);

-   Updates to the regional ITS Architecture; or

-   Major system deployments such as a new central traffic signal system
    or a new CCTV system.

It is also necessary to assess the staff and resources required to
update the TMC Business Plan. Since this responsibility may be taxing
for a single person, it often makes sense to establish a TMC Business
Plan update committee. This committee should be made up of various
stakeholders familiar with various aspects of the Business Plan such as
planning, operations, management, performance measures, and the
Financial Plan. If a committee is used, it will be necessary to identify
one person to be the coordinator of the update effort.

Another important principle in the update process is knowing what is
expected of the person or committee responsible for maintenance of the
Plan. The committee coordinator or person identified to maintain the TMC
Business Plan will need to be responsible for the following, at a
minimum:

-   Keeping the electronic and/or paper copies of the latest version of
    the TMC Business Plan;

-   Tracking the update schedule and initiating updates to the Plan;

-   Soliciting input from the TMC Business Plan stakeholders before
    major updates; and

-   Reviewing the latest version of the Plan and making revisions to
    reflect any developments or changes since the last update (or
    overseeing the update process if done by an outside consultant).

It is also important for the person or committee responsible for the
updates to know which parts of the TMC Business Plan are most likely to
require frequent updates and reviews. These sections of the Business
Plan will need to be the focus of every update, whereas the other
sections may not change much over time. In most cases, the Strategy
Sets, Organization and Management, and Financial Plan are the parts of
the Business Plan most likely to change and require updating. On the
other hand, the TMC Vision and TMC Business Concept are probably less
likely to change over time.

1.  **Approaches and Methods for Updating the Business Plan**

The previous section reviewed some the basic principles involved with
updating a TMC Business Plan. The next step is to develop an approach
for updating the Plan. The approach and method for updating the TMC
Business Plan is likely to vary for different types of TMCs based on
scale and function. Larger TMCs with many different agencies involved,
or rapidly growing TMCs, are more likely to require a stringent update
procedure than smaller or more mature TMCs. This is because as TMCs grow
and take on new functions, their Business Plans will likely need to be
updated to reflect these changes.

A basic methodology for updating the Plan can be developed by following
the key principles defined above. The first step is to determine when to
update the Plan. If a fixed update cycle is set, it should take into
consideration the key regional triggers and schedule the updates around
these events. For instance, an agency may decide to tie their TMC
Business Plan updates to their local programming process. Under this
scenario, the Plan could be updated approximately six months prior to
the region's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) update.

Another approach could be to update the Plan as conditions necessitate.
This will often occur as a result of a new system being implemented, new
partners being introduced to the TMC, or other operational expansions.
An increase in the scale and/or scope of functional responsibilities of
the TMC will require an update of the TMC Business Plan in context with
the new level of responsibilities. As traveler information systems,
integration with emergency management, or other operational expansions
(e.g. jurisdictional expansion, hours of operation, new partners
collocated in TMC, interfaces with other partners required), or focus
areas are brought on-line, a shift or update of the TMC Business Plan
assess the additional needs and resources required. If the TIP update
process is a significant target date, TMC Business Plan revision should
be complete at least six months prior to the TIP or Capital Improvement
revision so that funding needs in the Business Plan can be considered as
part of these processes. As Chapter 9 described, there is often a long
lead time between an element being added to a TIP and funding actually
becoming available.

Once the need for an update has been identified, the next step is to
identify the person or group of people who will review the TMC Business
Plan and make the necessary revisions. As discussed in the previous
section, this can be assigned to either a single person or an update
committee but if a committee is used, there should be a single person
identified as the coordinator. If an agency does not have the resources
to actually do the work involved with the update, the work could be
outsourced to a consultant. In this scenario, the consultant would be in
charge reviewing the latest version of the Plan and making the necessary
revisions under the direction of the update committee or maintainer.

Finally, there needs to be a general understanding of what
responsibilities are involved in maintaining the TMC Business Plan and
which parts of the Plan are the most likely to change. Aside from
keeping track of when the updates need to occur, the maintainer will
need to keep copies of the latest version of the Plan on hand, solicit
input from the stakeholders, and either make the revisions themselves or
oversee this work if it is done by an outside consultant.

In conclusion, it will be essential that the TMC Business is treated as
a living document and updated and revised on a regular basis. A TMC is a
dynamic entity and its success depends on having a current Business Plan
that can be used as a management resource, not left on a shelf. The
objective should be to maintain the TMC Business Plan as a useful,
relevant document that will enhance the ability of the TMC to meets its
stated goals and objectives, and in turn, meet the objectives of the
agency or region it serves.

Intentionally Left Blank

# INFORM, Long Island, New York -- A Regional TMC Operated through a Contracted Operations Model

11.1 Introduction

The INFORM (INformation FOR Motorists) system is one of the nation\'s
largest and most advanced traffic management systems for motorists. At
the core of INFORM is the Transportation Management Center located at
the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), District 10,
Long Island Regional Headquarters in Hauppauge, New York. Unique system
features, as it relates to business planning, include:

-   Operational and technical support of the system is performed by
    private transportation firms, under contract to the New York State
    Department of Transportation. The contracted operations staff is
    present in the TMC 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

-   INFORM has a significant 'history' of implementation and maintenance
    costs, facilitating the justification process for system expansion.

-   An ITS Strategic Deployment Plan is the primary document used for
    prioritizing system functions, enhancements and expansion, including
    field devices and capabilities within the TMC.

    11.1.1 General System Description

The INFORM corridor currently contains two major freeway facilities and
a number of parallel and crossing arterial streets and freeways. The
system consists of video and electronic traffic surveillance and
monitoring, communications, signing, and control components that provide
motorist information for warning and route diversion, ramp control, and
signal control. INFORM operators also dispatch Highway Emergency Local
Patrol (HELP) vehicles.

