TRANSPORTATION - BTS - Bureau of Transportation Statistics

primarily invested in Freeway Management Systems and Coordinated Traffic Signal ControlSystems. ITS is being deployed across the country, and the rate of both public- and privatesectordeployments appears to be increasing. Figure 6-2 shows the actual federal funding forITS infrastructure from 1997 to 1999 and targeted funding through 2003 under TEA-21.Between 1991 and 1999, ITS technologies, such as electronic toll collection and freewaymonitoring systems, were increasingly deployed throughout the country. Figure 6-3 illustratesthe deployment of ITS technologies among the 78 largest metropolitan areas with ITSdeployments. Early testing, such as the TravTek test in Orlando, Florida, during 1991 and1992, and ADVANCE in Chicago, Illinois, led to niche deployment of in-vehicle navigationsystems. During this same period, the Internet became a global phenomenon, and civilian useof the GPS became available and affordable.The following subsections discuss the first 10 years of ITS research, testing, and deployment,from 1991 through 2000.Metropolitan ITS: Metropolitan ITS infrastructure is made up of nine major components,including Arterial Management Systems, Freeway Management Systems, Transit ManagementSystems, Incident Management Systems, Emergency Management, Electronic Toll Collection(ETC), Electronic Fare Payment, Highway-Rail Intersections, and Regional MultimodalTraveler Information. Table 6-1 shows these various components of Metropolitan ITS andtheir benefits.Arterial Management Systems involve the use of roadside devices, communications equipment,and specialized software to improve traffic flow along local roads and arterials (non-freewayroadways). Primary focus is on traffic signal control to alleviate congestion; secondaryemphasis is on signal pre-emption or prioritization for emergency and transit vehicles andintersection monitoring. The signal pre-emption technology, where a traffic signal turns togreen as a transit bus approaches the intersection, can reduce travel times by up to 30 percent[Hagler Bailly 1999]. Figure 6-4 shows the number of metropolitan areas where different typesof traffic signal control technologies are deployed.Figure 6-2Federal Funding for Intelligent TransportationSystems Program: 1997-2003250200Millions of U.S. dollars1501005001997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003Note: 1997 data reflect fundingfrom multiple sources. 1998 to2003 data include ITS Researchand Development funds and ITSDeployment funds.Source: U.S. Department ofTransportation, Federal HighwayAdministration, TEA-21 FactSheet – Intelligent TransportationSystems Program (Washington,DC: 1998).6-8