INITIATING ITS AT A LOCAL LEVEL

This paper describes the Rural Outreach Project, performed within the ENTERPRISE pooled-fund study program, which aimed to identify and describe proven, cost-effective, "low-tech" solutions for rural transportation-related problems or needs. The definition used during the project for these "simple solutions" was that an application need not be currently considered "ITS", but should represent a technology-based, effective, practical solution for existing or impending problems, which could perhaps be considered a precursor to ITS. A research effort was undertaken which aimed to identify a variety of representative transportation simple solutions across the United States. When an appropriate candidate solution was identified, further information was sought and documented relating to the benefits of the application, the anticipated steps required to implement the technology, any issues that could surface during implementation, and the application's role in the larger scale ITS industry. What was discovered during this study was that numerous low-cost, small-scale, localized implementations of technology are in place across the country. Many of the agencies responsible for developing and implementing these systems did not perceive them to be "intelligent transportation systems" as such, nor as being precursors to ITS. Nevertheless, many of the systems investigated could be classified as ITS or at least "pre-ITS". It is believed that this finding is significant, as it indicates that intelligent transportation systems are not only being implemented in a "top down" manner in response to nationally led programs, but that a "bottom up" process is also underway, as local agencies take the initiative to design and deploy systems that meet their own needs.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Full conference proceedings available only on CD.
• Corporate Authors:

  ITS America

  1100 17th Street, NW, 12th Floor
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Bland, C E
  • Deeter, D
  • Pisano, P
• Conference:
  • Merging the Transportation and Communications Revolutions. Abstracts for ITS America Seventh Annual Meeting and Exposition
  • Location: Washington, D.C.
  • Date: 1997-6-2 to 1997-6-5
• Publication Date: 1997

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: n.p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cost effectiveness; Intelligent transportation systems; Local government agencies; Rural areas; Technology; Transportation planning
• Uncontrolled Terms: Local agencies; Low cost
• Old TRIS Terms: Small scale
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00743291
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 1 1997 12:00AM