Project. Transportation data clearinghouse Completed

Principal investigator. Aaron Schroeder, Virginia Tech, 540-231-1544, aaron@ctr.vt.edu

External contact. none

Project objective. To establish a data clearinghouse with wide-ranging potential applications.

Project abstract. As ITS matures, an increasing volume of data, and of datasets, is becoming available with one or another application to transportation. The importance of datasets to transportation is well illustrated by the recent decision by the state of Virginia to move CVISN from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Motor Vehicles, because the major problems with CVISN now concern commercial vehicle data management, which is the domain of DMV, rather than traffic management, which is the domain of VDOT.

This project has its broad purpose the creation of a center in which a wide diversity of ITS-relevant data can be stored, accessed, and analyzed. There are five specific elements of the project, described below.

1) Define data needs of existing and potential future data users. While a number of traffic and travel related data sources are obviously needed in the short term, the possibilities for data collection are almost limitless. Therefore, beyond the obvious, a prioritization will need to be made with regards to the type of data needed. This project will work to identify existing and potential future data users, assess their specific data needs, and make a prioritization for future data source establishment.

2) Data Partner Development and Evaluation. Traffic and travel related data is produced in many different institutions, public, private and non-profit. Each of these institutions generates data for their own purposes, therefore, by definition, there is no common form of data collection, production and storage. Some data might be in bound paper format, while some might be stored as pictures or videos. Some data might be stored in digital format but may be stored as word processing documents, powerpoint slides, excel spreadsheets, or (if we=re lucky) in some sort of database.

3) Prototype System for Estimating Roadway Travel Times. The objectives of this project are to demonstrate the need, compare, evaluate, and implement the provision of real-time travel time information using VDOT's current Advanced Traveler Information Systems. Analysis will draw on, among other data sources, UVA's loop detector data from the Hampton Roads Area and the San Antonio, Texas, tag data developed as part of the Metropolitan Model Deployment Initiative.

4) ACCESS to Rides Database. This project is a continuation of an existing community outreach project Working with local organizations and citizens, ACCESS TO Rides is a data service to benefit low-income residents who need transportation to prepare for, secure, and maintain jobs. ACCESS TO Rides transports clients of the Montgomery County Department of Social Services, New River Community Action, and the New River Family Shelter to job-related activities such as GED programs and job training. Client trips are coordinated via a dynamic database and dispatch system that matches trip requests to volunteer drivers and available transportation resources in order to create the most efficient route and schedule.

5) I-81 Crash Data Collection and Analysis. A need that has been made obvious by political and media events surrounding recent crashes on I-81, is the need for a detailed understanding of the types of crashes involving what types of vehicles under what types of environmental circumstances. Such an analysis would be of value to state transportation and safety agencies as well as policy makers. Before any such analysis can take place, however, the data source for all crashes and their conditions on I-81 will have to be designed and constructed. That is the purpose of this project. Specifically, this project will work to build a comprehensive AI-81 Crash Data Mart,@ a one-stop source for all data related to I-81 crashes.

Tasks.

ELEMENT 1.

List of current and potential future data customers
Report summarizing individual data needs
Report summarizing common data need areas and data types

Prioritization for the establishment of data sources

ELEMENT 2.

List of possible data providers
Partnership agreements for data provision with selected institutions
Reports evaluating each possible data source for transport and inclusion in the Data Center

ELEMENT 3.

Development of travel time estimation algorithms from AVI tag data and loop detector data
Quantification of the variability in travel times using field data
Quantification of travel time variability as a function of facility type, level of congestion, and type of control
Development of algorithms for estimating the optimum number and location of AVI readers.

ELEMENT 4.

Add three additional public and non-profit social service organizations as system clients
Improve data matching system to allow for multiple pick-up route designation
Continue to solicit more private sector contributions B contribution goal: $20,000

ELEMENT 5.

Report establishing I-81 crash data needs
Report defining potential data providers

Report evaluating each possible data source for transport and inclusion in the Data Center

Prototype data transport system

Milestones. Because this project is new and highly complex, it is not possible to give a firm schedule at this time. Student involvement. none at this time

Budget.   $600,000

Relationship to other research projects. No direct relationship.

Technology transfer. This project involves substantial transfer of data bases and data analysis to interested transportation professionals.

Potential benefits. The major expected benefit is a much fuller exploitation of existing and planned transportation databases, particularly those in the Commonwealth, than would otherwise occur.

TRB keywords. ITS, data