ITS Program Advisory Committee

Summary of ITS Advisory Committee Member Responses

Question # 1: Tell me what about what you do in relationship to the ITS Industry

Steve Albert (Director, Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University)

• As Director of Western Transportation Institute, Montana State Unviersity, has a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the ITS rural stakeholder community.
• Relationships to ITS industry includes experience in urban centers ( Houston, Boston) and rural settings.
• Former consultant (PB Farradyne).
• Former researcher at Texas Transportation Institute and Western Transportation Institute.

Scott Belcher (President & CEO, ITS America)

• President and CEO, ITS America.
• Manages public-private society with mission to foster development and deployment of ITS.
• ITS America focuses on techniques implementing safety, improving mobility and reducing emissions.
• ITS America is comprised of ½ public sector, ½ private sector.
• ITS America supports USDOT in facilitating information exchange using all stakeholders in non-commercial environment.

Dr. Kenneth Button (Professor, George Mason University [GMU])

• Economist and analyst.
• Worked on the European Commision DRIVE program (precursor to ITS in Europe).
• Advisor to House of Commons Transport Committee ( UK).
• Currently, professor at GMU's National ITS Implementation Research Center

Robert Denaro (Vice President, NAVTEQ Corporation)

• Works on developing mapping capability in support of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
• Tries to convince industry to use maps in ADAS applications.
  • Safety, mobility, fuel economy, control, convenience, speed notification.
  • Safety maps differ from navigation maps. Both are being developed.
• Role is business development and funding research for quantitative study.

Ann Flemer (Deputy Executive Director of Operations, Metropolitan Transportation Commission)

• Director of Metropolitan Planning Commission for the nine-county San Francisco Bay area.
• Focus on transportation planning, coordinating and financing for jurisdictions.
• Responsible for identifying transportation needs and technology-based solutions.
• Agency delivers ITS projects through regional partners (state, cities, counties).

Alfred Foxx (Director, Baltimore City Department of Transportation)

• Director of Transportation, City of Baltimore.
• Confronts daily management challenges, e.g., congestion, emergency response, pedestrian issues.
• Sees ITS as key to management strategies.

John Inglish ( General Manager, Utah Transit Authority)

• Engineer with 30 years experience in transportation, both in US and overseas.
• Participates in numerous transportation-related committees and boards (ITS America, American Public Transportation Association).
• As General Manager, Utah Transit Authority, is involved with issues and trends impacting metro areas in the Western US.
• Postured to foresee transportation-related needs for the nation in the near-to-mid-term.

Randy Iwasaki ( Chief Deputy Director, California Department of Transportation [Caltrans])

• Caltrans is a leader in ITS; California's ITS program predates the national ITS program.
• Personal role is to push industry to develop products and services that meet the agency's needs.
  • Tries to meet with two-to-three information technology (IT) companies per year in support of this mission.
  • Has met with AT&T, Cisco, Gateway, Google, Oracle, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and Sun Microsystems.

Chief Thomas Lambert (Senior Vice President & Chief of Police, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas)

• As Senior Vice President and Chief of Police, Metro Transportation Authority, Harris County, Texas, focus is on:
  • Using ITS technologies to manage traffic.
  • Assisting transit operators.
  • Enhancing safety and security aspects of transportation network.
• Also exploring role of ITS technologies in leveraging regional partnerships and interagency operations to maximize safe movement of people and goods.

Dr. Adrian Lund (President, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

• President, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
• The Institute's focus is on safety vs. operational performance.
• The Institute's mission is to promote safety and ensure that new technologies do not impede safety.

Bryan Mistele (Founder, President & CEO, Inrix Technologies)

• Founder, President and CEO, Inrix Technologies.
• Inrix is the leading provider of traffic flow information in US.
• Traffic data are collected through fleets of probe vehicles (e.g., taxi cabs, pizza delivery trucks, etc.)
• All traffic data are integrated with weather, construction rerouting, etc. and offered to local governments, information service providers, Websites.
• Intrix traffic information is available in 100 markets covering 15,000 miles of roadway.
• Information can be tailored to specific needs (e.g., school districts for bus routing).

Dr. Granger Morgan (Professor and Head of Department of Engineering and Public Safety, Carnegie Mellon University [CMU])

• Chair of Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University.
• Department's focus is on technical aspects of policy issues.
• Range of issues includes:
  • Energy and engineering systems.
  • Risk assessment.
  • Risk analysis and management for safety and environmental issues.
  • Information and communications technology policy.
  • Management of technical information.
• Is affiliated with autonomous vehicle laboratory supported by General Motors.
• Works on electric hybrid vehicles.

Michael Replogle (Transportation Director, Environmental Defense)

• Transportation Director, Environmental Defense.
  • Non-profit, non-governmental research and advocacy organization.
  • Works with public and private agencies/organizations to address environmental issues.
• Interested in ITS technologies capable of improving mobility and reducing toxic emissions.
• Interested in combining road pricing strategies with congestion reduction to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Tomiji Sugimoto (Vice President, Honda Research and Development Americas, Inc.)

• Vice President, Automotive Technology Research Division, Honda Research and Development Americas, Inc.
• Extensive background in development of safety technology (e.g., airbags).
• Recipient of Award for Safety Engineering Excellence at the 17 th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) in Amsterdam in 2001.
• 12 years as Chief Engineer and Manager of Crash Safety Research Division at Honda.

Dr. Joseph Sussman (JR East Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

• 1986-1991, Director, Center for Transportation Studies at MIT.
• Involved in Mobility 2000 (precursor to ITS America).
• One of the authors of Strategic Plan for Intelligent-Vehicle Highway Systems in the United States (1992).
• Involved in both vehicle technology research and institutional issues.
• Coordinated several authors in the 2000 publication What Have We Learned About ITS?

