U.S. Department

of Transportation

Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure

Benefits:

Expected and Experienced

January 1996
Intelligent

Transportation

Systems (ITS)

Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure

Benefits:

Expected and Experienced

Prepared under contract by The MITRE Corporation

Sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration

January 1996

Washington, DC
Executive Summary

The national Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) program started with the Intelligent

Vehicle Highway Systems Act included in the Intermodal Surface Transportation

Efficiency Act (ISTEA) in 1991. Related activities ongoing at that time as well as new

efforts have been supported through this program both technically and financially. To

move ITS from research, prototyping, and pilot projects into routine usage, decision

makers at the corporate, state, regional, and local levels need reliable information about

the contribution that ITS products can make toward meeting the demand for safe and

efficient movement of people and goods.

The experience of the US DOT has led to the definition of an Intelligent Transportation

Infrastructure (ITI) consisting of traffic detection and monitoring, communications, and

control systems required to support a variety of ITS products and services in metropolitan

and rural areas. Whether infrastructure is deployed by the public sector, the private

sector, or a combination of the two depends on the locality. The IT1 provides the

building blocks needed to effectively deploy and operate, as locally appropriate:

- Traffic Signal Control Systems

- Freeway Management Systems

- Transit Management Systems

- Incident Management Programs

- Electronic Fare Payment Systems

- Electronic Toll Collection Systems

- Multimodal Traveler Information Systems.

While the total picture is not clear regarding how the ITS user services enabled by the IT1

relate to all transportation needs, partial results are available from early ITS projects and

related deployments. Significant benefits have been recorded in areas such as accident

reduction, time savings, transit customer service, roadway capacity, emission reduction,

fuel consumption, and vehicle stops. Analysis and simulation based on limited tests have

predicted the potential for greater benefit with more extensive deployment of more

mature products.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Freeway Management Systems 3

Traffic Signal Systems 4

Incident Management Programs 6

Multimodal Traveler Information Systems 8

Transit Management Systems 11

Electronic Toll Collection Systems (ETC) 13

Electronic Fare Payment 14

Integrated Systems 16

List of Tables and Figures

Figure 1 - Expected Time Savings from ITI System Components 2

Table 1 - Summary of Freeway Management System Benefits 3

Table 2 - Summary of Traffic Signal Systems Benefits 5

Table 3 - Results from Abilene Signal System Upgrade 6

Table 4 - Summary of Incident Management Program Benefits 7

Table 5 - Summary of Traveler Information System Benefits 9

Table 6 - Summary of Transit Management System Benefits 12

Table 7 - Summary of Electronic Toll Collection System Benefits 13

Table 8 - Calculation of Emissions Reduction Through Use of ETC 15

Table 9 - Summary of Electronic Fare Payment System Benefits 16
Introduction

Over three decades ago, precursors to some of the user services included in today’s

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) umbrella began appearing in America’s urban

areas. Implementations have since become more flexible, more capable, and more

integrated. Isolated ramp meters have developed into freeway management systems in

metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Houston, San Antonio, and Seattle. Other cities,

such as Detroit and Atlanta, are building or expanding traffic management centers that

include freeway management components. Incident management programs that began as

courtesy patrols and CB monitoring have incorporated new technologies and are

increasingly being integrated into transportation management centers. Technologies

incorporated include motorist call boxes, cellular phone call-in, loop detectors, live video

and, more recently, microwave, ultrasonic, and image processing techniques. Transit

fleet management has also evolved from managers with radios and clipboards to dispatch

centers receiving real-time Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) information derived from

sign-post or Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment. Electronic fare payment is

expanding from magnetic strip farecard use in Washington, D. C., METRO and San

Francisco BART rail systems to systems that accept multi-purpose magnetic stripe cards,

commercial credit cards, and non-contact electronic transaction devices. Electronic toll

collection systems are being installed both in urban areas and on rural tollways.

The US DOT has defined an Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure (ITI) consisting of

traffic detection and monitoring, communications, and control systems required to

support a variety of ITS products and services in metropolitan and rural areas. Whether

infrastructure is deployed by the public sector, the private sector, or a combination of the

two depends on the locality. The ITI provides the building blocks needed to effectively

deploy and operate, as locally appropriate:

- Traffic Signal Control Systems

- Freeway Management Systems

- Transit Management Systems

- Incident Management Programs

- Electronic Fare Payment Systems

- Electronic Toll Collection Systems

- Multimodal Traveler Information Systems.

ITI implementations have demonstrated benefits to address ITS national program goals in

the areas of safety, productivity, efficiency, and environmental impact. Benefits are

derived from a smoother traffic flow with less delay from signals, incidents, and traffic

queues. Most aspects of the ITI contribute to time savings. Figure 1 summarizes the

range of time savings that can be expected from ITI systems. Time savings are relative to

conditions that the infrastructure elements are intended to address.

