Final Evaluation Plan: Utah Transit Authority Connection Protection System

2003PDFTech ReportFHWA-OP-04-026TransfersBus transitLight rail transitMobile communication systemsIntelligent transportation systemsCustomer satisfactionEvaluation and assessmentITS transitEvaluation/program assessmentTraffic signal priority/preemptionUtahUnited StatesBattelle Memorial InstituteBattelle Memorial InstituteUnited States. Joint Program Office for Intelligent Transportation SystemsIntelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program OfficeUtah Transit Authority (UTA) implemented a Connection Protection system (CP) to improve the reliability of transfers from the higher frequency light rail trains, TRAX, to the lower frequency bus services. The CP system examines the status of TRAX trains and issues a "HOLD" message to buses waiting at the connecting rail stations via the onboard Mobile Data Terminal (MDT), if the lateness of train is within a pre-determined threshold (e.g., 3 minutes). The system was completed and tested in January 2002 prior to the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. This evaluation plan is the first in a series of deliverables to be developed by the evaluation team. The evaluation plan includes the background and the objectives of the evaluation, a description of the CP system, the evaluation approach, results of an exploratory analysis, discussion of the proposed evaluation tests, and an evaluation management plan, including estimated level of effort, management structure, schedule and deliverables.75