11.1.2 General Objectives of System

The objectives of the INFORM system include:

-   Identifying traffic congestion and incidents likely to cause
    congestion; and

-   Providing information to motorists and incident management
    personnel.

    11.2 Design and Implementation

Planning studies completed in the 1970's and 1980's laid the framework
for the \$30 million initial demonstration deployment that first went
operational in 1987. The original system covered 140 centerline miles of
roadway, instrumented with dynamic message signs and vehicle detection
devices, including over 2400 loop detectors. While the initial system
did not include CCTV, over 80 CCTV cameras have since been deployed.

[Geographic Area Covered]{.underline}

All roadways within the INFORM system are operated and maintained by the
New York State Department of Transportation. The system extends from the
Borough of Queens in New York City through Nassau County into Suffolk
County. The INFORM corridor contains two major freeway facilities, I-495
(Long Island Expressway) and the Northern State Parkway/Grand Central
Parkway, plus a number of parallel and crossing arterial streets and
freeways, for a total of 140 miles of controlled roadways. Ultimate
build-out will consist of 320 centerline miles of controlled roadways.

[Participating Agencies and Stakeholders]{.underline}

The NYSDOT is the only agency located at the INFORM TMC. However, INFORM
coordinates, via telephone, with six different law enforcement agencies
responsible for enforcement on the roads covered by the system. Fire and
emergency management agencies are contacted through the respective
police departments. A new TMC will include the collocation of New York
State Police Communications and Dispatch with the NYSDOT. INFORM staff
meets on a quarterly basis with State, county and local city police to
discuss operational issues and to prepare for special events.

INFORM coordinates extensively with TRANSCOM, the regional travel
information provider. Through TRANSCOM, information is shared and
disseminated to transit agencies, other agencies, and to the public.

[TMC Functions]{.underline}

-   Incident Management Coordination

-   Entry of incident information into computer system

-   Entry of dynamic message sign messages based on incident/congestion
    observations and reports

-   Towing dispatch

-   Travel Information Coordination

-   Gathering and distributing information regarding construction and
    lane closures to media and to other agencies

-   Faxing information on travel delays and accidents every 15 minutes
    during peak periods to the 26 partner agencies and the media

[Number and Type of Field Elements]{.underline}

The INFORM system includes:

-   Fiber and coaxial cable -- 140 miles

-   Loop detectors -- 2,400

-   Dynamic message signs -- 113

-   Ramp meters -- 75

-   Intersection traffic signals -- 177

-   Closed-circuit television -- 84

-   Citizen band radios -- 22

-   Help vehicles -- 15

-   Weather monitors -- 9

-   Highway Advisory Radio -- 2

    11.3 Organization and Management Structure

The NYSDOT contracts to a private consulting firm to provide operators
and technical support to INFORM to support its 24-hour operations. The
contracted operations staff includes three operators plus two motorist
assistance patrol staff during peak hours. The operations contractor has
a total staff of nine operations personnel plus three for motorist
assistance patrols.

11.4 Implications for Business Plan

-   INFORM receives strong support for future system expansion and for
    on-going maintenance needs. Because of the highly congested
    conditions on NYSDOT roadways, and the necessity to manage them more
    efficiently, INFORM staff do little 'selling' of the system to
    receive funding for future expansion.\
    \
    NYSDOT regularly allocates funding to INFORM system expansion and
    upgrades. An ITS Deployment Plan, most recently updated in October,
    2003, provides short-term and long-term prioritization for system
    expansion on limited access and arterial facilities. As INFORM
    'receives' money, the next project listed in the deployment plan is
    selected for design and construction. A typical project life cycle
    is approximately two years -- one year to design, and one year to
    build the project. INFORM typically has 3 projects in either design
    or construction at any given time.

-   A common challenge often expressed by TMC managers is that while
    adequate funding is allocated for system expansion, the operations
    and maintenance budgets do not keep pace with the expanding
    operations needs. INFORM managers overcome this challenge by
    demonstrating, with nearly 20 years of historical data, the
    incremental funding required to properly maintain each new
    centerline mile of roadway infrastructure. In their case, INFORM
    receives 7% of the present net worth of the system for operations
    and maintenance.

-   Many TMCs, including INFORM, lack in-house expertise and resources
    to repair technical systems. They are required to out-source
    maintenance to private-sector vendors and technicians. INFORM has
    again been able to utilize 20 years of historical data to establish
    a lump sum repair cost, time and materials included, of nearly every
    system element. Rather than letting maintenance contracts on a time
    and materials basis, INFORM pays a pre-set lump-sum amount for the
    repair.

-   System operators are provided to the NYSDOT by a private sector firm
    through a contract with the NYSDOT, placing the burden of
    recruiting, hiring, training, and firing, if necessary, on the
    private contractor.

Intentionally Left Blank

# Mn/DOT's Regional Transportation Management Center, Roseville, Minnesota -- A Statewide TMC Operated by the Public Sector

12.1 Introduction

The Regional Transportation Management Center (RTMC), located adjacent
to the Metropolitan District headquarters of the Minnesota Department of
Transportation (Mn/DOT) in Roseville, Minnesota, opened for operation in
the spring of 2003. The new center replaces an existing facility, built
in the early 1970's, that was unable to meet the growth demands in the
existing freeway management program, resulting in the inability to:

-   Effectively manage an expanded incident management program;

-   Accommodate all equipment needs for a regional freeway management
    system; and

-   Locate appropriate staff at existing TMC.