Freeway Management Systems

Freeway management systems have demonstrated benefits over an extended period of

time and in several measurable Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs), including travel time,

travel speed, freeway capacity, collision experience, fuel consumption, and emissions.

Table 1 - Summary of Freeway Management System Benefits

Travel time

Travel speed

Freeway Capacity

Accident rate

Fuel consumption

Emissions (Detroit study)

Decrease 20% - 48%

Increase 16% - 62%

Increase 17% - 25%

Decrease 15% - 50%

Decrease fuel used in congestion 4 1%

Decrease CO emissions 122,000 tons annually

Decrease HC emissions 1400 tons annually

Decrease NOx emissions 1200 tons annually

A longitudinal study of the freeway management system including ramp metering in the

Seattle, Washington, area over a six-year period1 shows a growth in traffic of 10% to

100% along various segments of I-5 while speeds have remained steady or increased up

to 48%, and accident rates have fallen consistently to a current level of 62% compared to

the base period. The improvements have occurred while average metering delays at each

ramp have remained at or below 3 minutes. The Minnesota DOT’s Traffic Management

Center, which operates freeways in the Minneapolis area, has produced the following

experience2: Capacity is 2200 vplph compared with 1800 prior to the use of the ramp

meters. Average speeds have risen from 34 mph to 46 mph. Accident rates on I-35W

before management were 42 1 per year and dropped 308 per year. Annual accident

experience on I-35 W after management is 2.11 collisions/MVM compared to 3.40 before

management was instituted. A survey of traffic management centers using ramp

metering3 reported similar findings. In addition to speed increases of 16% - 62% and

throughput increases of 17% - 25% that were frequently used to justify the installations in

a benefit/cost sense, accidents in freeway systems under freeway management were

reduced between 15% and 50%. While some other freeway improvements were

implemented during the study periods, the combination of geometric, vehicle, and

operational procedures showed significant reductions in accident rate. The initial freeway

management system in Minneapolis was developed as a demonstration project in 1968.

1 Henry, K., and Meyhan, O., 6 Year FLOW Evaluation, Washington State DOT, District 1, January 1989.

2 Minnesota DOT Freeway Operations Meeting Minutes, January 1994.

3 Robinson, J. and Piotrowicz, G., Ramp Metering Status in North America, 1995 Update, Federal Highway

Administration, June 1995.
Expansions are justified by user benefits and are evaluated against other no-build

options4. As an approximate comparison, freeway expansion costs $2 million per lanemile while a complete implementation of an urban corridor costs $500,000 per freeway

mile plus the cost of a freeway management center 5. If the existing freeway is four lanes,

installing a TMC could add about half the capacity of an additional lane at about l/8 the

cost.

As a result of reduction in delay and travel time, emissions will also be reduced.

According to analysis in considering expansion of the Detroit freeway management

center6, delay under incident conditions would be reduced by about 40%, resulting

annually in a reduction of 41.3 million gallons of fuel used (42%) and a reduction of

carbon monoxide emissions by 122,000 tons, hydrocarbon emissions by 1400 tons, and

oxides of nitrogen emissions by 1200 tons. These estimates assume the freeway

management system would not change vehicle miles traveled. This analysis established

the benefits of expanding the system in 1988; however, the expansion could not proceed

due to budgetary constraints and competing projects. The key element in allowing this

expansion was the availability of Congestion Management/Air Quality funding

authorized under ISTEA7.

Traffic Signal Systems

Transportation authorities have been installing progressively more flexible traffic signal

systems since the first computerized systems were commissioned in the early 1960s.

Benefits have been reported in areas including travel time, travel speed, vehicle stops,

delay, fuel consumption, and emissions.

Among the earliest reported benefits, a 1966 project in Wichita Falls, Texas, reported a

16% reduction in stops, a 31% reduction in vehicle delay, an 8.5% reduction in accidents,

and an increase in speeds of over 50%8. This analysis compared the computerized system

to the single-dial system it replaced.

4 Carlson, G., Minnesota DOT, telephone interview, November 1995.

5 ”Comparison of Conceptual System Design and Costs: ITS Surveillance and Communication

Applications: Rural vs Urban Freeway Corridors,” prepared by Edwards and Kelsy for the 1-95 Corridor

Coalition, September 1995.

6 Early Deployment of ATMS/ATIS for Metropolitan Detroit, prepared for Michigan DOT by Rockwell

International, Dunn Engineering, and Hubbel, Roth & Clark, February 1994.