Iris Weinshall (Vice Chancellor, City University of New York)

• Currently serving as Vice Chancellor, City University of New York.
• Formerly Transportation Commissioner of New York City for seven years.
• Continuing to serve on New York City Mayor's Taxi and Limousine Commission and other advisory panels addressing various transportation issues.

Ronald Woodruff (Senior Vice President, Corporate Safety & Security, J.B, Hunt Transport Services, Inc.)

• Responsibilities include focusing on productivity and safety improvements through ITS, both currently and in the future.
  • J. B. Hunt's needs assessments show that the ideal distribution of information on truck performance between drivers and management is 40/60, i.e., 40% of all information on truck performance should go to the driver; 60% should go to management to counsel drivers on performance.
• Technologies currently in use:
  • E-ZPass and Pre-Pass.
  • Qualcomm's global positioning system (GPS).
  • Electric on-board recorders (EOBRs) from companies such as DriveTech and Qualcomm.
  • Trailer tracking (TarryOn, GE, SkyBits).
  • Routing direction. J. B. Hunt is currently using a system based on latitude and longitude but is moving to a system based on mapping.
  • Roll stability: 60% of J.B. Hunt's fleet is equipped with this technology.
  • Lane departure warning on six trucks. Currently, the cost is difficult to justify; the benefit/cost ratio is not compelling.
  • Hard-braking on 10,000 trucks.
  • Conducted test of Eaton Vorad Forward Collision Warning system, in which the system performed poorly, possibly due to too small a sample size in the test.
• Technologies desired:
  • Dual-purpose transponder for both toll collection and commercial vehicle clearance.
  • Continued WiFi spot development for future requirements such as fuel tax determination and vehicle tracking.

John Worthington (President & CEO, Transcore)

• President and CEO, Transcore
• Transcore is an ITS-related company that specializes in toll tag readers and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems.
• Transcore designs and integrates technologies that provide operations and maintenance support to traffic management and tolling operations operated by state departments of transportation.
• RFID-based services support electronic supply chain operations.
• Satellite communications-based services enable large trucking firms to conduct highly efficient back-haul operations through subscription-based service (200,000 loads on 50,000 trucks per day in the US and Canada).

Question # 2: What big trends are you (your industry) paying attention to that impact transportation?

Steve Albert (Director, Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University)

• Swiss cheese vs. national coverage"
  • ITS has not migrated from urban centers to rural areas.
  • If national ITS coverage is a goal, rural communications and ITS deployment must occur.
  • ITS is concentrated in urban areas (the holes in the Swiss cheese) vs. the other 80% of the nation's road miles.
• "Pull" vs. "push" technology for better system operational control.
  • Current practices for use of ITS are advisory, i.e. "pull" technologies to address problems.
  • In the future, the trend must change to "push" information, enabling agencies to engage facilities proactively.
• Public sector infrastructure vs. private sector leveraging.
  • To-date, mode has been public sector ITS infrastructure deployment.
  • Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) and similar applications will foster leveraging.
• Maintenance of ITS and environmental monitoring.
  • In both urban and rural settings, the need for ITS maintenance is growing. Funding and workforce development are critical.
  • ITS applications should expand to include environmental monitoring and climate change issues.
• Ex-urban migration to rural areas and its impact on customer expectations.
  • Rural areas are being impacted by ex-urban migration (population increase of 42 million by 2030 according to the Rocky Mountain Institute).
  • Customer expectations about transportation will change.
  • New residents will expect services similar to those in urban areas.
• Workforce development needs.
  • ITS operations and maintenance in rural environment require workers to perform multiple duties vs. urban workforce, which tends to be more specialized.
  • Rural workers are often single-point-of-failure vs. redundancy in urban settings.
  • As more workers retire, single-point-of-failure is becoming the norm in rural areas.

Scott Belcher (President & CEO, ITS America)

• ITS America is focused on trends affecting safety, congestion and environmental impacts.
• ITS America is following changing demographic trends and their impact on transportation.
  • Aging population – What are the impacts?
  • Growing immigrant population – What are the impacts?
• ITS America is exploring trends in funding and affordability.
  • Which jurisdictions will fund ITS?
  • Can the traveling public afford the benefits of ITS?
  • Can we make the benefits available on a broad basis?

Dr. Kenneth Button (Professor, George Mason University [GMU])

• Congestion pricing.
  • Produced a report on congestion pricing.
  • Is currently working on a road pricing project for Northern Virginia.
  • Closely followed London road pricing model.
• Construction of dedicated truck lanes.
• Innovative funding approaches.

Robert Denaro (Vice President, NAVTEQ Corporation)

• The trend is an explosion in navigation. It started with in-vehicle devices, then went to portable navigation units and then to cell phones.
• Cell phones will not be linked with brakes, as some have proposed.
• There will be maps in every vehicle.
• Different platforms will serve different roles: in-vehicle, personal navigation device, cell phone.
• Another trend is the move from crash mitigation (a passive system) to crash prevention (an active system). However, this change is happening too slowly.
• Communications are getting less and less expensive; soon the cost will be effectively zero.

Ann Flemer (Deputy Executive Director of Operations, Metropolitan Transportation Commission)
This answer also answers question 3a – the role of technology in trends.

