Intelligent Transportation Systems
Operational Testing Program to Mitigate Congestion

What It Is

In May 2006, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced its National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America’s Transportation Network (the Congestion Initiative), a bold and comprehensive national program to reduce congestion on the Nation’s roads, rails, runways and waterways. The Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Operational Testing to Mitigate Congestion (ITS-OTMC) Program provides the advanced technology foundation for the Congestion Initiative. ITS technologies will support congestion pricing, improved system operations and performance, regional efforts to expand provision of real-time traveler information, improved traffic incident response, improved arterial signal timing and reduced obtrusiveness of highway construction work zones. The overall objective of the ITS-OTMC Program is to facilitate the operational testing and evaluation of innovative and aggressive congestion reduction strategies incorporating ITS technologies that can demonstrate measurable reductions in congestion levels in the deployment areas.

Current Status

The Research and Innovative Technology Administration released the ITS-OTMC Federal Register notice on December 18, 2006 and released a companion Request for Applications on www.grants.gov, soliciting proposals from metropolitan areas seeking to participate in the ITS-OTMC Program. Applications were due on April 30, 2007.

Following identification of nine sites identified as “preliminary urban partners” in the spring of 2007, USDOT selected five finalists for “Urban Partnership Agreements.” In August 2007, Secretary Peters designated New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Miami as Urban Partners. The Urban Partners have agreed to demonstrate the impact of implementing the 4 T’s (tolling, transit, technology, and telecommuting) to address congestion.  The ITS program is contributing $100 million to the program.

For more information on each of the solicitations, please visit USDOT’s Congestion Initiative website at www.fightgridlocknow.gov or the ITS program’s website at www.its.dot.gov.