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NCHRP COMMITTEE FOR PROJECT 20-5 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS STAFF
CHRISTOPHER W. JENKS, Director, Cooperative Research
Programs
CHAIR CRAWFORD F. JENCKS, Deputy Director, Cooperative
Research Programs
CATHERINE NELSON, Oregon DOT
NANDA SRINIVASAN, Senior Program Officer
EILEEN DELANEY, Director of Publications
MEMBERS
KATHLEEN S. AMES, Illinois DOT
NCHRP SYNTHESIS STAFF
STUART D. ANDERSON, Texas A&M University STEPHEN R. GODWIN, Director for Studies and Special
CYNTHIA J. BURBANK, PB Americas, Inc. Programs
LISA FREESE, Scoot County (MN) Public Works Division JON M. WILLIAMS, Program Director, IDEA and
Synthesis Studies
MALCOLM T. KERLEY, Virginia DOT
GAIL STABA, Senior Program Officer
RICHARD D. LAND, California DOT DONNA L. VLASAK, Senior Program Officer
JAMES W. MARCH, Federal Highway Administration DON TIPPMAN, Editor
MARK A. MAREK, Texas DOT CHERYL KEITH, Senior Program Assistant
JOHN M. MASON, JR., Auburn University
ANANTH PRASAD, HNTB Corporation
TOPIC PANEL
ROBERT L. SACK, New York State DOT TOM BATZ, Transportation Operations Coordinating
FRANCINE SHAW-WHITSON, Federal Highway Committee, Jersey City, NJ
Administration PETER COSTELLO, INRIX, Orlando, FL
LARRY VELASQUEZ, New Mexico DOT RICHARD A. CUNARD, Transportation Research Board
TIM HAZLETTE, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
K. LARRY HEAD, University of Arizona
DAVID C. LIVELY, California Department of Transportation
GALEN McGILL, Oregon Department of Transportation
FHWA LIAISON JEAN-YVES POINT-Du-JOUR, Maryland State Highway
WILLIAM ZACCAGNINO Administration
RAJ S. GHAMAN, Federal Highway Administration (Liaison)
BOB RUPERT, FHWA Operations Office of Transportation
TRB LIAISON Management (Liaison)
STEPHEN F. MAHER DENNIS CANNON, U.S. Access Board (Liaison)
Cover Figure: Travel time sign (Brian Kary, Minnesota
Department of Transportation).
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FOREWORD Highway administrators, engineers, and researchers often face problems for which information
already exists, either in documented form or as undocumented experience and practice. This
information may be fragmented, scattered, and unevaluated. As a consequence, full knowledge
of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its solution. Costly
research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked, and due consider-
ation may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviating the problem.
There is information on nearly every subject of concern to highway administrators and
engineers. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practitioners faced with
problems in their day-to-day work. To provide a systematic means for assembling and
evaluating such useful information and to make it available to the entire highway commu-
nity, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials--through
the mechanism of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program--authorized the
Transportation Research Board to undertake a continuing study. This study, NCHRP Proj-
ect 20-5, "Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Problems," searches out and syn-
thesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented
reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an NCHRP report series,
Synthesis of Highway Practice.
This synthesis series reports on current knowledge and practice, in a compact format,
without the detailed directions usually found in handbooks or design manuals. Each report
in the series provides a compendium of the best knowledge available on those measures
found to be the most successful in resolving specific problems.
PREFACE This synthesis reports on the state of the practice in real-time traveler information systems.
By Donna Vlasak Emphasis is placed on the needs and expectations of travelers, the current status of a variety
of traveler information systems in the United States, available and emerging data sources,
Senior Program Officer
and business models for sustaining traveler information. This synthesis will benefit state
Transportation DOT transportation managers and others that provide or seek to provide affordable, accu-
Research Board rate, timely, and effective information in a format that travelers can use.
Four major activities were undertaken in this synthesis effort. A literature review of
previous studies, evaluations, and research activities was conducted. In addition, a survey
was distributed to 51 unique public agencies operating traveler information systems that
achieved a 65% (33/51) response rate. A third major activity performed was to observe
and test as many statewide, regional, and local traveler information systems as possible.
Observing content and presentation of traveler information systems allowed the consultant
to avoid asking extra survey questions and allowed for map presentations to describe types
of content nationwide. A fourth major activity involved a number of in-person meetings
and telephone discussions with a variety of transportation professionals representing both
public and private sector industries with experience in either research, operating, or evalu-
ating traveler information systems.
Dean Deeter, Athey Creek Consultants, West Linn, Oregon, collected and synthesized
the information and wrote the report. The members of the topic panel are acknowledged
on the preceding page. This synthesis is an immediately useful document that records the
practices that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time
of its preparation. As progress in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be
added to that now at hand.
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