Home | Online Resources | UB Catalog | Campus Libraries | About UB Libraries | Forms | Search | Help
Intelligent Transportation Systems
What Is It?
The acronym ITS stands for Intelligent Transportation Systems. Intelligent Transportation Systems apply high technology and computer power to our current freeway, traffic, and transit systems. These systems have the potential to solve future problems of increases in population, traffic congestion, and less land for new roads. Intelligent Transportation Systems produce faster safer travel.
Why Is ITS Important?
Intelligent Transportation Systems offer the next major leap forward in improving safety, convenience, and productivity of our personal and commercial travel. The U.S. Department of Transportation is helping to lead the way toward making ITS a reality for everyone.
What Exactly Do These Systems Do?
Intelligent Transportation Systems concern traffic management. ITS technologies provide information on traffic flow, weather, and travel conditions to traffic managers and travelers. Up-to-minute information enables traffic managers to inform travelers via road-side signs, radio broadcasts, and other resources.
Look Who Is Using ITS Technology
The City of Houston, Texas, and surrounding Harris County have reduced traffic congestion with a fiber optic network of computerized traffic signals, roadway sensors, video cameras, changeable message signs, and other incident detection systems that control traffic and bus flow.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, transit buses have automatic vehicle location devices so transit operators know where they are and then adjust their schedules if they are running late.
In St. Paul, emergency vehicles can change traffic signals as they approach intersections to help them get to people who are hurt, ill, or in trouble more quickly.
Intelligent Transportation Systems were also used to monitor traffic, direct buses, and provide information to transportation users at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
Look around your city. Find out how ITS is helping to speed travel where you live.
Here Is What's New At ITS
Safety is primary in ITS and avoiding human error is key to safer transportation. Systems are on the way that will provide vehicles with crash warnings and collision avoidance capabilities. The "smart" vehicles of the not-so-distant future will sense objects, avoid collision, monitor driver alertness, and provide route guidance information. What's more, once you breeze past the toll booth using your electronic pass, the road will be equipped with sensors and other devices that let you sit back and read a book or talk on your cell phone - safely. It looks like it won't be long before cars really are driving themselves.
Many of these ITS technologies are now operational in several cities. However this is only the beginning of how technology can improve transportation. The future possibilities are almost endless. The only limitation is the imagination. You can help.
Key Words To Know
Transportation -Moving people
and goods place to place.
Modes of Transportation -Automobiles, buses, trains, trucks, ships, airplanes,
and bicycles are different types or "modes" of transportation.
Intermodal Transportation Systems - Make life easier for travelers switching
from one type of transportation to another. Intermodal systems link all the
different modes of transportation together moving people and goods. For example:
when a family takes a trip they may take a car or a subway train to the airport,
then take an airplane to another city. Once they arrive at their destination,
they may take a bus or taxicab from the airport to the hotel.
Intelligent Transportation -"Intelligence" refers to the underlying
computer/telecommunications technologies used in ITS applications.
More than Asphalt, Concrete, and Steel -Transportation is about providing all
Americans with access to opportunities. In the words of DOT Secretary Rodney
E. Slater, "Transportation is about more than concrete, asphalt, and steel.
It is the means by which ... all people pursue happiness."
Special ITS Education Room
Many new ITS technologies are available for demonstration at the Department of Transportation. The Garrett A. Morgan Intelligent Transportation Systems Room contains up-to-date information, exhibits, hardware, software, and multimedia displays to show how ITS uses communications, computer, and video technologies to improve transportation.
Video screens and monitors let visitors see actual freeway traffic, transit management and traveler information from several cities across the US Other exhibits demonstrate a variety of technologies such as in-vehicle electronic maps or computer links to help find a car pool.
There is also an extensive library. Visitors can find source material on a many different subjects including: advanced public transportation systems; advanced rural transportation systems; traveler information systems; commercial vehicle operations; railroad crossing safety technologies; and electronic toll collection. These and other library materials are updated regularly to keep information current.
ITS-a True 21st Century Career Path
Intelligent Transportation System Occupations are expected to grow dramatically over the next 20 years ... It is projected that almost 600,000 new jobs will be created.