    (Regional Transportation Management Center, Implementation Plan,
    March 17, 2000)

The new Minnesota Regional Transportation Center provides a successful
example of how an existing TMC is expanded and 'rebuilt' to accommodate
the ever increasing activities of a viable TMC. The new RTMC combines
the original TMC's singular purpose -- freeway operations -- with
roadway maintenance, traffic signal control for major arterials, and
state police dispatch. In fact, the freeway operations role now takes up
only slightly more than a quarter of the 23 workstations on the RTMC\'s
control room floor; six workstations are dedicated to freeway
operations, eight to police dispatch, six to maintenance, two to Mn/DOT
Metro Division\'s traffic signal control, and one to traffic radio
(Newsletter of the ITS Cooperative Deployment Network, Discussion with
Nick Thompson, July 1, 2003).

12.1.1 General System Description

Collocated within the RTMC facility are the Mn/DOT Metro District
Maintenance Dispatch, MnDOT's office of Traffic, Security, and
Operations, and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety\'s State
Patrol Dispatch, providing a coordinated approach to traffic and
incident management for the Twin Cities' freeways and state arterials.

Though the vast majority of activities conducted at the RTMC pertain to
freeways, the RTMC serves as a back-up center to other regional traffic
management centers located in rural areas of the state. Statewide
traveler information systems, including 511, are operated and maintained
by RTMC staff. A local radio station broadcasts directly from the RTMC.

12.1.2 General Objectives of System

The objective of the Mn/DOT RTMC is to provide motorists with a faster
and safer trip on metro-area freeways through utilization of Intelligent
Transportation Systems, including real-time delivery of traveler
information.

12.2 Design and Implementation

Traffic management efforts in Minnesota began in the 1970's. As systems
were developed and deployed, Mn/DOT saw a need for a central control
facility. In 1972, the original TMC was built to manage freeway
operations in the Twin Cities area. In 2003, a new facility, the RTMC in
Roseville, Minnesota, began operations.

The design process for the new RTMC began in 1997 with the development
of a vision for regional traffic management. A design oversight team,
consisting of representatives from the existing Metro TMC, Maintenance,
and State Patrol, were asked to document existing operations and
projections for future growth. Based upon the concepts and vision that
the project team developed for a shared operation, a set of design
criteria were developed, including criteria for training rooms, tour
accommodations, computer equipment room, and a layout that would
facilitate information sharing while keeping noise and disruption to a
minimum.

[Geographic Area Covered]{.underline}

The Regional Traffic Management Center is responsible for freeway
operations within the Mn/DOT's Metropolitan district. The District
includes seven counties in the Twin Cities area; the two largest cities
in the state, Minneapolis and St. Paul; and numerous cities and
townships with a combined population of more than 2.8 million people.

[Participating Agencies and Stakeholders]{.underline}

Multiple agencies and disciplines cooperatively work toward improved
metropolitan area freeway operations. These include:

-   Minnesota State Patrol Dispatch;

-   Mn/DOT Maintenance Dispatch; and

-   Mn/DOT Traffic Operations.

During the design and planning phases of the RTMC, Mn/DOT staff invited
numerous cities and counties to participate in the RTMC. However, they
all decided, for a variety of reasons, not to participate. While cities,
counties, and Mn/DOT mutually agree that they must work together towards
improved transportation operations, they also routinely work with other
city and county departments, and need to be located near them. A similar
invitation was also issued to the Transit Department, and Mn/DOT does
provide video images to the local transit agency.

[TMC Functions]{.underline}

-   Freeway Traffic Management

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-   Ramp metering

-   CCTV surveillance

-   Dynamic Message Signs

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-   Maintenance Dispatch for freeways and state maintained arterials
    (Mn/DOT facilities)

-   Incident Management

-   Traveler Information

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-   Delivering timely and accurate information during peak hours and
    during major incidents via radio, television, and the internet.

-   The traffic radio station broadcasts directly from the RTMC. Traffic
    reports are provided every 10 minutes during morning and afternoon
    peak periods. During incidents, reports are broadcast continuously.

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-   FIRST (Freeway Incident Response Safety Team) Program. The FIRST
    program includes several bright-green pick up trucks equipped with
    the tools necessary to help stranded motorists and to provide
    traffic control during an incident. FIRST vehicles currently patrol
    8 routes covering 160 miles of centerline roadway between the hours
    of 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Some limited
    coverage is provided on the weekends.

[Number and Type of Field Elements]{.underline}

-   CCTV Cameras -- 285

-   Loop Detectors -- 4,000

-   Ramp Meters -- 419 ramp meters, of which 213 meters have the
    potential to operate during the morning peak and 266 meters have the
    potential to operate in the evening peak

-   Dynamic Message Signs -- 70

-   Lane Control Signals -- 23 mounted outside of the Lowry Hill Tunnel
    in downtown Minneapolis

-   FIRST (Freeway Incident Response Safety Team) Program, including 6
    to 8 freeway patrols patrolling freeways on 8 routes, covering 160
    miles of metro area freeways

    12.3 Implications for Business Plan

[Procurement]{.underline}

Implementation of the RTMC utilized several different types of
procurement methods and techniques, dependent upon the items or services
being procured. Specialized services such as implementation of a video
display system was procured utilizing a system manager approach; while
furniture for the TMC was purchased under an existing state requisition
contract. The procurement techniques utilized include:

-   Sole-source;

-   Engineer/Contractor;

-   Systems Manager;

-   State Contract;

-   State Requisition; and

-   Consultant Agreement.

