Organizing For ITS: Computer Integration Transportation Phase 1: Results For Arterial And Highway Transportation Management Centers

The objective of this study is to evaluate alternative frameworks for Computer Integrated Transportation (CIT) from an institutional perspective. This was accomplished through site visits and interviews at existing Transportation Management Centers (TMCs), along with focus group sessions in which strategies for CIT were presented to TMC managers and staff for their comments and discussion. The study found that four factors: 1) time-frame, 2) linking information to actions, 3) broadcast orientation, and 4) embracement of new technologies have profound implications for Intelligent Transportation Systems' (ITS) implementation and research. Each demands careful deliberation at the strategic level, and possibly changes in how transportation agencies are organized.The objective of this study is to evaluate alternative frameworks for Computer Integrated Transportation (CIT) from an institutional perspective. This was accomplished through site visits and interviews at existing Transportation Management Centers (TMCs), along with focus group sessions in which strategies for CIT were presented to TMC managers and staff for their comments and discussion. The study found that four factors: 1) time-frame, 2) linking information to actions, 3) broadcast orientation, and 4) embracement of new technologies have profound implications for Intelligent Transportation Systems' (ITS) implementation and research. Each demands careful deliberation at the strategic level, and possibly changes in how transportation agencies are organized.