ITS Overview

What is ITS?

ITS improves transportation safety and mobility and enhances productivity through the use of advanced information and communications technologies.

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) encompass a broad range of wireless and wire line communications-based information and electronics technologies.  When integrated into the transportation system's infrastructure, and in vehicles themselves, these technologies relieve congestion, improve safety and enhance American productivity.  

ITS is made up of 16 types of technology based systems. These systems are divided into intelligent infrastructure systems and intelligent vehicle systems. To learn more about these systems and how they can be applied, as well as the costs and benefits of these systems, please visit the ITS Applications Overview Web Site.

For more information about ITS please visit:

• ITS Joint Program Office Staff | Field Offices
• Frequently Asked Questions

About the Federal ITS Program

The Federal ITS Program Mission

The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) ITS program focuses on intelligent vehicles, intelligent infrastructure and the creation of an intelligent transportation system through integration with and between these two components. The Federal ITS program supports the overall advancement of ITS through investments in major initiatives, exploratory studies and a deployment support program. Increasingly, the Federal investments are directed at targets of opportunity – major initiatives – that have the potential for significant payoff in improving safety, mobility and productivity.

Federal ITS Program Initiatives

In 2004 the ITS Management Council reorganized the functions of the ITS program to focus on nine particular high pay-off areas. Milestones have been designated in each initiative area, at which point the Management Council evaluates progress. Each major initiative is multimodal, public-private sector involved and aims to improve safety, mobility and/or productivity.

The major initiatives are:

• Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII)
• Next Generation 9-1-1
• Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems
• Integrated Vehicle Based Safety Systems
• ITS Operational Testing Program to Mitigate Congestion
• Integrated Corridor Management Systems
• Clarus
• Emergency Transportation Operations
• Mobility Services for All Americans
• Electronic Freight Management

Ongoing major activities within the Federal ITS program are:

• 511 Travel Information
• ITS Architecture Implementation

Organization of the Federal ITS Program

• A corporate-style "board of directors"– the ITS Management Council – develops and directs Federal ITS policy and ensures the effectiveness of the ITS program. The ITS Management Council is chaired by the Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
• Advising the ITS Management Council is the ITS Strategic Planning Group. Membership is generally at the Associate Administrator and office director level, and is chaired by the ITS program manager.
• The ITS program director leads the ITS Joint Program Office (JPO), which is comprised of program managers and coordinators of the USDOT's multimodal ITS initiatives. In addition, individual staff members manage technology transfer functions, such as National ITS Architecture development and maintenance, Standards development, professional capacity building and program assessment.
• The head of the JPO is Shelley Row.  The Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration oversees the ITS Program.  The JPO has Department wide-authority in coordinating the ITS program and initiatives among FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, FRA, NHTSA and MARAD.
• The ITSPAC was established pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. 2; and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Subtitle C, to act solely in an advisory capacity to the Secretary of Transportation on all matters relating to the study, development, and implementation of intelligent transportation systems. Through its sponsor, the ITS Joint Program Office, the ITSPAC makes recommendations to the Secretary regarding ITS program needs, objectives, plans, approaches, content, and progress. All ITSPAC meetings are open to the public and will be announced in the Federal Register. Non-committee members wishing to present oral statements at an ITSPAC meeting or to submit written comments to the ITSPAC are requested to notify the Committee Management Officer listed in the “ITSPAC U.S. DOT Contacts”.

A Brief History of the Federal ITS Program

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) established a Federal program to research, develop, and operationally test Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and to promote their implementation. The program was designed to facilitate deployment of technology to enhance the efficiency, safety, and convenience of surface transportation, resulting in improved access, saved lives and time, and increased productivity.

The program began as a three pronged effort that fostered the development of ITS through (1) basic research and development, (2) operational tests that served as the bridge between basic research and full deployment, and (3) various deployment support activities that facilitated the implementation of integrated ITS technologies.

ISTEA originally authorized $659 million for fiscal years 1992-1997 with additional funds appropriated for a total of approximately $1.2 billion. The Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) authorized a similar amount ($1.3 billion) through fiscal year 2003. In 2005, the Congress enacted the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), which ended the ITS Deployment Program at the close of fiscal year 2005, but continued ITS research at $110 million annually through fiscal year 2009. In addition to authorized ITS funding, ITS projects are eligible for regular Federal-aid highway funding.

The ITS program carries out its goals through research and development, operational testing, technology transfer, training and technical guidance in the areas of intelligent vehicles, advanced traffic and transit management, commercial vehicle operations, public safety, traveler information, and intermodal freight.

Updated: October 21, 2008 11:23 AM