Intelligent Transportation System Deployment Analysis System (IDAS)

Intelligent Transportation System Deployment Analysis System (IDAS)

Problem: Limited methods exist to analyze the costs and benefits of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and operations projects and strategies as part of the transportation planning process

and engineers to analyze the costs and benefits of ITS and operations projects and strategies as part of the transportation planning process. The quantification of these costs and benefits is especially difficult for planners and engineers that use travel demand forecasting models to evaluate investments because these models cannot capture the benefits derived from ITS and operations technologies.

Solution: IDAS provides information to facilitate the planning, programming, and integration of ITS and operations projects into State, regional, and local improvement programs

What is IDAS?

IDAS is a sketch-planning software analysis tool that transportation practitioners can use to estimate the benefits and costs of ITS investments. IDAS can predict relative costs and benefits for more than 60 types of ITS investments.

How does IDAS work?

IDAS operates as a post-processor to travel demand models, enabling the user to import data from a travel demand model into the IDAS software to recreate the transportation network under evaluation. IDAS provides the opportunity to build different network alternatives by enabling users to choose from a menu of ITS and operations components and then deploy the selected network components. As the user chooses various components, IDAS maintains a database of the impacts and costs of the components, based on national data. After all of the components are selected, users can program IDAS to perform an internal network assignment and mode choice analysis to estimate the changes in modal, route, and temporal decisions of travelers resulting from the ITS and operations technologies. The software then generates reports that show the incremental change in performance measures and the annual benefit-cost ratios for the selected investments.

IDAS can estimate the following system wide performance measures:

• Mobility or travel time (recurring delay).
• Travel time reliability (nonrecurring delay).
• Crashes (fatalities, injuries, property damage).
• Emissions (hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, NOx, PM10).
• Fuel use.
• Agency efficiency and productivity.
• Capital, operating, and maintenance costs.
• Benefit-cost ratios.

IDAS can then segment these performance measures by market sector, facility type, or district/user defined area.

Successful applications: IDAS quantifies the impacts, benefits, and costs of ITS and operations investments

IDAS has been used successfully across the country and around the world. For example, practitioners have used IDAS to:

• Analyze ITS and operations alternatives for long range plans.
• Evaluate existing and new ITS and operations systems.
• Perform major investment, corridor, and freight/goods movement studies.
• Analyze congestion management systems, work zones, and air quality impacts of projects.

To increase awareness about IDAS, FHWA sponsored the development of four case studies available on the IDAS Web site at http://idas.camsys.com.

National Deployment Statement

Planners will be able to compare the costs and benefits of ITS and operational improvements. Decisionmakers will receive comprehensive cost/ benefit information to help make investments in the planning and project development processes.

National Deployment Goal

The FY09 goal is to have 30 State DOTs/Planning agencies and MPOs use IDAS as a tool to evaluate Operations/ITS improvements to use IDAS as a tool to evaluate Operations/ITS improvements.

National Deployment Status

There are currently 28 State and MPO applications of IDAS. Marketing Plans developed and are starting to carry out with outreach. Two IDAS Workshops for planners and operators showcasing IDAS, DYNASMART-P and SCRITS were conducted in the summer of 2008, one each in Columbus, Ohio and one in Richmond, Virginia. Additionally, a presentation on IDAS was made at the North Carolina MPO planning conference, and technical assistance on IDAS was provided to the DVRPC (Philadelphia MPO) and the MARC (Kansas City MPO)

Phase of Deployment

PHASE III-Delivery Activities

• Face-to-face communication
• Conduct presentations
• Conduct pilot
• Conduct training and education
• Public/ private partnerships

Additional Resources

The IDAS software can be purchased through FHWA's Center for Microcomputers in Transportation's (McTrans Center) online catalog at http://mctrans.ce.ufl.edu or by phone at 800-226-1013.

In addition, FHWA offers a 2-day training course through the National Highway Institute (NHI). Training may be requested through your local FHWA Division Office or NHI at http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/default.aspx.

More information on IDAS is available at the IDAS Web site at http://idas.camsys.com or by contacting the IDAS team at idas@dot.gov.

For More Information Contact:

Edward Fok
edward.fok@dot.gov
415-744-0113

John Halkias
john.halkias@dot.gov
202-366-2183

Jienki Synn
jienki.synn@dot.gov
202-366-5001