managing travel for planned special events - FHWA Operations ...

Subscription ServicesA number of private providers supply travelerinformation services on-demand as asubscription. Most notably, General Motors’(GM) OnStar is a 24 hours a day, 7days a week motorist assistance system installedin the vehicle. It provides a widerange of services to the driver, includingconcierge service, telephone service, remoteunlocking of the car, and notification of airbagdeployment just to name a few.Another feature OnStar provides is routeguidance to motorists. Here, the motoristinitiates a call from a button installed in thecar, is connected to a live Onstar operator,and proceeds to ask for directions. The operatorknows the vehicle’s location throughOnStar’s automated vehicle location systemand provides directions for the fastest route.OnStar currently uses a third-party wirelessanalog network and is moving to a digitaltechnology, which will allow the service tobe expanded to handheld devices as well.Presently, 53 current (2003) vehicle modelsare offered with OnStar, and GM intends toexpand to 60 models by the end of 2003.Routing assistance is the most utilized service,and OnStar reports that it handles morethan 220,000 routing calls per month. (22)Personal Data AssistantsPersonal Data Assistants (PDAs) are thenext higher level of sophistication in bothoff and on-roadway information disseminationtechnology. PDAs are computer productsthat have enough power to support applicationssuch as time management andhandwriting recognition. By adding radiofrequency (RF) communications technology,PDAs allow users to interact directly withtravel information systems. This interactionallows users to obtain route planning assistance,traffic information broadcasts, andother pertinent information. Through keypadentry, the user can log on to the informationsystem, request pertinent information,and then log off. PDAs offer the userincreased communication and informationtransmission/receiving power over alphanumericpagers.Plan SpecificationsAn en-route traveler information plan mustbe developed in concert with the traffic flowplan and traffic control plan. The success ofany traffic management plan depends ondisseminating correct information to motoristsat the right time and location.Items to be included in this plan include:• Names of contact person(s) for each involvedpartner• Protocols and methods to be utilized tocoordinate• Definition of each partner’s responsibilitiesregarding control and informationexchangeDetailed plans are necessary that identify thefacilities and resources to be used. For instance,what permanent CMS or HAR are tobe used and what holes exist in the informationdissemination strategy? Where willportable devices be required? Traveler informationplans must include planned messagesets for equipment and technology usedto disseminate en-route traveler information,including static signs, changeable messagesigns, highway advisory radio, and telephoneinformation systems.As in the desktop exercise and modelinganalyses, various scenarios must be examined,and as a result, specific tactical strategieswill be developed. Of particular importancein planned special event managementis the creation of information messages forthe various devices available to the manager.This includes changeable message sign messages,highway advisory radio messages,6EVENT PROFILE POST-EVENT ACTIVITIES DAY-OF-EVENT ACTIVITIES ADVANCE PLANNINGOVERVIEW6-69