WEATHER AND INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

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WEATHER AND INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

• JEFFREY F. PANIATI
• PROGRAM MANAGER
• INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
• U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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Presentation Outline

• Evolution of ITS Program
• Integration, Interoperability, and Intermodalism
• An intermodal approach to land weather information

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Transportation Challenges

• 41,000 fatalities annually
• Congestion will increase by 50 in 10 years
• Just-in-Time delivery of goods
• Increase attractiveness of public transport

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Technology (ITS) Can Be Part of the Solution
The Information Age Changes Everything!
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Evolution of the ITS Program
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Intelligent Transportation Systems
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ITS is Founded on Principles of

• Integration
• Interoperability
• Intermodalism

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Key to Integration National ITS Architecture
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Intermodal Coordination
FHWA (Highway)
OST (Secretary)
FTA (Transit)
MARAD (Maritime)
ITS Joint Program Office
NHTSA (Traffic Safety)
FRA (Rail)
FMCSA (Motor Carrier Safety)
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Weather Threats Across the Architecture

• Threats common across modes
• Snow Ice Precipitation
• Floods
• Low Temperatures
• High Winds
• Evacuation Conditions (e.g., hurricanes)
• Threats influencing some modes more than others
• Conditions for air pollution (auto)
• Severe Local Storms (air)
• Inland vs. Sea Conditions (ports/maritime)
• Visibility (air auto)
• High temperatures and rate changes (rail)

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Asymmetry Across Modes

• Aviation has a longstanding and intensive
  interaction with the National Weather Service
• Maritime also has a longstanding interaction,
  especially with the military
• On the other hand, land transportation
• Has been beneath the interests of meteorology
• Is institutionally and modally fragmented
• Needs route-specific threat information

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Weather and ITS

• Opportunities for Intermodal Convergence of
  Weather and ITS
• 511
• Intermodal Freight

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511

• What is 511?
• Number allocated by FCC for dispensing traveler
  information
• Available to transportation agencies
• What are the intermodal aspects of 511?
• Information can be for any mode, depending on the
  capabilities of the local agencies
• FHWA working with 511 Consortium to define what
  511 should include guidance available in late
  2001

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511 Implementation

• Document lessons learned from lead adopters
• Convert 300 existing traveler information
  numbers
• 511 Model Deployment

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511 Deployment Example

• San Francisco/Bay Area (TravInfo)
• Providing traffic, transit, carpool, vanpool,
  parking and biking information on one phone
  number
• Same phone number in 6 area codes, covering 9
  counties
• Serving as a lead adopter

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Freight Shipments - End-to-End

• Just-in-Time delivery
• Relies on end-to-end coordination of multiple
  producers shippers
• Is a balance between reducing inventory
  stockpiling and preventing production
  interruptions
• Depends on predictability of shipments
• Weather significantly affects predictability
• All modes in the supply chain rely on information
  about weather threats

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Challenges

• Institutional structures are not conducive to an
  intermodal approach
• Its a day-to-day challenge to think
  intermodally
• Most agencies have highway/transit/rail
  structures
• Operations are split across State local
  agencies
• MPOs State planning provide a cross-modal
  perspective
• Works well for planning, but less so for
  operations
• Market for land weather is highly fragmented

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Opportunities

• ITS is forcing transportation agencies to think
  and act intermodally
• Technology
• Federal Rulemaking
• Operations-focus

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Next Steps

• Observing Systems improvements will help land
  modes become full partners
• Environmental Sensor Stations
• Differential GPS (total precipitable water vapor)
• Infostructure for the National Highway System
• Motivating Intermodal Coordination
• Travel demand management (e.g., due to air
  quality)
• Just-In-Time strategies
• Traveler intermodal decision making (esp. due to
  weather)

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Future ITS Program

• 10-Year National ITS Program Plan
• Renewed vision for U.S. ITS Program
• Foundation for 2003 ITS reauthorization
• Partnership between U.S. DOT ITS America
• Development underway
• Initial Draft March, 2001
• National Meeting April, 2001
• Final Draft July, 2001
• Final Plan October, 2001