• Congestion mitigation.
  • The size and complexity of San Francisco Bay area makes monitoring critical for congestion management.
  • Data collection/archiving are essential for measurement of system performance.
• Climate change/global warming.
  • This is a high profile policy issue in California.
  • The responsibility for addressing this issue, with the help of technology, is with MTC.
  • The current trend is to work through the regulatory environment.
• Electronic payment and pricing.
  • Use of pricing to manage congestion and to generate revenue.
  • MTC sees the need for use of expertise in highway toll collection and transit fee payment to develop a comprehensive electronic payment system (e.g., highways, transit and parking).
• Information technology.
  • The private sector is now more engaged in traffic data collection and is repackaging data to sell them to the public sector.
  • MTC is forging partnerships with the private sector to expand availability of traffic information to the public.

Alfred Foxx (Director, Baltimore City Department of Transportation)

• Focusing on congestion management.
  • People are commuting longer distances.
  • Much of Baltimore's workforce lives outside the city.
• Watching road pricing projects ( London).
• Looking for ways to leverage transit to make a big contribution.
• Following ridesharing program closely.
• Looking for ways to encourage telecommuting.

John Inglish ( General Manager, Utah Transit Authority)

• A discussion of trends requires a higher-level strategic perspective.
  • Transit previously was not seen as relevant; this is changing.
  • Energy/environmental factors have redefined the value of transit.
  • New capacity will come from transit.
  • Also, we need a comprehensive, strategic view of transportation that integrates rail, ports, intermodal freight.

Randy Iwasaki ( Chief Deputy Director, California Department of Transportation [Caltrans])

• Four inter-related trends:
  • Freight.
    • Increased freight traffic at ports leads to increased rail and truck traffic further inland.
    • These increases lead to more conflicts at railroad crossings and more problems with truck parking.
  • Congestion.
    • Non-recurring congestion caused by natural disasters (fires, floods, earthquakes, etc.) and also by work zones and major incidents.
    • Traveler information is a very effective tool at combating both recurring and non-recurring congestion.
      • Interested in installing map-based variable message signs (VMSs) in Los Angeles as a pilot program. Has seen these signs installed in Shanghai and Beijing, China.
      • Traveler information systems are based on data. It is expensive for an agency to install a comprehensive data collection system on its own. Caltrans is looking to the VII program as a potential source for huge amounts of data, which would be a big savings to Caltrans.
  • Aging infrastructure
    • Aging infrastructure requires more frequent maintenance, which requires more work zones that cause more non-recurring congestion.
  • Environment.
    • ITS is a tool to reduce congestion, which reduces green house gas emissions and addresses global warming.

Chief Thomas Lambert (Senior Vice President & Chief of Police, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas)

• Following emerging trends of interest for Harris County Metropolitan Transportation Authority:
  • Use of ITS in facilitating movement of high-capacity vehicles.
  • Use of ITS in maximizing demand management.
  • Professional capacity building to enable operators of new technologies.
  • Integrating flood warning systems in road sensor network.

Dr. Adrian Lund (President, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

• Institute is following all aspects of evolving safety-related trends by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and deploying jurisdictions:
  • Lane departure warning.
  • Forward collision warning.
  • Adaptable (steerable) headlights.
  • Vehicle stability control.
  • Vehicle interaction with the infrastructure.
  • Speed advisories.
  • Impacts of rising fuel costs – movement toward building lighter, smaller cars.
  • Aging driving population.
  • Growth of motorcycle market.
    • Older drivers on larger bikes.
    • Younger drivers on smaller, supersport bikes.
  • Proliferation of electronic devices (portable and on-board) requiring taking eyes off the road.

Bryan Mistele (Founder, President & CEO, Inrix Technologies)

• Traffic flow data collection using road sensor networks (public sector model) is becoming obsolete.
• Agencies are beginning to use private sector data collected using probes.
• Private sector data is more reliable than operating an extensive roadway sensor network.
• Digital map data.
  • Industry consolidation will impact telecommunications and ITS.
  • Nokia and TomTom now control the majority of digital map data.
  • Digital data drives wireless applications. Therefore, decisions made by these two companies will exert major influence on ITS.
• Use of traffic flow data for planning.
  • Better use of traffic data for planning and analysis is emerging.
  • Use of ITS applications and modeling tools is now improving traffic management.

Dr. Granger Morgan (Professor and Head of Department of Engineering and Public Safety, Carnegie Mellon University)

• In the near future, the Federal government will play a role in reducing carbon content in energy systems.
• The first to be impacted will be electric power generation industry.
• Trends in using ITS to reduce carbon emissions are important indicators.

Michael Replogle (Transportation Director, Environmental Defense)
This answer also answers question 3a – the role of technology in trends.

• Rapid growth of technology and access to information.
  • Technology behaves like computer hardware did: capability grows exponentially, doubling every two years.
  • The cost of collecting, processing and distributing traveler information will decrease.
• Vehicle ownership.
  • In 10-15 years, the traditional vehicle ownership model will change.
  • Car sharing will be widespread.
  • This has the potential to achieve a 10% reduction in vehicle miles traveled.
• Driver-feedback technologies.
  • On-board devices are producing capability to respond to real-time traffic conditions.
  • Adaptive cruise control and other technologies will enhance safety.
• Alternative fuels.
  • Political pressure for use of low carbon fuels is growing.
  • Plant-based biofuels will develop rapidly.
  • Achieving 80% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 requires efficient engines, reductions in vehicle-miles traveled, and de-carbonization of fuels.

Tomiji Sugimoto (Vice President, Honda Research and Development Americas, Inc.)
This answer also answers question 4 – opportunities to capitalize on trends with ITS.

• Evolution of safety-related technologies.
• Honda is also paying close attention to emerging trends in communications technologies.