7 Bremer, R., Michigan DOT, telephone interview, October 1995.

8 Wilshire, R. L., “The Benefits of Computer Traffic Control,” Traffic Engineering, April 1969.

4
Table 2 - Summary of Traffic Signal Systems Benefits

Travel time Decrease 8% - 15%

Travel speed Increase 14% - 22%

Vehicle stops Decrease 0% - 35%

Delay Decrease 17% - 37%

Fuel consumption Decrease 6% - 12%

Emissions Decrease CO emissions 5% - 13%

Decrease HC emissions 4% - 10%

The Fuel Efficient Traffic Signal Management (FETSIM) and Automated Traffic

Surveillance and Control (ATSAC) programs in California showed benefit/cost ratios of

58: 19 and 9.8: 1 10 respectively. ATSAC, which includes computerized signal control,

reported a 13% reduction in travel time, 35% reduction in vehicle stops, 14% increase in

average speed, 20% decrease in intersection delay, 12.5% decrease in fuel consumption,

10% decrease in HC, and a 10% decrease in CO.

A Texas state program called Traffic Light Synchronization (TLS) has installed 166

systems in phase I and an additional 73 in phase II. TLS analysis shows a benefit/cost

ratio of 62: 111. The TLS was funded through Oil Overcharge funds made available

through the Texas Governor’s Energy Office. The City of Abilene installed a closed-loop

signal system with hardware interconnect and modem link back to a shop computer. A

portion of the funding for the Abilene upgrade came from a bond issue that specifically

included the upgrade and the remainder came through the TLS program12. The system

upgrade was partly to move traffic better and partly to replace an antiquated system that

was causing difficulty in locating replacement parts. The portion of funding on the bond

issue competed with other projects in the public works budget for priority. The City of

Abilene report13 indicates overall impacts as shown in Table 3.

The FAST-TRAC program in the Detroit area, which includes the SCATS adaptive signal

control system, has seen the virtual elimination of certain types of accidents14 as a result

9 Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, “Fuel-efficient Traffic Signal Management:

Three Years of Experience, 1983 - 1985,” Berkeley, CA: ITS Publications: 1986.

l0 Shahrzad Amiri of LACMTA, telephone interview quoting earlier studies, April 1995.

11 Benefits of the Texas Traffic Light Synchronization Grant Program I; Volume I, TxDOT/TTI Report

#0258- 1, Texas DOT, Austin, Texas, October 1992.

12 Krieg, J., City of Abilene, telephone interview, November 1995.

13 Evaluation Study, Buffalo Gap Road, Abilene Signal System, prepared for the City of Abilene, Texas, by

Orcutt Associates, 1994.

14 "Overview of the FAST-TRAC IVHS Program: Early Results and Future Plans,” Brent Bair, James

Barbaresso, and Beata Lamparski in Towards an Intelligent Transport System, Proceedings of the First

5
Table 3 - Results from Abilene Signal System Upgrade

Travel time -13.8%

Travel speed 22.2%

Number of stops 0.3%

Delay -37.1%

Fuel consumption -5.5%

CO Emissions -12.6%

HC Emissions -9.8%

Nox Emissions 4.2%

of the installation of a traffic management system and related improvement to intersection

geometries and signal phasing. Injury accidents have decreased 6%, injuries decreased

27%, serious injuries decreased 100% during the study period, and left turn accidents

decreased 89% while peak hour, peak direction speeds increased 19% and intersection

delay decreased by up to 30%. During the study period, minor and property damage only

accidents increased (21% in total number of accidents) and delays on minor street

intersection approaches increased. FAST-TRAC is being deployed using designated

federal funds.

The city of Toronto evaluated the SCOOT signal control system on two corridors and the

CBD network, totaling 75 signals15. During an evaluation performed over a two-month

period comparing the SCOOT implementation to a “best effort” fixed timing plan, the

network showed decreases in travel time of 8%, in vehicle stops of 22%, in vehicle delay

of 17%, in fuel consumption of 6%, in carbon monoxide emission of 5%, and in

hydrocarbon emissions of 4%.

Simulation and analysis have predicted that traffic adaptive signal controls could further

reduce delays and emissions compared to the currently implemented systems under

certain conditions. In simulations performed for the National ITS Architecture Program

using non-proprietary adaptive algorithms, delay reductions of well over 20% were

observed when traffic patterns deviated from predicted levels16.

Incident Management Programs

Incident management programs also follow an evolutionary route to full deployment.

Frequently, incident management programs become part of the mission in expanding

World Congress on Applications of Transport Telematics and Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems,

December 1994.

15 Siemens Automotive, USA, “SCOOT in Toronto,” Traffic Technology International, Spring 1995.

16 G1assco, R., “Potential Benefits of Advanced Traffic Management Systems,” The MITRE Corporation,

ITS-L-141, November, 1995.