[Staffing]{.underline}

As with many other TMCs, recruiting, hiring, and training qualified
staff is a challenge. Furthermore, agencies often encounter difficulties
receiving approval for additional personnel to staff the RTMC. Mn/DOT
has, in part, addressed staffing of the RTMC by utilizing a 'rotating of
staff' approach. Freeway system operators are 'shifted-in' from other
departments within the Metropolitan District. Staff who desire the
opportunity to work in the RTMC commit to a 1-year term during which
they generally work 1 or more 2 to 4 hour shifts per week. In addition
to being able to fully staff the TMC, the 'shifting-in' of agency staff
from other departments facilitates increased awareness and understanding
of TMC operations among those with other responsibilities, resulting in
improved coordination and collaboration throughout the district.
University personnel, taking advantage of the data collection and
research opportunities, have also volunteered as shift operators.

# City of Tucson, Arizona, Regional Transportation Control Center -- A Multiple Jurisdiction TMC Operated through a Public-Private Partnership

13.1 Introduction

The Tucson Regional Transportation Control Center (TRTCC) combines the
transportation management resources of the City of Tucson, Pima County,
the State of Arizona, surrounding jurisdictions, and private industry
into a single, integrated operation. Unique to the TRTCC is that the
City of Tucson has entered into a public/private contract where a
private company, MetroNetworks, receives exclusive rights to traffic and
transit data received at the TRTCC. MetroNetworks, in turn, constructed
the TRTCC at the City of Tucson transportation department facility, and
provides operators to the TRTCC at no expense to the City of Tucson. The
arrangement exemplifies an innovative solution that other TMCs may build
upon for the continued operations of a Traffic Management Center.

**13.1.1 General System Description**

The TRTCC provides traveler information to motorists throughout the
greater Tucson metropolitan area. Video images and data from cameras on
I-10, I-19 and city streets enable operators to update radio,
television, and internet reports with the latest traffic conditions
information. The City of Tucson traffic signal system is operated from
this facility as well as the Arizona DOT Freeway Management System
during office hours.

**13.1.2 General Objectives of System**

The primary purposes of the TRTCC are to manage traffic and provide
real-time, accurate travel and traffic information to Tucson area
motorists, and to support operations of the Tucson Freeway Management
System.

13.2 Design and Implementation

The first step towards a regional TMC was the procurement of a common
traffic signal system for metropolitan agencies within the greater
Tucson area, including the City of Tucson, Pima County, Town of Marana,
and the City of South Tucson. To maximize the potential benefits of the
common traffic signal system, a working group identified the need for a
regional traffic management center; however, no single agency was able
to financially support a regional TMC.

To address the funding for operations and maintenance of the TMC, Tucson
entered into a public/private partnership with MetroNetworks, a
private-sector traffic information and media company. Real time video
and data feed from ADOT cameras deployed on Interstate 10, Interstate
19, and city streets is continuously transmitted to the TRTCC. TRTCC
operators, who are MetroNetworks staff, constantly monitor events,
update Internet, radio and television advisories, and visually confirm
reported events by video or by air to determine the actual traffic
impacts. The report is then broadcast over commercial radio and
television, giving commuters reliable information. Traffic operations
(e.g. signal system modifications) are performed by City of Tucson
staff.

[Geographic Area Covered]{.underline}

The TRTCC supports travel information dissemination throughout the
entire Tucson metropolitan area, including the following geographic
jurisdictions:

-   City of Tucson;

-   City of South Tucson;

-   Town of Sahuarita;

-   Pima County;

-   Town of Oro Valley; and

-   Town of Marana.

[Participating Agencies and Stakeholders]{.underline}

Participating agencies and organizations include:

-   City of Tucson Traffic Engineering;

-   MetroNetworks;

-   Arizona Department of Public Safety;

-   City of South Tucson;

-   Town of Sahuarita;

-   Pima County;

-   Town of Oro Valley;

-   Town of Marana;

-   University of Arizona; and

-   Arizona Department of Transportation.

    []{.mark}

[TMC Functions]{.underline}

-   Monitoring of traffic information on Interstate and arterial routes

-   Dissemination of traffic information to the public via radio and
    television

-   Provides secondary control to cameras and dynamic message signs
    during normal business hours. Primary control is maintained at the
    Arizona Department of Public Safety.

    While a central signal system is located at the TMC facility,
    individual agencies perform their own control of traffic signal
    timing plans via remotely located signal system workstations.
    Traffic signal system is operated by City staff.

[Number and Type of Field Elements]{.underline}

-   The TRTCC central signal system control all signals.

-   The TRTCC receives video images from ADOT CCTV cameras on I-10 and
    I-19.

-   The TRTCC has secondary control of eight dynamic message signs
    located on Interstate-10 and Interstate-19.

    13.3 Organization and Management Structure

Development of a consistent revenue stream for the operation and
maintenance of Intelligent Transportation Systems is a challenge for
many public agencies. The City of Tucson Traffic Engineering Department
recognized that they would be unable to provide City personnel to staff
the TRTCC on a regular basis. City Engineering staff searched for
financially sustainable alternatives to a city-operated and maintained
traffic management center. An FHWA-sponsored scanning tour of Traffic
Management Centers provided the impetus for developing an innovative
public-private partnership agreement for the operations of the TRTCC.

Under the agreement, which is similar to a 'concession' or 'franchise'
agreement, the private business entity receives sole and exclusive
rights to the traffic data being provided to the TRTCC. The business
entity operates the center for a profit. In exchange for the use of all
the traffic information in the TRTCC, the City of Tucson receives:

-   Full remodeling of the computer center and Traffic Engineering
    Division offices;

-   Flight time in MetroNetwork's airplane for City staff to observe
    traffic conditions and other transportation issues;

-   Prime time commercial slots for peak-hour transportation
    announcements;

-   Percentage of sales of video data;

-   Special air support to transportation, law enforcement, fire and
    emergency storm response crews; and

-   Personnel to monitor and operate the control center.

The agreement is similar to a "concession" or "franchise" contract as is
commonly procured for the operation of a sports park. Under the
agreement, the business entity operates the center for a profit.