It's Sunday, and you are going on a family outing to your grandmother's house in the next county. Mom and Dad ask you to help plan the trip. Your task is to keep the family on schedule, and help the family to arrive safely and on time.
"How's the traffic?" Dad asks. You go to the television and check the local cable traffic station. You report, "Dad, the traffic flow is normal now, but the weather station is calling for drizzle. We should leave soon."
First you must travel the highway to the transit station, then the family will take the commuter rail, about a 45-minute ride, to your grandmother's house. You are running just a little late. You push the family along, ushering your brother and sister to the car. Remember your task is to keep the family on schedule.
Your family is on the way. As the car turns onto the highway the rain is beginning to fall and you hear a siren. A police car whizzes by, followed by a tow truck. Two miles ahead of you, a car has a flat tire. Traffic is stopped.
In school you learned that traffic centers monitor freeways and major roads, using video systems. You ask your Mom to turn on the radio, and say, "Dad, listen for the traffic reporter, and I will watch for the typed message on the overhead highway sign."
As you speak, a specialist monitoring the freeway from a traffic center notifies the police, a tow truck driver, and a traffic reporter. The police call for an ambulance in case of an emergency. The electronic highway messaging sign flashes. You say, "Look Dad, the sign advises taking another route."
He takes the advice and arrives at the transit station right at boarding time. You run to the travel kiosk in the lobby to check the arrival time, and shout to your family, "We have one minute to make the train, or we can wait for one hour." You make a mad dash-WHAT ABOUT YOUR TICKETS? No need to stop to buy tickets, you all have electronic fare cards. Do you make it? Yes, safely and in time for your grandmother's surprise birthday party.
And, as a bonus, when your mother decides the family will stay the weekend, what is your task? You borrow your Uncle's laptop computer and surf the Internet for hotels, historical sites, festivals, theme parks, a rental car-and travel schedules back home on Monday. Now you understand how ITS technology works for you today.
This is a real life example of how Intelligent Transportation Systems benefit us all. Transportation professionals are developing systems to make all transportation safer and more efficient. Research, tests, and technology are contributing to better transportation for all Americans. Here are a few examples:
ITS Touches Everyone's Life
Freeway operations and incident management centers monitor actual conditions on the highways. Traffic specialists then provide travelers with immediate information about vehicle crashes, congestion or other traffic slow downs.
Traffic signal control centers monitor traffic and alter timing of traffic signals to ease congestion. These centers also can control signals to help police and fire vehicles respond to an emergency
Transit management centers control the movement of buses, subways and other transit vehicles, to keep them on time and give travelers schedule information.
Freight and commercial vehicle monitoring stations improve the movement and safety of trucks and buses throughout the US, and crossing into Canada, and Mexico.
Regional transportation information centers are collection points for all traffic data. Specialists who work at these centers monitor the traffic data then inform travelers about congestion and improve response time of emergency vehicles.
Freeway Management
If I worked as a Traffic Specialist at an incident management center, what would
I do?
How do Traffic Specialists help?
They report conditions affecting freeways and major roads to better manage freeway flow.
How is the information collected?
Information is collected from a variety of sources. People are sources:
Incident Management and Emergency Management Services
Every minute an incident remains on the roadway causes an additional five minutes of delay after the incident is cleared.
How does incident management benefit travelers?
Detects crashes, disabled
vehicles, spilled debris, and other traffic incidents as quickly as possible.
Coordinates information
between various respondents, such as police, fire, emergency medical service,
highway maintenance, and traveler assistance.
Traveler Information
What information do urban and rural travelers receive?
Real-time information such as traffic flow, weather and travel conditions, and transit service information.
How do travelers receive
information?
Transit Management
Transit management systems increase ridership, raise operating efficiencies, and lower costs.
What are the components of the system - what makes them work?
What is electronic payment?
Using a single card to pay bus, rail, parking, and even toll fares - just as one credit is used by different merchants.
Electronic Toll Collection
What is electronic toll collection?
Using electronic toll collection
systems to allow vehicles to continue through toll stations without stopping.
