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RITA 01-08
Contact: Kim Riddle, Tel.: (202) 366-5128
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
U.S. DOT Partners with Caltrans to Move California Drivers One Step Closer To
Instant Travel Information and Safety Technologies
Bay Area Selected for one of the World's Largest Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITS) Tests
San Francisco Bay Area commuters will have access to cutting-edge real-time
traffic, transit and road safety information as a result of a $12.4 million
partnership announced today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
"America has the ability—right now—to radically change our driving experience
using innovations that exist today," said Administrator Paul Brubaker of the
U.S. DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). "As one of
the communities selected last August to participate in the Department’s Urban
Partnership program, San Francisco already has shown its commitment to using
innovative approaches to reduce traffic congestion. Now, the Bay Area will
become the site of one of the world’s largest field-tests of Intelligent
Transportation Systems technology.
The award to Caltrans is part of the Department's new SafeTrip-21 initiative,
which will test various ITS technology applications designed to reduce gridlock
and traffic-related fatalities and injuries on America’s roadways, and improve
public transportation services.
Randy Iwasaki, Chief Deputy Director of Caltrans added, "SafeTrip-21 is one of
many ways that the public and private sectors can collaborate to create
cost-effective transportation solutions focused on improving the traveler's
commuting convenience and overall safety."
The SafeTrip-21 partnership will field test GPS-equipped cellular phones from up
to 10,000 volunteer commuters and transit vehicles transmitting data from roads
in a 200 mile radius to traffic management centers. The additional traffic
information gathered by these "probes" will help all Bay Area commuters make
intelligent travel choices and avoid congestion while driving to work or using
local transit systems.
SafeTrip-21 is working to develop a consumer friendly platform that brings
together existing technologies including trip planning and traveler information;
safety advisories; on-board displays of commuter rail and transit bus
connections; electronic toll collection, and parking reservation and payment
services.
The partnership also will establish a national "test bed" to advance the
development of a Vehicle Infrastructure Integration system, which uses WiFi and
Dedicated Short Range Communications to alert drivers to unsafe conditions so
they can avoid crashes before they happen.
Multiple consumer electronic devices will be used including personal navigation
devices, mobile phones, and a diverse set of communication technologies. In
addition, an in-vehicle “cradle” will provide a wireless interface to the
Internet for virtually any mobile electronic device.
Other SafeTrip-21 partners include the University of California–Partners for
Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH), California Center for Innovative
Transportation (CCIT), Nokia, NAVTEQ, Metropolitan Transportation Commission,
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, and Nissan.
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