13.4 Implications for Business Plan

-   City of Tucson developed a 'concessionaire' agreement with
    MetroNetworks for the staffing and operations of the TRTCC.
    MetroNetworks provides operators to staff the control room of the
    TRCC a minimum of 6 hours a day, each weekday. MetroNetworks staff
    are also available during 'off-hours' for special events or coverage
    of major incidents. The resources of MetroNetworks, including
    aircraft, significantly enhance the amount and quality of traffic
    information that would otherwise be available.

-   In addition to providing operators, MetroNetworks provides the City
    of Tucson with additional 'non-cash' benefits, including prime time
    commercial slots for peak-hour transportation announcements,
    flight-time in MetroNetworks aircraft, and they remodeled the TMC.

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# Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation (FAST), Clark County, Las Vegas, Nevada -- A Regional TMC Operated Through a Separate Public Sector Operating Entity

14.1 Introduction

The Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation (FAST) combines the
existing metropolitan area signal system (Las Vegas Area Computer
Traffic System, LVACTS) and the region's freeway management system
(FMS), currently under construction under a single roof. The Las Vegas
area's success in combining the operations of the arterial management
system (AMS) and freeway management system under a single organization
provides an example of the planning process for a truly
multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplinary Traffic Management Center.

14.1.1 General System Description

FAST will serve as the regional intelligent transportation system,
serving the multiple jurisdictions of the Las Vegas Valley. The FAST
TMC, upon completion, will serve as the central operations point for the
freeway management, arterial management, and traveler information
systems, and will be a key incident management hub. The TMC will also
provide interfaces of these systems to various other components and
stakeholders including transit, airport, emergency management, and media
services.

The FAST TMC, scheduled for completion in 2005, will be collocated in a
facility with the Southern Command of the Nevada Highway Patrol. The
FAST TMC will occupy approximately 16,200 square feet of the 66,500
square foot building.

14.1.2 General Objectives of System

A regional system combining arterial and freeway traffic operations was
presented early in the FAST TMC planning process. Area stakeholders, who
already had been cooperating for over 20 years through the Las Vegas
Area Computer Traffic System (LVACTS), viewed freeway management as a
natural extension to the existing arterial and traffic signal management
system. Stakeholders recognized the operational advantage of managing
the freeway and arterial systems from a single TMC, and the reduced
maintenance costs that could be realized though shared administrative,
technical, and professional staff resources.

Early in the process, a primary objective of the TMC was to provide a
facility adequate in size and functionality to house the arterial and
freeway management central systems and support staff. As additional
stakeholders were engaged, notably the Nevada Highway Patrol, the system
objectives expanded commensurately. The TMC became multi-disciplinary
and multi-jurisdictional with the primary objective of the FAST TMC to
be to facilitate coordination between NHP dispatch and NDOT in the
response and management of freeway incidents.

14.2 Design and Implementation

Planning for the FAST TMC began in the early phases of the freeway
management system design. While NDOT did not complete a stand-alone TMC
Business Plan, critical facility and financial planning steps were
developed as part of a High Level System Design (HLSD) and during the
FMS design phases.

The HLSD contains two tasks specific to the TMC. The first task included
a summary of FMS functions and features. Detailed interviews with
transportation system managers, and stakeholder "scanning tours", were
conducted.

The second task resulted in the preparation the *FAST Center
Requirements* document. The document includes a discussion of TMC
objectives, space planning, location requirements, and cost. Based upon
the recommendations of the *FAST Center Requirements* document, building
construction, operations and maintenance budgets were included in the
NDOT annual and long-range work program.

[Geographic Area Covered]{.underline}

The FAST TMC serves the entire Las Vegas Valley, including the following
jurisdictions:

-   Nevada Department of Transportation (freeways);

-   City of Henderson;

-   City of Las Vegas;

-   City of North Las Vegas; and

-   Clark County.

[Participating Agencies and Stakeholders]{.underline}

The FAST TMC will be collocated in a joint facility with the Nevada
Highway Patrol, Southern Command. Three separate organizations will be
collocated within NHP/FAST facility:

-   NHP Headquarters and dispatch personnel;

-   FAST (arterial and freeway management systems) personnel; and

-   Las Vegas area Freeway Service Patrol (FSP).

The privately contracted Freeway Service Patrol will have office space
and store their service vehicles on site at the FAST TMC. The primary
supporting agencies include:

-   Nevada Department of Transportation;

-   LVACTS, (the region's existing arterial management system);

-   City of Henderson;

-   City of Las Vegas;

-   City of North Las Vegas;

-   Clark County;

-   Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada; and

-   Nevada Highway Patrol.

[TMC Functions]{.underline}

The FAST TMC will be responsible for:

-   Arterial traffic signal system;

-   Freeway management system;

-   Advanced traveler information system;

-   Archived data system; and

-   Incident Management.

In addition to the FMS and AMS operations, the TMC will house the FAST
maintenance personnel, ITS field equipment repair shops, and storage
facilities for spare parts. NHP dispatch will be collocated within the
TMC, and are able to view CCTV camera images to aid in the dispatch of
appropriate response personnel to the incident scene. As necessary, FAST
operators collaborate with NHP on-scene responders to devise appropriate
traffic control and diversion strategies --including modifications to
ramp metering rates, traffic signal timing modifications, and posting
messages to dynamic message signs.

[Number and type of field elements]{.underline}

The arterial management system (AMS) operates approximately:

-   750 traffic signals (to expand to 1200 signals);

-   More than 80 CCTV cameras; and

-   11 dynamic message signs.