6
freeway management centers. Many of the existing incident management systems such

as the Highway Helper Program in Minneapolis, the Incident Management component of

the CHART Program in Maryland, and the Emergency Traffic Patrol in Illinois began as

“eyes and ears” of motorists, incorporating technology such as cellular call-in, loop

detectors, video monitoring, and video detectors as technology and budget constraints

allowed. Incident management programs show benefits in incident clearance times and

are expected to reduce fatalities.

Table 4 - Summary of Incident Management Program Benefits

Incident clearance time Decrease 8 minutes for stalls

Decrease wrecker response time 5 - 7 minutes

Travel time Decrease 10% - 42%

Fatalities Decrease 10% in urban areas

Incident management programs show concrete promise of reducing the 50% - 60% of

traffic congestion attributable to incidents. The Institute of Transportation Engineers has

estimated 10% - 42% decreases in travel time for incident management programs

included in freeway management systems17. The Maryland CHART program is in the

process of expanding to more automated monitoring with lane sensors and video cameras.

CHART funding comes from a variety of sources including the state budget process and

application for federal programs such as Congestion Management/Air Quality funding

and Interstate Discretionary funding18. This program is expected to have about a 10: 19

benefit/cost ratio according to draft analyses. The Minnesota Highway Helper Program20

reduces the duration of a stall (the most frequent type of incident, representing 84% of

service calls) by 8 minutes. Using representative numbers, annual benefit through

reduced delay totals $1.4 million for a program that costs $600,000 to operate. The

reduction in secondary collisions attributable to the incident management program is

difficult to estimate due to the coordinated freeway management program in the area.

Using video monitoring can also aid the clearance of an incident. The City of

Richardson, Texas, tied the operator of the city’s towing concession into the roadway

monitoring network with an investment of roughly $200. Using the information provided

by the camera, the tow truck dispatcher can position appropriate equipment near the

collision site prior to the request for service from the police department. This advance

17 Meyer, M., ed., A Toolbox for Alleviating Traffic Congestion, Institute of Transportation Engineers,

Washington, D.C., 1989.

18 Points-du-Jour, J., Maryland State Highway Administration, telephone interview, November 1995.

19 Kuciemba, S., Maryland State Highway Administration, telephone interview, April 1995.

20 Highway Helper Summary Report - Twin Cities Metro Area, Minnesota DOT, Report # TMC 07450-

0394, July 1994.

7
notice reduces the response time for incident clearance by 5 - 7 minutes on average and

greatly improves the ability to send equipment that will handle the active incident21.

In addition to delay reduction benefits, incident management programs are expected to

benefit safety and emission reduction efforts. An analysis of the accident statistics on

several California arterials and expressways shows that secondary accidents represent an

increase in accident risks of over 600%22, without controlling for climatic or other

conditions. According to draft analysis based on data from the Fatal Accident Reporting

System, reduction of incident notification times on urban freeways from the current

average of 5.2 minutes to 3 minutes would result in a fatality reduction of 10% annually,

or a national total of 2 12 lives if all freeways nationwide were under such a program.23. A

reduction to 2 minutes would reduce fatalities by 308 annually. For comparison, the San

Antonio TransGuide project has an incident detection goal of two minute.24

Multimodal Traveler Information Systems

Traffic and traveler information are popular with consumers, and systems that provide

such information are producing data that anticipate system benefit when wider

deployment occurs. Traveler information programs using variable message signs and

highway advisory radio are funded out of highway operations budgets. Programs using

kiosks and in-vehicle devices are in the pilot project stage and are funded through

operational testing programs. Telephone information is making the transition from pilot

to operational status. Studies have produced benefits in reducing travel delay and travel

time, and predict benefits in reducing emissions and fuel consumption.

INFORM (Information for Motorists) is an integrated corridor on Long Island, New

York, including information via variable message signs (VMSs) and control using ramp

meters on parallel expressways and some coordination on arterials. The program

stretches back to concept studies in the early 1970s and a major feasibility study

performed from 1975 to 1977. The implementation progressed in phases starting with

VMSs, followed by ramp meters in 1986 and 1987, and completed implementation by

early 1990.

21 Edwards, M., Lewis Wrecker Service, telephone interview, December 1995.

22 1ntelligent Transportation Systems Impact Assessment Framework: Final Report, Volpe National

Transportation Systems Center, September 1995.

23 Evanco, W., “The Benefits of Rapid Incident Detection on Accident Fatalities,” The MITRE Corporation,

unpublished paper.

24 McGowan, P., and Irwin, P., “TransGuide Transportation Guidance System: Technology in Motion,”

Texas DOT, November 1995.

