ITS America History
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America is the leading advocate for ITS development and deployment in the United States. ITS America was established in 1991 as a not-for-profit organization to foster the use of advanced technologies in surface transportation systems.
The formation of the society was motivated by recognition that while numerous existing organizations were actively involved in intelligent transportation issues, no single organization existed to focus exclusive attention on emerging technologies. The Highway Users Federation and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials worked closely with leaders within the Federal Highway Administration and others to create an organization to focus national attention, research, and funding on intelligent transportation systems.
Private and Public Sector Interest
There was strong private sector interest and support for its formation, broad support from the public sector—including the U.S. Department of Transportation—and active involvement from the research community.
In 1991, the federal government’s role in transportation was undergoing a dramatic transformation. In addition, new technology was seen as an important, yet still emerging, tool to aid transportation. Without a massive “interstate-like” federal program to guide investment in this new technology, it was critical that some formal partnership among the varied interests in the technology be created to guide research, development and deployment—a national, public-private partnership where local, state and federal governments could work together with private sector industry interests was needed.
The private sector viewed the market for ITS technologies, products and services as a lucrative one. But, much of the success of ITS was dependent on largely government-funded infrastructure. While approximately 80 percent of the investment in ITS was to be made by the private sector, a fair portion of the public sector's 20 percent investment would have to be made first, to provide the infrastructure upon which ITS goods and services could be developed and sold. The public-private partnership was seen as a means for the private sector to share research and development costs with the government, shape government policy related to the industry and keep the government apprised of activities being carried out in the private sector.
Federal Advisory Committee
In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) provided this initial funding and authorized the organization to be a Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Among its first major tasks was the development of a strategic plan for ITS deployment in the U.S. The document was a collaborative effort among the organization’s membership and the U.S. DOT set a national framework for guiding the development of intelligent transportation systems. It also helped define the institutional and investment roles for the public and private sector in deployment. And, perhaps most importantly for the organization, the strategic plan helped give the organization credibility with both sectors and placed it in a central role to foster intelligent transportation systems in the U.S.
ITS America is Formed
When the Intelligent Transportation Society of America was formed, the president of the Highway Users Federation was named as President & CEO of the society. An Executive Director was also named to manage day-to-day operations. One objective of the linkage was to support ITSA’s interests through lobbying. The federation provided an established advocacy infrastructure to generate political support for intelligent transportation systems. The relationship was relatively effective until the society’s first President retired and formal relations with the federation were severed. To fill the void, ITS America increased it legislative information services and activities (within the confines of its tax-exempt status).
Later, the society, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, led the development of the National ITS Program Plan, the creation of a national ITS architecture to identify critical interfaces to achieve interoperability at the regional, state and national levels, the establishment of a national clearinghouse of ITS information (ITSA.org), and the formation of policy included in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21).
ITS Joint Program Office
Rapid developments and substantial funding increases in ITS gave rise to the creation of a federal level coordinating entity for ITS within the U.S. Department of Transportation: the ITS Joint Program Office (JPO). JPO’s mission is to manage all Federal-level ITS activities and coordinate the many Federal agencies with a stake in ITS. It sponsors research and development activities, funds and manages field operational tests and model deployment initiatives, and coordinates standards, planning, outreach and policy efforts.
The JPO also managed a cooperative agreement with ITS America, which funded much of the association’s technical committee activities—the primary means by which ITS America provided the U.S. Department of Transportation with advice. The JPO also issued task orders to ITS America to undertake specific projects on its behalf.
State Chapters
Shortly after ITS America was created, it became apparent that the vast majority of ITS deployment action would be at the state and local level. Entrepreneurial ITS America members began exploring and implementing state and regional organizations to coordinate grassroots ITS activities.
International Affiliates
ITS America has sister organizations in Europe and Japan, as well as affiliates in Canada, Brazil, and elsewhere. These organizations, which have partially modeled themselves after ITS America, perform many of the same outreach, deployment support, and consensus building functions.
ITS Japan is Japan’s gateway to international cooperation in the development of ITS worldwide. ITS Japan promotes research, development and implementation of ITS in cooperation with five related national ministries in Japan and serves as the primary contact for ITS-related activities throughout the Asia Pacific region.
ERTICO, our European counterpart, was created in 1991 with support of EC as a private-public partnership, and is open to all European organizations or international organizations operating substantially in Europe with an interest in ITS. Its objectives are to help co-ordinate ITS activities in Europe, provide support and guidelines for implementation, support the transition from research and development to market-driven investment.
Current Activities
In its 16th year, ITS America is the leading membership association representing over 400 private and public sector organizations involved in the development and deployment of ITS technologies.
Recently, the society conducted the most comprehensive, analysis of ITS funding within the lastest transportation authorization, the SAFETEA-LU. We are also leading the development of a comprehensive report covering the current and recent ITS market, including forecasts for 2008 and beyond.
ITS America’s role in the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration initiative continues to gain stature as we bring the application providers to the VII table, and provide ITS business interests a voice in the further development of VII.
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