The 17-mile pilot corridor for the freeway management system is
currently under construction, with completion anticipated in the Fall of
2005. Stage 1 of the initial FMS will contain:

-   12 CCTV cameras;

-   3 dynamic message signs;

-   8 loop detectors stations;

-   30 non-intrusive detection stations; and

-   4 ramp meters.

Stage 2 will include 12 new CCTV cameras, integration of 2 existing
cameras, 9 dynamic message signs, 6 additional mainline loop detector
stations, 22 video image detectors, and 74 radar detection locations.
Full build-out will contain nearly 135 centerline miles of freeway
management system.

14.3 Organization and Management Structure

FAST represents a very unique partnership and organizational structure
for regional transportation management and operations. Building on the
successful, multi-jurisdictional LVACTS formal arrangement, it is a
separate, multi-jurisdictional organization, receiving administrative
support from the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
(RTC).

An Operating Management Committee (OMC) consisting of one representative
from each of the participating agencies oversees FAST. Each agency has a
single vote on the OMC, except the Regional Transportation Commission of
Southern Nevada, which is a non-voting member. Valley jurisdictions are
members of the OMC, and these partners include:

-   Regional Transportation Commission;

-   Nevada Department of Transportation;

-   City of Henderson;

-   City of Las Vegas;

-   City of North Las Vegas; and

-   Clark County.

A FAST System Manager reports to the Operating Management Committee and
will be responsible for approving any new traffic management
infrastructure that is to be operated by the FAST system, selecting the
traffic management strategies, and supervising the FAST staff.

FAST staffs are employees of the Regional Transportation Commission,
which serves as the FAST Administrator. The FAST Administrator is the
financial agent for the system responsible for collecting and disbursing
funds for operation and management of the system.

The FAST organizational structure places arterial operations, freeway
operations, and maintenance under separate managers. Other
professionals, such as traffic and electrical engineering support, are
under the supervision of the System Manager. This structure requires the
operational managers to make maintenance and other requests to the
Maintenance Supervisor, and ultimately to the System Manager. By
separating maintenance activities from the supervisory authority of the
arterial and freeway operations managers, competing interests between
freeway and arterial system managers are minimized. Maintenance and
other supporting professional activities, including traffic engineering,
are prioritized ultimately by the System Manager, who is ultimately
responsible for arterials and freeways. As many ITS field devices are
used both on surface streets and freeways, shared maintenance permits a
better trained and equipped staff. The structure encourages the System
Manager to establish priorities regardless of roadway system.

14.4 Implications for Business Plan

-   An existing organization, the Las Vegas Area Computer Traffic System
    served as the foundation for the multi-jurisdictional,
    multi-disciplinary FAST TMC. The LVACTS, which began operations in
    the early 1980's, is the traffic signal system for the Las Vegas
    valley and has become a model for regional cooperation. Members of
    LVACTS include City of Las Vegas, Clark County, City of North Las
    Vegas, City of Henderson, Nevada DOT, and the Regional
    Transportation Commission. Partner agencies were part of a formal
    agreement that outlined organizational structure, oversight, and
    operational responsibilities. This LVACTS Agreement provided the
    basis for the FAST Agreement, which has been modified to include
    additional partners, roles, operational functions, and expanded the
    terms and funding formula of the Agreement to meet the freeway
    management and operations components.

-   A primary purpose of the FAST TMC is to share the operations and
    maintenance of traffic management facilities in the Las Vegas area
    among those agencies involved. FAST will provide maintenance of
    traffic management infrastructure including the TMC and
    communications hardware. Maintenance of field devices can be handled
    by FAST or by individual agencies if they so desire. It is
    envisioned that traffic signals will be maintained by each
    individual agency while CCTV cameras, dynamic message signs, video
    detection and trailblazer signs will be maintained by FAST.

-   An Operating Management Committee consisting of one representative
    from each of the participating agencies oversees FAST. Each agency
    has a single vote on the Operating Management Committee, except the
    Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County, which is a
    non-voting member. The FAST system manager reports to the Operating
    Management Committee and is responsible for approving any new
    traffic management infrastructure that is to be operated by the FAST
    system, selecting the traffic management strategies, and supervising
    the FAST staff. FAST staff are employees of the Regional
    Transportation Commission, which serves as the FAST Administrator.
    The FAST Administrator is the financial agent for the system
    responsible for collecting and disbursing funds for operation and
    management of the system.

-   Operating budgets are developed annually by the FAST System Manager,
    and are presented to the OMC. The freeway management system budget
    is also presented to NDOT, and the arterial budget to the Regional
    Transportation Commission (RTC). If the arterial budget exceeds the
    RTC programmed allocation, local jurisdictions are requested to meet
    the shortfall based on a "fair-share" formula which is largely based
    on the number of traffic management infrastructure field devices
    located within each participating agency\'s jurisdiction that are
    operated and maintained by FAST. This FAST funding structure is
    based on the successful LVACTS fair-share formula that has been
    sustaining the arterial management system for more than a decade.
    This funding structure and formula are outlined in the FAST
    Agreement, which is signed by all partner agencies.

# California Department of Transportation, District 12, Orange County, Traffic Management Center -- a Regional TMC operated by the Public Sector

15.1 Introduction

The California Department of Transportation District 12 Traffic
Management Center is the center of operations for freeway and highway
facilities throughout the entire region of Orange County, California.
The district encompasses a metropolitan area of 34 cities, 2.8 million
people, and 137 highway miles, excluding tollways, in a nearly 800
square mile area.