8
Table 5 - Summary of Traveler Information System Benefits

Travel time

Delay

Fuel consumption

Emissions

Decrease 17 minutes (20%) in incident conditions

Decrease 8%,- 20% for equipped vehicles

Decrease up to 1900 vehicle-hours per incident

Decrease 6% - 12%

Decrease VOC 25% from affected vehicles

Decrease HC emissions 33% from affected vehicles

Decrease NOx emissions 1.5% from affected vehicles

Estimates of delay savings due to motorist information25 reach as high as 1900 vehiclehours for a peak period incident and 300,000 vehicle-hours in incident related delay

annually. Drivers will divert from 5% - 10% of the time when passive (no recommended

action) messages are displayed and twice that when messages include diversion

messages. Convenient alternate routes also impact diversion. Drivers will divert starting

several ramps prior to the incident, with any one exit ramp carrying 3% - 4% of total

approaching volume. This higher volume represents an increase in ramp usage of 40% -

70%. Accident frequency decreased slightly during the study, but data were insufficient

to claim a significant trend.

Several traveler information projects are showing popularity and usage growth. The Los

Angeles Smart Traveler project deployed 78 information kiosks in locations such as

office lobbies and shopping plazas26. The number of daily accesses ranged from 20 to

100 in a 20-hour day, with the lowest volume in offices and the greatest in busy

pedestrian areas. The most frequent request (83% of users) was for a freeway map. Over

half of the users requested MTA bus and train information. Users, primarily upper

middle class in the test area, were overwhelmingly positive in response to a survey.

An automated transit information system implemented by the Rochester-Genesee

Regional Transportation Authority resulted in an increase in calling volume of 80%27,

while a system installed by New Jersey Transit reduced caller wait time from an average

of 85 seconds to 27 seconds and reduced caller hang-up rate from 10% to 3% while

increasing the total number of callers.28. The Boston SmarTraveler has experienced 138%

25 Smith, S., and Perez, C., “Evaluation of INFORM - Lessons Learned and Application to Other Systems,”

presented at 7 1 st Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, January 1992.

26 Giuliano, G., Golob, J., and Hall, R., “Los Angeles Smart Traveler Information Kiosks,” presented at the

74th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, January 1995.

27 USDOT, FTA, APTS Benefits, November 1995.

28 ”NJ Transit’s Customer Information Speeded Up by New System,” Passenger Transport, January 24,

1994.

9
increase in usage from October 1994 to October 1995 to a total of 244,182 calls monthly,

partly due to a partnership with a local cellular telephone service provide29.

The Travlink test in the Minneapolis area distributed PC and videotext terminals to 315

users and made available transit route and schedule information, including schedule

adherence information, as well as traffic incidents and construction information30. For the

month of July 1995, users logged on to the system a total of 1660 times, an average of

slightly more than one access per participant per week. One third of the accesses to the

system requested bus schedule adherence; another 31% examined bus schedules.

Additionally, three downtown kiosks offering similar information averaged a total of 71

accesses per weekday between January and July of 1995; real-time traffic data were more

frequently requested than bus schedule adherence.

Surveys performed in the Seattle, Washington, and the Boston, Massachusetts, areas

indicate that 30% - 40%31 of travelers frequently adjust travel patterns based on travel

information. Of those that change travel patterns, about 45% change route of travel and

another 45% change time of travel; an additional 5% - 10% change travel mode.

Assuming that 30% of 96,000 daily callers change travel plans according to this

breakdown, the impact of SmarTraveler in Boston on emissions has been estimated using

the MOBILE5a model. On a daily basis, this adjustment of travel behavior nets an

estimated reduction of 498 kg of volatile organic compounds, 25 kg of oxides of nitrogen,

and 5032 kg of carbon monoxide representing reductions of 25%, 1.5%, and 33%,

respectively, of these pollutants from travelers changing travel plans. While only 28,800

daily trips are expected to be affected in a metropolitan area with 2.9 million registered

drivers, this represents significant reductions for participating travelers.

Simulations performed for the Architecture program using an urban scenario produced

more encouraging indications of potential ATIS benefits 32. For networks with

congestion causing increases of up to a factor of 3 from free flow travel time but before

saturation, equipped vehicles experience a 8% - 20% advantage in travel time. As the

network becomes saturated and before congestion significantly affects travel time, the

advantage of equipped vehicles is smaller. For experienced commuters, the simulation

predicts an aggregate travel time benefit of 7% - 12%. The relative benefit to longer trips

29 SmartRoute Systems Memorandum, “SmarTraveler Update,” November 6, 1995.

30 Remer, M., Atherton, T., and Gardner, W., ITS Benefits, Evaluation and Costs: Results and Lessons

from the Minnesota Guidestar Travlink Operational Test, Draft, November 1995.

31 Air Quality Benefit Study of the SmarTraveler Advanced Traveler Information Service, Tech

Environmental, Inc., July 1993.

32 Wunderlich, K. , “Congestion and Route Guidance Benefits Assessment,” The MITRE Corporation,

letter ITS-L- I3 1, October 1995.