Dr. Joseph Sussman (JR East Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

• Impacts of the global economy on transportation.
• Building sustainability into transportation systems: economically, environmentally and equitably.
• The "institutional architecture" of transportation is changing. Traditional relationships between public and private sectors, different levels of government, different private sector communities are changing.
• Academic institutions are developing more systemic approaches to problems.
• What is the role of the Federal government in these shifts?
  • The Federal government should fund basic research, which is avoided by the private sector because of the long-term nature of its payoff.
  • Since ITS shifts the focus from road building to operating networks, Federal funding should support operations and provide technical assistance.

Iris Weinshall (Vice Chancellor, City University of New York)
This answer also answers question 3a – the role of technology in trends.

• In the New York City metropolitan area, major trends include:
  • Bus rapid transit, including providing signal prioritization for transit.
  • Creating dedicated lanes for high-occupancy vehicles.
  • Development of numerous VMSs; both state and local jurisdictions are deploying VMS throughout approaches to, and within, the New York City metropolitan area.

Ronald Woodruff (Senior Vice President for Corporate Safety & Security, J.B, Hunt Transport Services, Inc.)

• Trends being tracked that affect goods movement include:
  • Congestion's impact on safety and productivity.
  • The growing demands for freight.
  • Constraints on funding to build capacity and, the associated problem: how to keep things moving.
  • The increasing potential for driver distraction by electronic devices, both portable and vehicle-mounted.
    • J.B. Hunt's surveys indicate that 65% of drivers have cell phones and 40%-50% have laptop computers.
    • J.B. Hunt company policy prohibits drivers' use of on-board recorders while the vehicle is in motion
  • Increases in:
    • Fuel and toll costs.
    • Exposure to litigation (as more technology is adopted, more possible events resulting in litigation).
    • Unrealistic customer expectations, such as just-in-time deliveries during periods of heavy congestion
  • Security issues at border crossings and with trailer and hazmat cargo tracking.

John Worthington (President & CEO, Transcore)

• Trend #1: Improving freight integration.
  • Post 9/11 security measures at coastal ports, plus legacy union rules, have clogged ports.
  • RFID supply chain technology enables shippers to bypass coastal ports, and instead deliver secure container loads to inland ports.
  • We must modernize freight infrastructure to be competitive.
• Trend #2: Tolling.
  • We need to leverage tolling technology to finance infrastructure improvements. The timing is good; tolling is gaining public acceptance.
• Trend #3: What is happening with the 5.9 GHz spectrum?

Question #3a: What role do you see technology playing in these trends?
Question # 3b: Who are the thought leaders about this?

Steve Albert (Director, Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Addressed role of technology in cross-cutting areas.
  • Technology infrastructure must address end-to-end solutions encompassing all modes of travel.
  • Removing stovepipes will improve institutional cohesiveness.
• The role for technology in rural settings is its ability to improve weak communication coverage through ad-hoc networks.

3b: Thought leaders

• In the future, ITS must integrate transportation with the rest of the economy.
  • An example of a neglected area is tourism. We need to find a thought leader in tourism industry.

Scott Belcher (President & CEO, ITS America)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Tolling and on-board systems will play major roles in reducing congestion.
• Technology can be harnessed to support all major challenges. Does not advocate technology for its own sake, only as a means to solve problems.

3b: Thought leaders

• Russ Sheilds, Ygomi LLC
• Harry Voccola, NAVTEQ
• Ann Flemer, Metropolitan Transportation Commission-Oakland, CA
• Mike Doyle, Econolite (ITS America Board Chair)
• John Inglish, Utah Transit Authority
• Thomas Lambert, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas

Dr. Kenneth Button (Professor, George Mason University [GMU])
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Emphasizes institutional issues over technology in his research.
  • Barriers are institutional and inter-jurisdictional.
  • Training and education are key to successful implementation.
• We need to explore innovative funding models.
• One area where technology is critical is credibility. If the variable message sign says "Congestion" and you're doing 60 mph, the public learns to discount the system.

3b: Thought leaders

• GMU staff to be identified.

Robert Denaro (Vice President, NAVTEQ Corporation)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• There will be maps, GPS and communications in every vehicle.

3b: Thought leaders

• European automotive manufacturers such as BMW, Daimler Chrysler
• Equipment suppliers such as Continental and Bosch
• Note: Japan is very progressive, but the Japanese are scared of the U.S. litigious environment and European cultural differences.

Ann Flemer (Deputy Executive Director of Operations, Metropolitan Transportation Commission)
3a: Role of technology in trends – Answered this question in question 2.
3b: Thought leaders

• VII working groups
• Joe Giglio, Hudson Institute
• National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission (http://www.transportationfortomorrow.org)

Alfred Foxx (Director, Baltimore City Department of Transportation)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Technology plays a key role in supporting decision-making.
• Technology provides data for deployment strategies ( through modeling, mining archived data, etc.)

3b: Thought leaders

• Maryland Department of Transportation
  • Maryland State Highway Administration's (MSHA) CHART
    • MSHA is national leader in data sharing, modeling, traffic signal coordination, and developing back-up power sources for emergencies.
  • Maryland Mass Transit Administration (MMTA).

John Inglish ( General Manager, Utah Transit Authority)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Future trend technologies:
  • Electronic fare collection.
  • Global positioning systems/automatic vehicle location (GPS/AVL) and remote, real-time vehicle system monitoring.
  • Passenger boarding and discharge systems.
  • Traffic signal priority for transit
    • Greatly improves bus reliability.
    • Difficult to implement; traffic managers resist.
  • Personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other mobile devices for disseminating transit information.
• Federal policy should support transit signal priority.

3b: Thought leaders

• ITS America members
• Local jurisdictions – they are dealing with these problems now.

