Advanced Traveler Information
Systems (ATIS)
ATIS
• Intended to
– Manage travel demand
– Reduce traveler frustration/anxiety
• Increases perceived level of service
• Increases “serenity factor” – reduces Road Rage
– Improve traveler decision making
• Results in more efficient travel
• Creates awareness of alternatives
ATIS
• All of these aspects have positive benefits
in the areas of
– Improved safety
– Energy savings
– Time savings
• Good public acceptance
Manage Travel Demand
• Reduce (peak) demand
– Reallocating demand to alternative routes
– Reallocating demand to alternative modes
– Reallocating demand to alternative time of day
– Eliminating discretionary trips during times of
bad congestion or high delay
Reduce Frustration
• Knowing the size / length / duration of
backups reduces travel stress
– Allows action to be taken, or
– Confirms that no action can/needs to be taken
Reduce Frustration
• Frustration causes bad decision making
– Reckless driving behavior
– Short tempers
– Irrational behavior
Improve Traveler Decision
Making
• With good information, travelers can:
– Make timely decisions
– Choose correctly (for themselves and their trip)
on
• Routing
• Time of departure
• Mode
• To not make the trip or to alter their trip destination
Improve Traveler Decision
Making
• Can select less congested time / route /
destination
• IF that alternative is less distasteful than the
original trip
• Provides a sense of “self control” to traveler
Improve Traveler Decision
Making
• The decisions actually made are not
necessarily the ones that facility operators
want
– Cut through traffic
– Congestion forms on other routes
– System optimization versus user optimization
– Many travelers are reluctant to change
Summary of traffic findings
• Context may matter most for traffic ATIS
– Higher congestion, longer congestion delay, limited
alternatives
• Next in line is ATIS service quality
– Few will use low quality information, other than the
radio, regardless of context
• In high congestion regions, users consult traffic
information strategically; in low congestion
regions, they use it tactically.
Summary (continued)
• Weather is a traffic incident that stimulates
ATIS use in all contexts
• Drivers with greater time and route flexibility
use ATIS more frequently
• Different people prefer different access media
• ATIS customers feel they save time and reduce
stress
Extreme weather conditions influence ATIS
demand: San Antonio web site
22,500
20,000
Flood Days
17,500
"Normal" Days
15,000
Number of Page Views
12,500
10,000
7,500
5,000
Heavy Rain
2,500 and Floods
0
10/9
10/1
10/2
10/3
10/5
10/6
10/7
10/8
10/4
10/12
10/13
10/16
10/17
10/18
10/19
10/21
10/22
10/23
10/24
10/25
10/26
10/27
10/29
10/30
10/10
10/14
10/15
10/20
10/28
10/31
10/11
October 1998
Summary of transit findings
• ATIS transit customers want information that
– reduces the uncertainty associated with transit trips
– increases their control over time and travel decisions
• Transit information should be
– conveniently located relative to trip decisions
– easy to access and use
– up-to-date
– more user friendly and multidimensional on the web
• The greatest benefit of transit ATIS may be for those
who would otherwise switch to SOV, thus aiding in
rider retention
Examples
• LA Olympics
• Seattle, I-5 reconstruction, 1985
• 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle
• I-90 Snoqualmie pass
Timing of Information Delivery
• Pre-trip
• En-route
Pre-Trip
• Can effect
– Mode
– Time of departure
– Route
– Destination
– Decision to make the trip at all
En-route
• Potential effect is based on when you
provide the desired information
– Change route
– Change mode (if P&R is viable alternative)
– Give up trip / change destination
– Change driving behavior (slow down)
Pre-trip & En-route
• Information differs depending on what you
want / expect to be done with that
information
– General information (congestion/accident
ahead)
– Routing (use alternative routes / modes –
usually needs to include specific directions)
Dissemination Media
• Media matched to message type, length and
timing
– TV (full time versus conventional news cast)
– Radio
– Variable/changeable message sign (VMS / CMS)
– Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)
– Web
– Specialty devices (route guidance devices)
Dissemination Media
• Other media
– E-mail
– Mail
– Telephone (hotline – cell phone / conventional
phone)
– Kiosks (web based?)