Statewide, Caltrans has teamed extensively with the California Highway
Patrol in the planning, design, implementation, and operations of a
system of Traffic Management Centers. To provide a statewide approach to
TMC planning and implementation, Caltrans has developed over-arching
guiding principles and goals for how TMCs need to operate and function
as part of regional transportation systems throughout the state. These
principles and goals developed at the statewide level provide for enough
flexibility for the various Caltrans District TMCs to be able to
structure their operations to suit the unique needs of the Districts
they serve, whether its hours of operation, specific functions (which
will vary depending on how heavily urbanized the District is, and even
key partnerships with other agencies. The District 12 TMC is exemplary
of the benefits that can be realized when multiple agencies, and in
particular the Highway Patrol, team to improve the management and
response to incidents on the freeway and highway system.

15.1.1 General System Description

The District 12 TMC gathers real-time information from multiple sources,
including in-pavement sensors, CCTV cameras, ramp meter sensors,
earthquake monitors, 911 telephone calls, officers on patrol, Caltrans
maintenance crews, reports from motorists' cellular phones, and
commercial traffic reporters. TMC Operators, in close coordination with
CHP dispatchers, implement an appropriate incident response.

2.  General Objectives of System

California has implemented a standardized development of traffic
management systems, including traffic management centers. The *TMC
Master Plan*, updated in 1997, and supplemented in 2002, defines the
mission and vision, goals and objectives, development process, costs and
benefits, regionalization, partnerships, management structure,
operations, ITS and national architecture, and deployment milestones for
the statewide system of traffic management centers. The TMC Master Plan
states as goals of the TMC:

-   To see the future potential and provide better service;

-   Standardize systems, operations, and facilities to ensure
    cost-effectiveness, uniform functionality statewide, and to achieve
    economies of scale;

-   Establish a regionalized structure that will provide an integrated,
    statewide framework for transportation management; and

-   Enhance public and private partnerships that promote multimodal
    transportation activities and services.

Supporting these goals are objectives, including:

-   Establish communications links to all TMCs to ensure remote
    operations during an emergency;

-   Be proactive in developing new partnerships with other
    transportation stakeholders; and

-   Create and maintain a reliable real-time traveler information
    system.

Orange County staff specifically stated their objectives of the District
12 TMC as:

-   Detect incidents as quickly as possible; and

-   Reduce freeway congestion.

    15.2 Design and Implementation

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) operates and
maintains a statewide system of traffic management centers. The state
has directed that every Caltrans district will have a TMC, though the
hours of operations, staffing, physical building size, and location will
vary dependent upon local conditions and needs.

Caltrans recognizes the value of collocation of transportation and
public safety. In fact, every Caltrans TMC must be able to accommodate
California Highway Patrol presence, though the scope of the presence
will vary depending on local needs. As an example, a TMC located in a
large urban area will accommodate CHP presence during peak traffic
congestion periods while a rural TMC may only have CHP presence during
major emergencies.

[Geographic Area Covered]{.underline}

The District 12 Traffic Management Center provides operations for the
freeways throughout the entirety of Orange County.

[Participating Agencies and Stakeholders]{.underline}

In addition to the California Department of Transportation, the
California Highway Patrol dispatchers are located in the TMC.

While no other jurisdictions or agencies are collocated within the TMC,
communications have been established with three cities, and a toll road
operator:

-   City of Anaheim -- D12 TMC views cameras and changeable message
    signs, serving as secondary control;

-   City of Santa Ana -- D12 receives images of cameras located on
    arterials;

-   City of Irvine -- D12 receives images of cameras located on
    arterials; and

-   Orange County Transportation Authority (Toll Road Operator) -- D12
    TMC provides secondary control of cameras located on 12 miles of
    toll roads.

[TMC Functions]{.underline}

-   Freeway Operations

-   Caltrans Dispatch

-   CHP Dispatch

-   Freeway Service Patrol Fleet Management

-   Centralized Ramp Meter Management

-   Media Information

-   Highway Advisory Radio Broadcast

-   Travel Information

-   Demonstration/Research/Training

-   Emergency Operations Center

-   Local Agencies Intertie

-   Essential Service Standards Facility

[Number and Type of Field Elements]{.underline}

-   CCTV Cameras -- 138 operational, 55 under construction, 100 in
    design

-   Loop Detectors -- 536 stations

-   Ramp Meters -- 347

-   Changeable Message Signs -- 55 operating, 20 in design

-   Portable Changeable Message Sign Trucks -- 6

-   Highway Advisory Radio Transmitters -- 2

    ![Organizational Chart showing heirarchy of (from top to bottom)
    District Director, District Division Chief Operations, Traffic
    Manager, TMC Supervisor, TMC Operations, Division Chief, Area
    Commander, CHP Employee.](media/image20.wmf){width="2.0in"
    height="1.2397637795275591in"}![Organizational Chart showing
    heirarchy of (from top to bottom) District Director, District
    Division Chief Operations, Traffic Manager, TMC Supervisor, TMC
    Operations, Division Chief, Area Commander, CHP
    Employee.](media/image21.wmf){width="2.0in"
    height="2.0964566929133857in"}15.3 Organization and Management
    Structure

The District 12 TMC is part of the Caltrans statewide system of Traffic
Management Centers. Caltrans has divided the state into three TMC
regions -- San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and Los Angeles, with
each region containing a Regional Traffic Management Center, and one or
more Urban TMCs. The Orange County District 12 TMC is an Urban TMC, with
communications established with the Regional TMC in Los Angeles.

The D12 TMC is staffed entirely by Caltrans and CHP employees. While
working closely together, the CHP and Caltrans employees fall within
separate lines of authority.

Other positions at the TMC include:

-   TMC Communications Dispatchers -- Caltrans maintenance dispatch;

-   Lane closures coordinator;

-   Traffic signal operations;

-   Traffic management team; and

-   Freeway Service Patrol.