Randy Iwasaki ( Chief Deputy Director, California Department of Transportation [Caltrans])
3a: Role of technology in trends

• There is a great potential for vendors to develop products that can meet transportation agencies' needs, but often the connection between product developer and user is not made.
• One way to bring the two together is through Government Technology Conferences (http://www.govtech.com), held on various dates and in various locations around the country.
  • The conferences are attended by state agencies and by vendors who want to sell agencies generic IT products and services, e.g., routers, virus protection software, etc.
  • Once vendors become aware of the large size of the potential market for transportation-specific products and services, they take notice.
• Another success story in California is the California Center for Innovative Transportation (CCIT, originally called the Center for Commercialization of ITS Technologies).
  • CCIT was founded, at the direction of Caltrans, to screen proposals from entrepreneurs who want to use Caltrans right-of-way to test their products.

3b: Thought leaders

• Formerly Hamed Benouar, now Tom West, Director of CCIT (http://www.calccit.org)
• Pravin Varaiya, University of California at Berkeley, developer of the Freeway Performance Measurement System (PeMS)
• Dan Sperling, University of California at Davis, expert in alternative fuels
• Will Recker, Unviersity of California at Irvine
• Alex Skabardonis, University of California at Berkeley, Director of California Partnership for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) (http://www.path.berkeley.edu)
• Bahram Ravani, University of California at Davis, with the Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology (AHMCT) Research Center (http://www.ahmct.ucdavis.edu). This center develops new highway maintenance technologies such as a dynamic crack sealer and a machine that automatically lays down and picks up cones.

Chief Thomas Lambert (Senior Vice President & Chief of Police, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Technology is a force multiplier for police. Technology:
  • Presents real-time picture of what police will confront.
  • Is a major force in managing congestion.
• An integrated multimodal transportation network supported by ITS is the answer to growing demand for services.

3b: Thought leaders

• ITS Advisory Committee
• Local community leaders (e.g., mayor of Houston)
• ITS America
• Highway Safety Group in International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
• International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
• Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
• Association of American State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
• American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

Dr. Adrian Lund (President, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Improved highway design.
• We must enforce safe use of electronic devices, both dash-mounted and portable, that cause drivers to take their eyes off the road.
  • Both in-vehicle and portable devices will increase crashes.
  • Some high-end vehicles foster unsafe acts. Routine tasks, such as temperature and seat adjustments, require interaction with screen.
• Technology aids for aging drivers.
• Technology to address the growing motorcycle population.
• Technology could improve infrastructure and help regulate traffic. The challenge is smart application of technology.

3b: Thought leaders

• Car companies
• ITS America
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Bryan Mistele (Founder, President & CEO, Inrix Technologies)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Technology providing access to traffic flow information.
  • Analogy to stock market data. Formerly only traders had data; now anyone can trade.
  • As access to data grows, congestion will be reduced.

3b: Thought leaders

• Oliver Downs, Inrix
• Robert Hyne, BMW
• Clear Channel Communications, traffic incident provider (see 4/20/04 press release http://www.clearchannel.com/Radio/PressRelease.aspx?PressReleaseID=519)
• Ford Motor Company, developing a new suite of traffic information devices
• Deane Beekman, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, expert in private sector traffic flows
• Joanne Oerter, North Carolina Department of Transportation

Dr. Granger Morgan (Professor and Head of Department of Engineering and Public Safety, Carnegie Mellon University)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• ITS technologies in support of reducing carbon emissions.
• Distributed intelligence in IT networks (when electric hybrid vehicles are mainstreamed).

3b: Thought leaders

• Electric Power Research Institute (http://www.epri.com); experts in electric hybrid vehicles
• Lester Lave, Carnegie Mellon University; expert on alternative fuels
• Adrian Perrig, Carnegie Mellon University; expert in system security design
• Costas Samaras, Lancaster University (UK); researcher on plug-in hybrids

Michael Replogle (Transportation Director, Environmental Defense)
3a: Role of technology in trends – Answered this question in question 2.
3b: Thought leaders

• Jack Opiola, Booz-Allen Hamilton
• Steve Lockwood, PB Farradyne
• Deloitte Touche's ITS Division
• IBM

Tomiji Sugimoto (Vice President, Honda Research and Development Americas, Inc.)
3a: Role of technology in trends
This answer also answers question 4 – opportunities to capitalize on trends with ITS.

• Safety-related technologies to reduce fatality rate (40,000 + fatalities per year in US).
  • Collision avoidance.
  • Lane departure.
• Example: Acura can download traffic information through an on-board navigation unit.
  • Coverage is limited and should be expanded.
  • With better quality traffic information, avoidance of hazardous situations will improve.

3b: Thought leaders

• Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (http://www.camp-ivi.com)

Dr. Joseph Sussman (JR East Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Information technology.
  • Continuous Internet access in vehicles is under study at MIT.
• Communications technology.
• Mathematical algorithms for modeling and control;
  • Models are needed to provide route selection choices rapidly. Current state-of-the-art is too slow.
  • Modeling tools are needed to optimize use of data that ITS can generate.

3b: Thought leaders

• MIT researchers
• University of California at Berkeley's PATH program
• University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)

Iris Weinshall (Vice Chancellor, City University of New York)
3a: Role of technology in trends – Answered this question in question 2.
3b: Thought leaders

• New York State Department of Transportation.
• Think tanks such as the Rudin Center at City University of New York (CUNY).
• Advocacy groups.

Ronald Woodruff (Senior Vice President for Corporate Safety & Security, J.B, Hunt Transport Services, Inc.)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Technologies that play a significant role in future trends are:
  • Collision avoidance systems.
  • In-transit visibility.
  • Navigation aids for drivers.
  • Driver performance monitoring.
  • Remote training tools.
  • Dynamic speed control for remote speed reduction.
  • Technology enabling traffic signal discrimination between trucks and cars, to increase the yellow time for trucks, which need longer yellow phases in order to stop/clear intersections safely.
  • Crash locating technology to support preventive measures.
  • Improved roadside inspection capability to identify safety-compliant trucks without stopping them.
  • RFID tags to expedite border-crossing operations.
  • Imminent hazard warning systems that alert managers as well as drivers.