Attributes of Dissemination
Technologies
• Availability to the public
• Timeliness
• Geographic coverage of message
• Length of message
• Cost to produce message
Attributes of Dissemination
Media
• Cost to operate / maintain the delivery
device
– User cost
– Producer cost
• Who controls the device? (public / private)
Traffic TV
• Easy access to
traffic
hotspots on
[Link]
• Channel 76
on digital
cable
Technologies
• TV
– Ubiquitous
– Low cost to public (user)
– Higher cost to disseminator
– Short duration message
– Misses details, some geographic areas
– Only for pre-trip information
– Generally not available on demand
Technologies
• Radio
– Ubiquitous
– Low cost to public (user)
– Short duration message
– Misses details, some geographic areas
– Pre-trip or en-route information
– Generally not available on demand
– Timeliness/accuracy of reports often questioned
VMS/CMS
Technologies
• VMS / CMS / DMS
– Good for en-route information
– Only at locations where they can be seen
(geographically constrained)
– Short duration message
– Messages need to be current or will be ignored
– Location is important
• Prior to decision point
HAR
Technologies
• Highway Advisory Radio (HAR)
– Limited power/range makes this a en-route
technology
– Longer message about a specific geographic
area
– Can you keep the message up to date?
– Questions about how many people will turn
their radios to the proper channel
Information
Via the Web
Google-Map Based Traffic
Information Systems
Web Sites
• Pre-trip information (becoming en-route with
wireless web)
• Ability to provide very detailed, very specific
information (if that information is available)
• Wide geographic area coverage is possible
• Allows interaction with the customer
• Not everyone has an internet connection (social
equity?)
• How accessible is it at home?
Private Sector
• Potential market for traveler information is
huge
– Value to other private sector businesses likely
to significantly exceed its value to the public
sector
300 M people in US * 5% customers * $5/month =
$900 M per year
– Few have made a successful business of it yet
Radio Traffic Services
• Metro Networks, Shadow Traffic, Smart
Route Systems (Wedgewood One)
– Exchange air time for traffic reports
– Sell airtime to advertisers
[Link]
• Owned by NavTeq
– The Weather Channel
– Motorola's VIAMOTO™ Solutions
– XM Satellite Radio
– XM NavTraffic
– Radio and TV stations
– AOL
XM NavTraffic
(available on Acura/Cadillac)
INRIX
INRIX is the leading provider of real-time, historical and
PREDICTIVE traffic information offering the broadest coverage,
exceptional accuracy and innovative technologies to ensure the success
of our customer's navigation and traffic-enabled solutions.
Inrix
• Real-Time Flow Coverage Highlights:
– U.S. Metropolitan Areas: 122
– U.S. Road Miles: Over 51,000
– Real-Time Alert Miles: 103,000
– European Coverage: Over 12,000 kilometers throughout the
U.K. and the Netherlands.
• Historical Average Speeds Highlights:
– U.S. Road Miles: Over 800,000
• Incident Coverage Highlights:
– U.S. and Canadian Metropolitan Areas: 113 markets
– Europe: 16 Countries
DASH
• Uses both cellular radio and Wi-Fi networks
to automatically and wirelessly update its
maps, traffic and software
• Vehicles act as probe vehicles
communicating with a central database and
each other.
Devices
• Research indicates that people don’t want a
stand alone “traffic information” device
– GPS equipped cell phone, Blackberry, etc.
• Requires web sites designed for mobile
devices.
E-mail
• Pre-trip information delivery
• Can be tuned to specific routes / times
– Requires timely e-mail delivery
• Useful for “routine” trips
– Not useful for “unusual” trips
• Requires e-mail to be accessible
• Can provide extensive information (routing
instructions)
Twitter
• WSDOT mountain pass reports via Twitter
Traditional Mail
Mail
• Ubiquitous
• Pre-trip Information
• Wide geographic area
• Wide variety of information
• Relatively low cost
• Not real time
• Does it get read?
Telephone (hotline – cell phone /
conventional phone)
Telephone Hotline
• Almost Ubiquitous
• Automated system allows user to pick and
choose information desired
– Hard to develop such a system
– Can user access phone line when information is
needed and is wanted?
• 511
Transit Watch - Kiosk
Kiosks (web based?)
• Good stand-alone application
– Hard to keep operational (high upkeep cost)
– Requires connection to the data source
– Allows information display in locations devoid
of electronics
– Accessible to all
• Multi-function kiosk? (something besides
transportation information)
Public / Private Operations
• Who runs the information dissemination
system?
– Public agency
– Private company
Public versus Private
• Cost to taxpayers
• Cost to users
Public versus Private
• Who collects the data?
• Who processes the data?
• Who delivers the data?
• Who pays for these functions?
Public versus Private
• What is the role of the public sector in all of
this?
• What “right” does a private company have
to data collected with tax dollars?
Public versus Private
• How does an initial decision on the split
between public and private information
effect
– Competition in the marketplace?
– Consumer choice?