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is more significant than to shorter trips, consistent with a greater opportunity for

advantageous diversion. The simulations were performed using an ATIS market

penetration level of 5%. A separate simulation study predicted that pretrip information

on roadway conditions could result in a delay reduction of 15% when a capacity reducing

incident occurs and off-road travel options are present33.

Studies also indicate interest in traffic information on the part of the traveler as well as

willingness to react to avoid congestion and delay. In focus groups for the Atlanta

Advanced Traveler Information Kiosk Project

34, 92% - 98% of participants found the

current information on accidents, alternate routes, road closures, and traffic congestion to

be useful and desirable. A survey in Marin County, California, showed that if regular

commuters had been presented with alternate routes including travel time estimates, 69%

would have diverted and would have saved an average of 17 minutes35. . A pilot project in

the Netherlands found a 40% increase in route diversions based on traffic information by

the 300 vehicles equipped with FM sideband data receiver36.

Transit Management Systems

For nearly a decade, transit properties and emergency vehicle operators have been

installing and using vehicle location systems based on signpost, triangulation, LORAN,

and GPS technologies37. A recent study38 found 24 U. S. transit systems operating more

than 10,000 vehicles under AVL supervision and another 31 in various stages of

procurement. This represents a doubling of the number of deployed systems, with most

new systems using a GPS-based location process. Five Canadian operators are using

AVL on fleets totaling 3700 buses, including a 2300-vehicle fleet in Toronto. Coupled

with computer-aided dispatching systems, vehicle location technologies are producing

benefits in security, travel time, service reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Additionally,

33 Wunderlich, K., “Trip Planning User Service Benefits Assessment,” The MITRE Corporation,

letter ITS-L-131, November 1995.

34 ”Advanced Traveler Information Kiosk Project: Summary Report - Focus Groups,” Catherine Ross and

Associates, Inc., undated.

35 Khattak, A., Kanafani, A., and Le Colletter, E., “Stated and Reported Route Diversion Behavior:

Implications on the Benefits of ATIS,” University of California - Berkeley, UCB-ITS-PRR-94- 13, 1994.

36 Broeders, W. P. B., “RDS/TMC as Traffic Management Tool and Commercial Product,” Proceedings of

the Second World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Yokohama, Japan, November 1995.

37 Jones, W., ITS Technologies in Public Transit: Deployment and Benefits, USDOT ITS Joint Program

Office, November 1995.

38 Casey, R., et. al., Advanced Public Transportation Systems: The State of the Art - Update ‘96, USDOT

FTA, January 1996.

11
several operators have reported incidents where AVL information assisted in resolving

their disputes with employees and patrons.

Table 6 - Summary of Transit Management System Benefits

Travel time Decrease 15% - 18%

Service reliability Increase 12% - 23% in on-time performance

Security Decrease incident response time to as little as one minute

Cost effectiveness 45% annual return on investment

Safety and security are major factors in decisions to install transit management systems.

Situations benefitting from AVL and communication systems installed as part of transit

management systems include medical emergencies as well as threats and crimes

involving passengers and those observed by bus drivers. Some agencies report response

times of as little as 1 to 2 minutes while others report reductions of about 40%. Agencies

have reported improved cooperation with police after being able to precisely locate a bus

involved in an incident and having a transit dispatcher assist in apprehending criminals

using bus location information. Bus operators also report an increased sense of security

with silent alarm and vehicle location capabilities39.

AVL and dispatching systems have most directly improved schedule adherence. The

Mass Transit Administration in Baltimore reported a 23% improvement in on-time

performance by AVL-equipped buses. The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority

improved on-time performance by 12% in the first year of operation using AVL,

compared to a 7% improvement as the result of a coordinated effort between 1986 and

1989. Preliminary results from Milwaukee indicate a 28% decrease in the number of

buses more than one minute behind schedule 40. Coordination between transit systems

and traffic signal systems has also demonstrated operational benefits. Allowing buses to

either extend green time or shorten red time by only a few seconds reduced bus travel

time on a test route in Portland41 by 5% to 8%.

An AVL system provides a rich source of data for analyzing bus operations. Examining

AVL data collected in Kansas City led to a schedule revision that reduced the 200-vehicle

fleet by 7 buses while reducing scheduled travel times by up to 10%. The Kansas City

Area Transportation Authority reported an annual operating expense reduction of $0.5

million based on a $1.1 million investment. Other transit systems have reported

reductions in fleet size of 2% to 5% due to efficiencies of bus utilization42.. Alternatively,

39 Jones, W., ITS Technologies in Public Transit: Deployment and Benefits, November 1995.

40 Jones, W., ITS Technologies in Public Transit: Deployment and Benefits, November 1995.

41 Kloos, W., et al., Bus Priority at Traffic Signals in Portland, ITS Annual Meeting, March 1995.

42 Jones, W., ITS Technologies in Public Transit: Deployment and Benefits, November 1995.

12
the efficiency gains could be used to increase frequency by the same amount. Using

AVL data for analysis purposes also reduces the need for staff to perform schedule

adherence and travel time surveys. Estimates of savings range from $40,000 per survey

to $1.5 million annually43.