3b: Thought leaders

• Dan Murray at the American Trucking Research Institute (http://www.atri-online.org)
• Steve Campbell and Steve Keppler at the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) (http://www.cvsa.org)
• Various motor carriers
• American Trucking Associations (ATA)
• Vendors developing new products. There is a compelling need for a national strategy, so we have a national standard platform. Right now, we have 50. Vendors need to have a single set of standards to which they can design, not multiple sets of standards.

John Worthington (President & CEO, Transcore)
3a: Role of technology in trends

• Technology implementing secure and efficient movement of freight bonded via supply chain.
• RFID systems and back office technology to support electronic operations.
• Possible combination of supply chain technologies with dedicated truck lanes could reduce truck traffic and improve efficiency.

3b: Thought leaders

• Robert Poole, The Reason Foundation
• Joe Giglio, The Hudson Institute
• Mike Doyle, Econolite
• Some members of the ITS America Board

QUESTION # 4: WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU SEE TO CAPITALIZE ON THESE TRENDS AS RELATED TO ITS?

Steve Albert (Director, Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University)

• Swiss cheese vs. national coverage
  • To-date, there has been no rural model deployment initiative. We need one.
• Pull vs. push technology for better system operational control.
  • We should leverage cell phones and navigation systems to create "push technology" wave of traveler information (hazards, weather, etc.)
• Public sector infrastructure vs. private sector leveraging.
  • There are opportunities now to leverage mobile data collection probes.
  • We need to ensure participation of appropriate private sector participants and do a large-scale demonstration.
• Maintenance of ITS and environmental monitoring.
  • ITS maintenance is potentially the biggest barrier to rural deployment.
  • Federal funding for operations and maintenance (O&M) is essential.
  • Single-point-of-failure training is critical.
  • Transportation is part of a global warming toolkit.
• Ex-urban migration to rural areas and its impact on customer expectations.
  • Ex-urban migration presents an opportunity to extend ITS solutions to rural areas.
  • Use urban ITS applications, such as automatic vehicle identification (AVI) tags, to collect for example, rural travel time information.
  • We still need to educate state department of transportation leaders on the benefits of ITS; need to transition from a construction perspective to an operations orientation.

Scott Belcher (President & CEO, ITS America)

• We need more outreach on successes.
• The Public needs to understand the benefits of, and why they should care about, ITS.
• States should lead in capturing statistics on benefits/successes.
• We need to mainstream private funding approaches.
• Better communications outreach will subsidize improved public transit.

Dr. Kenneth Button (Professor, George Mason University [GMU])

• The opportunities are in overcoming institutional issues.
  • Jurisdictions in the US still control applications of technology.
  • Corridors are examples of the challenges in standardizing approaches; different jurisdictions implementing different rules.
• There is now great opportunity for good policy-making.

Robert Denaro (Vice President, NAVTEQ Corporation)

• There is a need for close integration of the commercial value chain.
  • Applications, technologies and business models are all evolving rapidly. A smart company needs flexibility, needs to be willing to "eat your young".
  • It is important to get to market fast with a decent enough product, and let the market be a teacher. There may be a need to totally start over.
  • Honda put out an autonomous system, knowing it was too expensive. It didn't sell, but the company got lots of useful feedback. This happens to Honda about every 10 years.
• Traffic data through satellite tracking will never happen.

Ann Flemer (Deputy Executive Director of Operations, Metropolitan Transportation Commission)

• Technology plays a vital role in VII program and urban partnership agreements.
  • We must evaluate these programs to provide insights on the true potential of ITS.

Alfred Foxx (Director, Baltimore City Department of Transportation)

• Capitalize through communication systems and traffic signal coordination.
• We should collect data through sensor networks.
  • Including developing a city map with trouble spots highlighted.
  • Traveler information for route diversion must be disseminated to be effective.
• Three-part process for capitalizing through technology:
  • Direct applications (signal coordination, timing plans, etc.).
  • Information gathering.
  • Dissemination to public.

John Inglish ( General Manager, Utah Transit Authority)

• Transportation should be responsive in all areas.
• The US needs a comprehensive national transportation strategy with ITS embedded.
  • Strategy's focus needs to be moving people, not vehicles.
  • Transit is a major contributor.
  • We need to develop policies to incentivize transit agency general managers to invest in key technologies (e.g., fare collection, on-board monitoring, etc.)
  • Currently, the Federal government role is currently weak.
• Currently, the major drivers (i.e., thought leaders) are local officials who deal with problems daily.

Randy Iwasaki ( Chief Deputy Director, California Department of Transportation [Caltrans])

• We need to do a better job marketing ITS successes: to the public and to decision-makers.
  • Caltrans needs benefit/cost analysis data to take technologies proven successful in pilot tests to more widespread deployment. Currently, benefit/cost analysis data are largely lacking.
  • Example: Fog warning system in California's Central Valley.
• Non-traditional partners in a marketing effort include the American Automobile Association (AAA), the insurance industry, and organizations involved in public health including those who depend on speedy travel for public health such as hospitals, fire and rescue, and emergency medical service ( EMS) providers.
• With regard to marketing and outreach to the public, the environment as an issue can be either an asset or a liability for transportation: "It can work for us, or it can work against us."
  • Asset: ITS can reduce congestion, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions to address global warming.
  • Liability: Increased transportation capacity can cause people to drive more, thereby producing more carbon emissions, which makes global warming worse.
    • The anti-transportation argument (the "polar bear" argument) was recently used successfully in Washington State to defeat a transportation bond issue.

