TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES & CHALLENGES

TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Urban highway congestion has long been recognized as a challenge.

More sophisticated traffic control.

Traffic congestion can be reduced through better urba land-use planning or application of various economic incentives as congestion pricing.

TRAFFIC SAFETY

Organizational responsibilities

Legal concerns

Traffic accidents

ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Focuses on improvement of safety vehicles, traffic safety, safety research and development and collection of accident data.

LEGAL CONCERNS

Tort liability arising from traffic accidents

Liability for damages in cases where unsafe conditions lead to personal injury or property damage.

EQUALITY OF ACCESS

Three groups in particular have been seen as generally underserved such as poor, the elderly and the physically disabled.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

System level impacts- air quality, energy consumption and land use.

Site specific impacts- displacement of residents and businesses due to construction of transportation facilities, noise impacts on wildlife.

Temporary impacts during construction.

NEW TECHNOLOGY

Travel and transportation management

Travel demand management

Public transportation operations

Electronic payment services

Commercial vehicle operations

Emergency management

Advanced vehicle control and safety systems

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

To include en-route driver information, route guidance, traveler services information, traffic control, incident management.

TRAVEL DEMAND MANAGEMENT

To include pre trip travel information, ride matching and reservation and demand management and operations.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPERATIONS

To include public transportation management, en-route transit information, personalized public transit and public transit security.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE OPERATIONS

To include commercial vehicle electronic clearance, automated roadside safety inspection, on-board safety monitoring

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

To include emergency notification and personal security and emergency vehicle management.

ADVANCED VEHICLE CONTROL AND SAFETY SYSTEMS

To include longitudinal collision avoidance, lateral collision avoidance, intersection collision avoidance, vision enhancement for crash avoidance.

INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (ITS) MAY ALSO BE GROUPED INTO FUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS SUCH AS:

Advanced traffic management systems (ATMS)

Advanced traveler information systems (ATIS)

Advanced vehicle control systems (AVCS)

ADVANCED TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (ATMS)

Systems intended to manage the flow of traffic such as coordinated traffic signal systems, ramp metering systems and incident management systems.

ADVANCED TRAVELER SYSTEMS (ATIS)

Systems intended to disseminate information to the public- traffic condition information, route guidance.

ADVANCED VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEMS (AVCS)

Automated highway systems and onboard control systems- collision avoidance, vision enhancement.

FUNDING

Securing adequate financial resources is another perennial challenge, both for public agencies providing transportation facilities and for private sector firms.