I-40 TTIS field operational test

1998Peters, Joseph I.PDFTech ReportFHWA-JPO-99-028DTFH61-96-C-00077Advanced traveler information systemsTouristsTourismField testsEvaluation and assessmentevaluation/program assessmentoperational testsbenefitscustomer satisfactionmobilitynavigation systems/route guidancetraffic management center or TMChighway advisory radio or HARentrepreneurial transportation servicesinformation kioskspublic/private partnershipstourismweatherroad weather information systems or RWISworld wide web/internetadvanced rural transportation systems or ARTSadvanced traveler information systems or ATISUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationOrban, John E.Pierce, Bennett K.Burt, MattClark, HughBurkom, DianeBattelle Memorial InstituteUnited States. Joint Program Office for Intelligent Transportation SystemsNTL-INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS-Traveler InformationNTL-INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS-Information ManagementIntelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office;Federal Highway AdministrationThe I-40 Traveler and Tourist Information System (TTIS) in northern Arizona is a Field Operational Test (FOT) of Traveler Information Services in Tourism Areas funded through the National Advanced Rural Transportation Systems Program. The segment of rural Interstate 40 (I-40) crossing Arizona is a major East-West thoroughfare serving Arizona and its adjoining states. Traffic volumes on this section of interstate approach 25,000 vehicles per day, with roughly 40 percent of these being commercial vehicles. While not a major commuter route, I-40 does serve as a major feeder to more than 25 national parks and monuments, tourist attractions, and key recreational areas; the most well known of these is the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP). The main objective of the I-40 TTIS is to have corridor visitors become better informed, resulting in a safer, enhanced visitor experience while traveling along the corridor. This program has three integrated parts: data collection, data processing, and data dissemination. The Highway Closures and Restrictions System (HCRS) will serve as the central data store for the collection and dissemination of information. The HCRS will communicate with a multitude of traveler information systems ranging from existing radio and television links to kiosks, Internet services, and dial-in phone services. The evaluation of the I-40 TTIS is being conducted by Battelle under the ITS Program Assessment Support contract with the Department of Transportation\u2019s ITS Joint Program Office. The evaluation will address technical challenges in developing ATIS applications in rural environments, institutional benefits and issues, usefulness of the information to the traveling public, effectiveness of various media to disseminate information to the public, and the overall impact of the information on traveler behavior. The evaluation strategy combines primary and secondary data collection and analyses for evaluating benefits and outcomes. Tourist intercept surveys, focus groups, personal interviews, and special traffic studies are the primary data collection methods that will be used. The evaluation will also make use of secondary data sources such as systems operational data (e.g., number of Web page hits) and historical traffic and accident data as a low-cost means of measuring impacts of various system components