Electronic Toll Collection Systems (ETC)

Twelve authorities are currently using ETC, with two more scheduled to be operational

by the end of 199544. The decision to deploy ETC is based on reduction in operating cost

to the toll authority, coupled with the benefits of emission reduction and capacity

increases.

Table 7 - Summary of Electronic Toll Collection System Benefits

Operating expenses

Capacity

Fuel consumption

Emissions

Decrease up to 90%

Increase 250%

Decrease 6% - 12%

Decrease CO emissions 72% per affected mile

Decrease HC emissions 83% per affected mile

Decrease NOx emissions 45% per affected mile

The Oklahoma Turnpike has been operating electronic toll collection for over four years

with excellent results, including the ability to avoid staff layoffs for eliminated positions

through attrition and reassignment. Statistics from the Turnpike include45:

Annual cost to operate automated lane - $15,800

Annual cost to operate attended lane - $176,000

Electronic toll collection can greatly improve throughput on a per-lane basis compared

with manual lanes. On the Tappan Zee Bridge toll plaza, a manual lane can

accommodate 350 - 400 vehicles per hour while an electronic lane peaks at 1000 vehicles

per hour. By replacing 8 manual collection stations with 5 electronic lanes using the

multijurisdictional E-ZPass system, and implementing a movable barrier procedure to

allow an extra peak direction lane, traffic speeds have increased from a crawling 8 - 12

mph to a flowing 25 mph.

46. The New York State Thruway, which includes the Tappan

Zee Bridge, benefits significantly from ETC in that expansion beyond 13 lanes for the toll

43 USDOT, FTA, APTS Benefits, November 1995.

44 Gallagher, M., IBTTA, telephone interview, November 1995.

45 0klahoma Turnpike Authority - Pike Pass Facts, undated.

46 Zimmerman, M., New York State Thruway Authority, telephone interview, December 1995.

13
plaza was not an option and the toll authority had implemented tandem operations on 5 of

the lanes. Roughly 110,000 electronic toll tags are now in use on the Thruway.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s Pike Pass program started operation on January 1,

1991. Through June 1994,250,00 0 passes had been issued, of which over 90% (226,000)

were still active, accounting for 35% of revenue. Using a protocol prepared for the

Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), the Clean Air

Action Corp.47 estimated toll booth emissions based on dynamometer tests and toll road

observation at Muskogee Turnpike in Oklahoma, Asbury Plaza on the Garden State

Parkway in New Jersey, and the Western Plaza on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Percent

change is, of course, dependent upon frequency of toll plazas. The calculated average

emissions per mile of impacted operation are shown in Table 8.

Electronic Fare Payment

Electronic fare payment is also evolving as technology improves. Rail transit systems in

San Francisco and Washington, D. C. , have been using stored-value magnetic stripe fare

cards purchased in the system since the 1970s. Several tests and pilot programs using

newer electronic fare payment techniques are ongoing. For example, an experiment

involving 2400 rail travelers using radio frequency (RF) stored-value cards has been

operating in the Washington system since February of 1995. System-wide deployment of

the cards is planned based on the reliability of the technology and potential improvements

in convenience and security.48

Use of electronic media for bus transit is under development. In California, tests

comparing various card technologies have found RF proximity cards to be high in

reliability. A test in the Marseilles, France, metropolitan area is comparing RF and

infrared (IR) technologies that would allow each patron to use a card of his or her choice

(credit card, debit card, monthly pass, etc.) for transportation payment, while processing a

transaction in less than a second.

49 In addition to the popularity of electronic fare

payment, benefits have been noted in fare collection and data collection.

The Phoenix transit operators have used electronic fare payment techniques since 199150.

The Arizona state legislature passed an air quality bill in the late 1980s. The county

47 ”Proposed General Protocol for Determination of Emission Reduction Credits Created by Implementing

an Electronic Pike Pass System on a Tollway,” Clean Air Action Corporation study for the Northeast States

for Coordinated Air Use Management, December 1993.

48 Abramovitch, R., Washington METRO, telephone interview, November 1995.

49 Mathieu, J., “Multiservices/Multiproviders Remote Ticketing on the Marseille Metropolitan Area,”

Proceedings of the Second World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, November 1995.

50 Schwenk, J., “Bus Fare Payment with Credit Cards in Phoenix, Draft,” The Volpe Center, November

1995.

