TITLE:
A Nationwide Evaluation of the State of Practice of Performance Measurements for Intelligent Transportation Systems
AUTHORS:
Kwabena A. Abedi, Julius Codjoe, Raju Thapa
KEYWORDS:
Intelligent Transportation Systems, ITS, Performance Measures, ITS Architecture, ARC-IT, Qualitative Survey, Evaluation, Nationwide
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Transportation Technologies,
Vol.13 No.2,
April
10,
2023
ABSTRACT: State departments of
transportation’s (DOTs) decisions to invest resources to expand or implement
intelligent transportation systems (ITS) programs or even retire existing
infrastructure need to be based on performance evaluations. Nonetheless, an
apparent gap exists between the need for ITS performance measurements and the
actual implementation. The evidence available points to challenges in the ITS
performance measurement processes. This paper evaluated the state of practice
of performance measurement for ITS across the US and provided insights. A
comprehensive literature review assessed the use of performance measures by
DOTs for monitoring implemented ITS programs. Based on the gaps identified
through the literature review, a nationwide qualitative survey was used to
gather insights from key stakeholders on the subject matter and presented in
this paper. From the data gathered, performance measurement of ITS is fairly
integrated into ITS programs by DOTs, with most agencies considering the
process beneficial. There, however, exist reasons that prevent agencies from
measuring ITS performance to greater detail and quality. These include lack of
data, fragmented or incomparable data formats, the complexity of the endeavor,
lack of data scientists, and difficulty assigning responsibilities when inter-agency
collaboration is required. Additionally, DOTs do not benchmark or compare their
ITS performance with others for reasons that include lack of data, lack of
guidance or best practices, and incomparable data formats. This paper is
relevant as it provides insights expected to guide DOTs and other agencies in
developing or reevaluating their ITS performance measurement processes.