Chief Thomas Lambert (Senior Vice President & Chief of Police, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas)

• A USDOT lead in assisting state and local agencies is necessary.
• Lessons learned in freeway management and transit operations must be applied to arterial systems.
• We need to move quickly on 511 and 9-1-1.
• The evacuation experiences in 2005 hurricanes demonstrated the value of ITS and interagency coordination.
• Deployment of standardized systems has been key; multiple proprietary systems are being avoided by local agencies.

Dr. Adrian Lund (President, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

• New car technology must be applied to low-speed crashes.
• Blind spot detection is a major advance and should be standardized.
• Rear visibility is still a concern; we need to find a way to integrate back-up cameras.
• Motorcycle population is:
  • Growing in size and complexity.
  • Older riders are riding larger bikes. Younger riders are on super-sport bikes.
  • This is a recipe for increased crashes. We need to address the motorcycle challenge.
• We need to address the aging driver issue in both cycles and automobiles.

Bryan Mistele (Founder, President & CEO, Inrix Technologies)

• Advances in data analysis and forecasting enable managers to visualize traffic patterns before expensive systems are deployed. Managers should use these tools to select and prioritize projects.
• Bottleneck analysis uses available data to identify congestion bottlenecks.
• Urban Partnership Agreements and congestion pricing will enable intelligent mode choices.

Dr. Granger Morgan (Professor and Head of Department of Engineering and Public Safety, Carnegie Mellon University)

• CMU faculty are involved in providing improved and interoperable communications to first responders.
• System security and data privacy will be essential in widespread ITS deployment. CMU is working on these issues now.

Michael Replogle (Transportation Director, Environmental Defense)

• The ITS industry must address environmental challenges.
• If we address the greenhouse problem, the US will be competitive in the coming decades.
• If ITS deployments produce more carbon-emitting vehicles (through improved flows), we will have wasted huge infrastructure investments.
• Get the vision right.

Tomiji Sugimoto (Vice President, Honda Research and Development Americas, Inc.)
Answered this question in questions 2 and 3.

Dr. Joseph Sussman (JR East Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
The interviewer changed the question tto "What are the opportunities for the JPO to capitalize on trends?"

• The JPO should fund and integrate proper research.
  • Two kinds of integration: integration of research into practice, and integration of multiple research efforts with each other.
• The JPO should advance an institutional agenda.
  • Changing relationships between organizations must be examined.
  • Education and training are critical.

Iris Weinshall (Vice Chancellor, City University of New York)

• The transportation community is mainstreaming ITS.
• ITS is now accepted as part of the solution to most challenges.
• We must keep up the momentum through outreach.
  • Advertise successes (e.g., E-ZPass has fundamentally changed toll payment patterns in the New York City metropolitan area.)
  • Enlist the media to conduct outreach.
• We need to develop success stories for reauthorization.

Ronald Woodruff (Senior Vice President for Corporate Safety & Security, J.B, Hunt Transport Services, Inc.)

• All opportunities to capitalize on new technologies will depend on benefit/cost analyses. The benefits must exceed the costs as well as improve productivity and safety.

John Worthington (President & CEO, Transcore)

• Public-private partnerships will support tolling operations.
• If tolling brings value-added experiences on facilities, customers will be satisfied, and willing to pay.

QUESTION # 5: DOES THE FOLLOWING DEFINITION OF ITS MAKE SENSE TO YOU? IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE?

ITS IS THE APPLICATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Steve Albert (Director, Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University)

• The definition is too narrow, too focused on operations. ITS is more wide-ranging.

Scott Belcher (President & CEO, ITS America)

• "Information technology" is too narrow. ITS can be much broader than IT, and includes inter-modal travel, navigation, satellite-based systems, etc.

Dr. Kenneth Button (Professor, George Mason University [GMU])

• ITS is broader than surface transportation.
• We must think in terms of integrated transportation systems; 40% of the US economy is based on international trade (maritime, aviation). We should not constrain ITS.
• Takes issue with the "information" in IT.
  • For example, road pricing is not really information.

Robert Denaro (Vice President, NAVTEQ Corporation)

• "Information technology" is too narrow.
  • Positioning, communications and sensors are missing.
• "To improve performance" is too narrow if safety is not part of operational performance.
  • Volvo's 25-year vision is that no one will kill or injure or be killed or be injured with a Volvo vehicle.
• Is efficiency part of operational performance?

Ann Flemer (Deputy Executive Director of Operations, Metropolitan Transportation Commission)

• "Operational performance" is too vague, too open to varied interpretations. The definition needs to call out safety and economy.

Alfred Foxx (Director, Baltimore City Department of Transportation)

• OK with the definition.

John Inglish ( General Manager, Utah Transit Authority)

• "Operational performance" is too narrow. Technology (more than just information technology, but others) must be applied to restructure the entire approach to transportation planning.

Randy Iwasaki ( Chief Deputy Director, California Department of Transportation [Caltrans])

• Would add "safety and" before "operational performance".
• Definition fails to emphasize the interconnected nature of ITS, i.e., the "systems" in ITS.

Chief Thomas Lambert (Senior Vice President & Chief of Police, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas)

• The definition is too narrow. Call out safety and communications.

Dr. Adrian Lund (President, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

• Call out safety. Some will claim that safety is embedded in operational performance, but it is buried unless emphasized.

Bryan Mistele (Founder, President & CEO, Inrix Technologies)

• OK with the definition.