Transportation Websites For More Information
ADVANCE Project Home Page
Alaska Railway Information
Amtrak Information on the WWW
Anaheim Traffic Server
Anaheim Traffic management System
The Appalachian Trail
Atlanta Traveler Information Showcase
Business & Economy: Transportation
The California Virtual Tourist
Canadian Passenger Rail Services
City Net
Delaware Administration for Regional
Transit Schedules
Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Corridor Page
Houston Real-Time Traffic Report
I-96 Net (Virtual Interstate)
INEL Transportation Home Page
ITS America
McTrans (University of Florida Transportation Research Center)
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
National Parks
The New York City Subway System
New York City Street Locator
New Jersey Online Weather
The Paperless Guide to New York City
The PARIS Pages
PC-TRANS
Pittsburgh Transit Guide
Real-time Camera View of Texas
Transportation Institute
Riderlink: Transportation Options for
Central Puget Sound
San Antonio Traffic Information
San Francisco Bay Area Transit Information
Seattle Area Traffic Information Southern California Real-time Traffic Reports
Subway Navigator
Transportation Engineering & Technology
Transportation in Portland (Oregon)
Transportation Research Board
Transportation Research Information Services
Transportation Resources
Union Station -- The Los Angeles Times Rail Transit Web Site
USA Citilink Project
USDOT Home Page
Virtual Railroad
Virtual Tourist World Map
WWW Virtual Library: Transportation
Interesting Facts
Check this Out!
The Father of ITS
The next time you wait for a red light to turn green, imagine what would happen if we didn't have traffic signals. Cars, trucks, buses, bicyclists, and people walking - all in a hurry - would try to squeeze through the intersection, all at once.
Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr. was an American inventor in the early 1900s. Morgan's generation was part of a revolutionary change in transportation -the introduction of the automobile into a horse and buggy world.
The automobile was a wondrous invention, but after Morgan saw a collision between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage, he was distressed by the collision. His response was to invent the automatic traffic signal, "or traffic light." His invention saved lives then, and it is still saving lives today.
Garrett Morgan patented his invention on November 20, 1923, and later sold the technology for the Morgan traffic signal to General Electric Corporation for $40,000. More than 70 years ago, it was a traffic crash that motivated Garrett Morgan to develop a new way to make streets safer for motorists and pedestrians. He saw a challenge, and he looked for a solution. He began the wheel of invention turning, leading to current technologies in traffic management.
Morgan lived from 1877 to 1963. He was an African American; his parents were former slaves. His schooling ended in the sixth grade, but Morgan never stopped learning.
He recognized the importance of learning and continued studying beyond his formal elementary education. Garrett Morgan left his family's farm in Kentucky as a teenager in search of opportunities. He hired a tutor and continued his studies in English grammar while living in Cincinnati, Ohio. He then moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked as a sewing machine repairman for a clothing manufacturer.
Experimenting with gadgets and materials to discover better ways of performing his trade became Morgan's passion. Ambitious and hard working, news of his talent for fixing things traveled fast and led to a number of job offers. Morgan opened his own sewing and equipment repair shop in 1907. It was the first of his several businesses. As the years passed, Morgan became a prosperous and widely respected businessman. Morgan's 1923 patent of the traffic signal stands as a significant contribution in the evolution of traffic management. Through ITS technologies, Garrett A. Morgan's vision reaches into the 21st century.
Consider a Career in Transportation
How would you make highways less congested and safer? Think about Garrett A. Morgan's patent of the traffic signal in 1 923, and let his life story inspire you to seek solutions. Do you have an idea for a 21st century invention? Lead the way...
At the Department of Transportation, we are reaching out to the youth of America through the Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program. We want you to help us build the transportation systems of the future, and we want to help you develop the technology skills needed for tomorrow's transportation jobs.
Start now to take the courses you need and gain the skills that will carry you into the next century. For example, take a look at the special opportunities in ITS.
Intelligent Transportation Systems High-Tech Jobs
Career Goal: Improve
the safety and responsiveness of the nation's transportation systems
Specialists: Aerospace engineers—Environmentalists—Systems
Engineers—Computer Scientists—Communications Engineers
Required Skills:
Engineering, electronics, communications, and systems integration
Education: College degree; graduate school
Other fields of study for careers in intelligent transportation systems—economics, political science, modeling and simulation, logistics, statistics, anthropomorphics, cognition, and marketing.
Editors: Judith C. Johnson & Patricia Day