    15.4 Implications for Business Plan

-   Agencies may need to revise their business plan as conditions
    evolve, as demonstrated by the Caltrans experience. In 1993,
    Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol jointly developed and
    approved the first TMC Master Plan. The purpose of the plan was to
    serve as a blueprint for the coordinated development and deployment
    of TMCs statewide. In 1997, the TMC Master Plan was revised to
    include a standardized development process of traffic management
    systems, including traffic management centers. In 2002, Caltrans
    supplemented the 1997 TMC Master Plan with the TMC Development
    Considerations and Constraints document.

-   The 1997 TMC Master Plan defines a mission and vision, goals and
    objectives, development process, costs and benefits,
    regionalization, partnerships, management structure, operations, ITS
    and national architecture, and deployment milestones for the
    statewide system of traffic management centers. The Master Plan
    emphasizes the necessity of statewide standardization in the
    establishment of a statewide network of TMCs that work
    interdependently with local agencies.

-   The 1997 Master Plan requires TMCs to perform a needs analysis to
    justify initial development of a TMC, or to expand the role and
    operations of an existing TMC. The needs analysis should include
    staffing and space needs, funding sources to be identified, and
    approval of a detailed project information report.

-   The 2002 supplement revisited the development phases of TMCs --
    basic, intermediate, and advanced -- proposed in the 1997 TMC Master
    Plan. These initial stratifications were based on the functions that
    TMCs perform, their equipment, and staffing levels. The 2002
    supplement recognized that TMC activities vary in complexity, rather
    than whether a particular function is performed or not. The revision
    recognizes that each TMC serves the same basic, core functions, and
    that categorizing TMCs into rural and urban is not a particularly
    useful tool in guiding the development of TMCs.

-   The 2002 revision eliminated the distinction between urban and rural
    TMCs, as well as the nomenclature of urban, rural, or satellite
    operations centers. Rather, the document recommends that each
    Caltrans district have a TMC, outlines three TMC regions, and three
    regional TMCs.

-   The TMC Master Plan emphasizes the role of partnerships to maximize
    the efficiency of existing transportation facilities, including the
    roles of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, local agency TMCs,
    local emergency responders, mass transit, academia, the media, FHWA,
    and private entities.

List of References

511 Vision: An Essential and Sustainable Service by 2010. 511 Deployment
Coalition, 2002.

ADOT/ITD Strategic Action Plan. Transportation Technology Group, Arizona
Department of Transportation, 2005.

Background Technical Memorandum, FAST Center Requirements. Prepared for:
Nevada Department of Transportation. Prepared by: Kimley-Horn and
Associates in March 1999.

Bhatt, Mahesh. Caltrans District 12. Personal Interview. July 2004.

Bi-State St. Louis Area Intelligent Vehicle Highway System Planning
Study. Prepared for: Missouri Highway and Transportation Department.
Prepared by: Edwards and Kelsey, Inc. in April 1994.

Caltrans Transportation Management Center Master Plan. Caltrans,
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California Transportation Plan 2025 Draft. Caltrans, December 2004.

Delivering the Future of Transportation: The National Intelligent
Transportation Systems Program Plan: A Ten-Year Vision. The Intelligent
Transportation Society of America, January 2002.

Demetsky, Mike et.al. University of Virginia. TMS Performance
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Fiscal Years 2005-2009 Strategic Plan. Arizona Department of
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Freeway Management System, Addendum to Functional Design Technical
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of Transportation. Prepared by: Kimley-Horn and Associates in February
1990.

Intelligent Transportation Systems Strategic Business Plan. Prepared
for: Colorado Department of Transportation. Prepared by: Dye Management
Group Inc. in March 2001.

-   Intelligent Transportation Systems Benefits and Costs 2003 Update.
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    <http://www.mitretek.org/its/benecost/BC_Update_2003/index.html#app_a>

MAG Regional Concept of Transportation Operations Final Report. Prepared
for: Maricopa Association of Governments. Prepared by: Kimley-Horn and
Associates in November 2003.

MAG Regional Concept of Transportation Operations Technical Memorandum
No. 5/6. Prepared for: Maricopa Association of Governments. Prepared by:
Kimley-Horn and Associates in January 2004.

Maricopa County Department of Transportation Traffic Management Center
Implementation Plan Action Plan. Prepared for Maricopa County Department
of Transportation. Prepared by: Kimley-Horn and Associates in October
2001.

Nassi, Richard. City of Tucson Traffic Engineer, Regional Transportation
Control Center. Personal Interview. July 2004.

Nebraska ITS/CVO Business Plan. Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles,
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Division, and Nebraska Motor Carrier Association, August 1998.

Organizing For Regional Transportation Operations: An Executive Guide.
Federal Highway Administration, Institute Of Transportation Engineers,
August 2001. FHWA-OP-01-137.

Rohleder, Neil. Las Vegas Freeway and Arterial Management System.
Personal Interview. July 2004.

Sosa, Emelio. New York State Department of Transportation. Personal
Interview. July 2004.

Thompson Nick. Minnesota Department of Transportation. Personal
Interview. July 2004.

TMC Master Plan. Caltrans Traffic Operations Program, December 1997.

TMS Transportation Management Centers: Development Considerations and
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Machines Corporation in December 2002.

Traffic Control System Operations -- Installation, Management, and
Maintenance Institute of Transportation Engineers, 2000.

Traffic Management Division Five Key Missions. Utah Department of
Transportation, 2005. <http://www.udot.utah.gov/index.php/m=c/tid=191> .

Transportation Management Center Concepts of Operation Implementation
Guide ITS Joint Program Office, Federal Highway Administration, December
1999.

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Wichita Falls TxDOT District Concept of Operations. TxDOT. Report No.
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[^1]: Urban-suburban regions such as the Delaware Valley

[^2]: To go beyond monitoring and information dissemination, to actively
    influence traffic movement, to deploy services, and to directly
    assist incident management