Dr. Granger Morgan (Professor and Head of Department of Engineering and Public Safety, Carnegie Mellon University)

• OK with the definition.

Michael Replogle (Transportation Director, Environmental Defense)

• After "operational performance", add "and design".

Tomiji Sugimoto (Vice President, Honda Research and Development Americas, Inc.)

• The definition is too broad. The definition is in the head of the stakeholder.

Dr. Joseph Sussman (JR East Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

• The definition is incomplete. ITS is not just IT; ITS includes other technologies: communications, sensors and algorithms.
• Intermodalism for freight and passengers should be added.
• Institutional aspects of ITS should be called out.

Iris Weinshall (Vice Chancellor, City University of New York)

• The definition is "jargon-heavy" and too technical. Make it more user-friendly for public to understand.

Ronald Woodruff (Senior Vice President for Corporate Safety & Security, J.B, Hunt Transport Services, Inc.)

• Add "by enhancing safety and productivity" after operational performance.

John Worthington (President & CEO, Transcore)

• Add "safely", i.e., "To safely improve operational performance"
  

QUESTION # 6: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD ABOUT THE TOPICS WE JUST DISCUSSED?

Steve Albert (Director, Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University)

• There needs to be a discussion about the success of the ITS program, deployment and lessons learned.
• ITS infrastructure has not been primarily deployed by the private sector, as was originally predicted 15 years ago.
• We need to revisit "branding" of ITS. Is ITS well-understood by the traveling public, private sector partners, and non-traditional stakeholders?

Scott Belcher (President & CEO, ITS America)

• Impediments to realizing the full potential of ITS are money and political will.

Dr. Kenneth Button (Professor, George Mason University [GMU])

• ITS is becoming integrated into energy conservation and carbon reduction efforts.
• Urges the ITS community to think of ITS as a set of tools to accomplish policy objectives vs. only improving operational performance.

Robert Denaro (Vice President, NAVTEQ Corporation)

• Government needs to watch the entertainment market and not be afraid of it.

Ann Flemer (Deputy Executive Director of Operations, Metropolitan Transportation Commission)

• Dedicated Federal funding should be directed to local jurisdictions to foster ITS deployments.
• The VII program will require a national strategy, whereas the Urban Partnership Agreements are focused on metropolitan areas, and lessons learned will be applied elsewhere. The Federal ITS focus should be identified.

Alfred Foxx (Director, Baltimore City Department of Transportation)

• Funding is a major issue.
  • ITS is a big assist in managing more efficiently, but funding is not keeping pace. This discrepancy needs to be addressed.

John Inglish ( General Manager, Utah Transit Authority)

• The key feature lacking in current strategic framework is sustainability.

Randy Iwasaki ( Chief Deputy Director, California Department of Transportation [Caltrans])

• Caltrans will support the USDOT to test new technologies that are of practical benefit to the agency, i.e., "anything that makes sense to us".
• There is a need to fund successful deployments and market those successes.

Chief Thomas Lambert (Senior Vice President & Chief of Police, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas)

• Implementation of ITS presents opportunities to improve inter-agency working relationships. These are critical, not only in daily operations, but especially in emergency situations.

Dr. Adrian Lund (President, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

• Will not be able to attend the November 26-27 meeting. At the meeting, would like there to be a strong statement on safety.

Bryan Mistele (Founder, President & CEO, Inrix Technologies)

• Opposes the Transportation Technology Innovation and Demonstration (TTID) Program (http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/travelinfo/ttidprogram/ttidprogram.htm).
  • Program goal is to collect data via surveillance and data management in metropolitan areas.
  • Program creates a data monopoly, which is not a good long-term approach.
• Supports Real-Time System Management Information Program (RTSMIP) (http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/travelinfo/about/rtsmip.htm).
  • Program goal is to stimulate expansion and availability of traveler information, which is good public policy.
• Current metropolitan traffic signal coordination is poor. Centralized control of traffic signals is critically important.
• Engaging government assistance at all levels is difficult and expensive.
  • Government should foster opportunities for involvement with small companies.

Dr. Granger Morgan (Professor and Head of Department of Engineering and Public Safety, Carnegie Mellon University)

• Unsure of how he fits in to ITS Advisory Committee.
• Will assess his suitability for providing guidance to the National ITS Program. [Recommend omitting this comment from further interview summaries.]

Michael Replogle (Transportation Director, Environmental Defense)

• Has contacts at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who track carbon pricing; a possible future engagement with the JPO.

Tomiji Sugimoto (Vice President, Honda Research and Development Americas, Inc.)

• Wants to discuss safety at the next meeting.
• The public seems more inclined to pay for entertainment options than for safety.
• There may be an industry interconnect between safety and entertainment systems. People will buy for entertainment, but the technologies will be leveraged for safety.

Dr. Joseph Sussman (JR East Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

• Nothing further. Pleased to serve on the ITS Advisory Committee.

Iris Weinshall (Vice Chancellor, City University of New York)

• Dedicated Federal funding should be directed to local jurisdictions to foster ITS deployments.
  • Locals are spending funds to maintain infrastructure; there is nothing left for investment.
  • Federal funding would energize adoption of ITS at the local level.
• Urban Partnership Agreements are a good approach for encouraging local involvement with emerging technologies.

Ronald Woodruff (Senior Vice President for Corporate Safety & Security, J.B, Hunt Transport Services, Inc.)

• Reiterated the need for demonstrated benefits of new technologies as a prerequisite for adoption.

John Worthington (President & CEO, Transcore)

• The technology is in place for major improvements, but three ingredients are needed for success: 1. Political Will. 2. Dedicated Funding. 3. Institutional Cooperation.

Updated: October 9, 2008 4:13 PM