| The TRB Intelligent Transportation Systems Committee is sponsoring this workshop with the goal of identifying critical traveler information research and policy issues and offering recommendations towards the goal of “All Roads-All Modes-All the Time”. The workshop will bring together traveler information researchers, policy-makers, public and private-sector service providers, transport network managers, and modelers, to document current knowledge and identify research needs. The agenda (Agenda.pdf) for this event is attached at the end of this page.
This will be a gathering of national and international experts who will present, debate, and identify research needs toward the national goal of full network visibility. The output from this workshop, its observations, insights, and recommendations, will inform the national ITS program real-time information research strategy. This is your opportunity to listen, speak, and be heard.
The plenary session speakers on Wednesday afternoon April 15 will address the current state of the practice in transit, traffic and other real-time information networks, and will be drawn from the European Union, USDOT, Caltrans, the ITS Program Advisory Committee, and from the private companies that are progressing the development and delivery of real-time information. Following the plenary, well gather for a cocktail reception.
Workshop Organization
The workshop is organized into four working groups addressing (1) data collection, (2) data fusion and processing, (3) information dissemination, and (4) network impacts (described below), with panelists identifying research and evaluation gaps toward the development of seamless network visibility. Following the presentations, the working group participants will debate the material presented, and expand the scope of the discussion as needed. In the closing session of the meeting on Friday morning, we will present the highlights of the working group discussions, both agreements and unresolved issues, and get an insider’s update on the next transportation authorization from legislative officials.
1. Real-time network data
The real-time network data panel will focus on research needs related to the gathering and collection of real-time data for traffic, transit, parking and freight. Some of the specific topics to be addressed include assessing data coverage, data quality and data ownership/rights, and comparing different business models/approaches to collecting real-time information. Of particular interest will be addressing the need for data collection systems to facilitate the exchange and integration of real-time data of varying levels of quality and utility.
2. Data fusion and processing
Improved real-time data fusion techniques and processing will improve the overall quality, timeliness, and usefulness of applications such as traveler information, performance monitoring, and incident response. The most common ITS data fusion techniques perform temporal and spatial corrections to improve data correlation. New ITS services are being developed to predict transportation conditions from inferred relationships with data, such as an ensemble model that considers weather conditions and predicts the probability of crashes based on observed road conditions and historical analyses. This panel will consider current developments and explore the opportunities for improved and standardized data fusion techniques.
3. Information dissemination
The information dissemination panel will explore three primary topics in the distribution of traveler information. The panel will first delve into the state of existing research on traveler information distribution with the goal of identifying gaps in research and/or applications. The second part will explore existing public and private approaches to information distribution including data quality and management and business/financial models. The final part will explore known challenges and gaps in the production and dissemination of traveler information to customers, identifying and targeting future research efforts.
4. Network impacts
The network impacts panel will consider the effects of information (i) on individual traveler behavior, and (ii) on travel conditions and flows. The state of knowledge in these two areas will be assessed, with reference to empirical data from deployed and operational systems as well as to results from research efforts, in order to identify knowledge gaps and suggest fruitful directions for future data collection and research.
Following panelist presentations, the working group participants will debate the material presented, and expand the scope of the discussion as needed. As an expert in the real-time traveler information enterprise, your active participation in the working groups is pivotal to the success of the workshop. Formal proceedings will document the contents of the discussions for future reference.
In the closing session of the meeting on Friday morning, April 17, we will present the highlights of the working group discussions, both agreements and unresolved issues, and get an insiders update on the next transportation authorization from legislative officials.
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