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Table 8 - Calculation of Emissions Reduction Through Use of ETC

Speed Profile (mph) 65-O-65 65-30-65 65 Even

Toll Gate Limited Pass Full Pass

HC 1.2 g/mi 1.0 g/mi .2 g/mi

NOx 1.1 glmi .9 glmi .6 g/mi

CO 30.6 glmi 20.0 g/mi 8.5 glmi

Assuming a transaction uses the average measured distance of .55 miles, each cycle produces

HC .66 g .55 g .ll g

NOx .61 .50 g .33 g

CO 16.8 g ll.0g 4.68 g

The equivalent number of highway miles for a stop cycle translates to

HC 3.3 mi 2.75 mi .55 mi

NOx 1.01 mi .83 mi .55 mi

CO 1.98 mi 1.29 mi .55 mi

% increase compared to a freeway mile

HC 500% 400% 0%

NOx 83% 50% 0%

CO 260% 135% 0%

Based on 260 commuter days/year in summer conditions with 100% implementation,

reduction in tons per year - New Jersey

HC 0 161 596

NOx 0 126 290

CO 0 6414 12681

Reduction in tons per year - Massachusetts

HC 0 134 206

NOx 0 57 84

CO 0 2403 3441

Assuming 100% removal of toll delay, reduction from congestion relief alone - New Jersey,

in tons per year

HC 0 52 52

NOx 0 17 17

CO 0 653 653

Reduction from congestion relief alone - Massachusetts, in tons per year

HC 0 116 116

NOx 0 39 39

CO 0 1447 144 7

15
Table 9 - Summary of Electronic Fare Payment System Benefits

Patron popularity Up to 90% usage where available

Fare collection Increase 3% - 30%

Data collection costs Decreased $1.5 million - $5 million

encompassing Phoenix in turn passed a travel reduction ordinance that required each

employer in the Phoenix area with over 100 employees to reduce single-occupancy

commuting trips by 5% in 2 years. The City of Phoenix Public Transport System led

development of the Bus Card Plus system to read magnetically encoded plastic passes

enabling data collection to assist the commuting program , and to reduce operational

problems. Employers were then billed monthly for employee transit use.

The first public use of the system was in April 1991 by employees of Valley National

Bank. Currently, 190 companies participate with a total of 35,000 cards in use. Express

routes report 90% of fares are paid by bus pass cards. Since employers are billed only for

transit usage rather than monthly pass purchases, costs to them are decreasing by up to

one third. As of May of 1995, VISA and Mastercard are also accepted. While this

project has not been in operation long enough to claim firm results, patronage has been

growing over the 4 months from May to September, with processing fees totaling under

7% of revenue generated, and without major problems. New Jersey Transit estimates

annually cost reduction of $2.7 million in cash handling51 while Atlanta estimates $2

million in savings52.

While much of the literature regarding electronic fare payment discusses technical

capability and patron convenience, some early indications of benefit to the transit

property are discussed.

53. Reduced fare evasion has increased revenue from 3% to 30%.

Estimates of reduction in data collection costs range from $1.5 million to $5 million.

New York estimates the increase in ridership due to such efforts as promotional and

employer sponsorship enabled by the use of electronic fare payment to be worth $49

million.

Integrated Systems

The state of the art in transportation management is the integrated transportation

management center. Centers operate freeways or traffic signal systems and incorporate

staff and facilities for some or all of the following: fire and rescue, surface street signal

51 USDOT, FTA, APTS Benefits, November 1995.

52 Jones, W., ITS Technologies in Public Transit: Deployment and Benefits, November 1995.

53 Dinning, M., “Benefits of Smart Cards in Transit,” draft, The Volpe Center, September 1995.

16
control, freeway operations including ramp metering and toll collection, police, transit,

and transportation research. Centers incorporating or moving toward collocation include

the TransGuide Control Center in San Antonio, the State of Maryland CHART

Operations Center, the Montgomery County Traffic Management Center, the Michigan

Intelligent Transportation Systems Center in Detroit, and the Houston TranStar Center.

The Atlanta Advanced Traffic Management Center is scheduled to be available for the

1996 Summer Olympics.

Few evaluations of integrated facilities are currently available; however, stories from

integrated centers and the trend in developing them tell a compelling story about the

value of such facilities. The San Antonio TransGuide facility opened in the summer of

1995. The value of an integrated facility was demonstrated the week before the center

opened when an industrial plant fire erupted within view of freeway video monitoring.

Based on the visibility afforded at TransGuide, the fire was accessed and fought more

effectively, possibly saving the lives of several firefighters. Both local police and fire

agencies were convinced of the wisdom of their investment in collocation.

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Publication No. FHWA-JPO-96-008

HVH-l/l-96(10M)E