U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
July 13, 2001
The panel's amplifying questions are categorized into the following seven focus areas:
* A: Customer needs and usage
* B: Information content
* C: Business/cost recovery models
* D: Quality measures
* E: Technology applications
* F: International/national consistency issues and standards
* G: Policy/institutional/legal aspects
The panel recognizes that not all of the questions will pertain to every organization it will visit in Europe; however, it hopes to attain an understanding of how transportation authorities in each country deal with all seven focus areas. The panel requests that the programs in each country devote approximately 50 percent of the time for meetings (to include ample time for discussions and dialogue) and approximately 50 percent of the time for site visits. For site visits, the panel has a high interest in locations that provide traveler information collection, fusion, dissemination, and/or operations services.
A-1. How do you establish your customer needs for transit and highway traveler information? How do you establish usage needs? What data do the traveling public desire?
A-2. How do customers use traveler information to select or change modes of transport? Do you serve any other customers besides end consumers? What information is accessed the most (top five)?
A-3. Do your customers value route-based, travel time-related information more than just incident data? How do your customers see the value of real-time travel information?
A-4. How do you measure customer satisfaction with your traveler information, and how do you use that input to enhance your service? What barriers remain to a broader customer acceptance?
B-1. What modal traveler information is provided? Is the information real time, multimodal, and customizable? What data are shared between agencies and with the private sector? Are the data saved or archived, and if so, how is it used?
B-2. How do you provide access to motorist or emergency assistance in addition to traveler information?
B-3. What gaps have you identified in your data collection for traffic management and traveler information? What content is considered basic, "core" information for your systems? What information is considered optional? How do you expect this to change over time?
C-1. Please describe the traveler information business models/partnering that you use (e.g., fully private, public/private, fee-based, advertising, exclusive arrangements, etc.)? Which models have worked better than others? Does this vary depending on mode? How have agencies worked together to share development or operating costs?
C-2. How is your traveler information service marketed? How much is budgeted for marketing?
D-1. What formal (or established) evaluation techniques or procedures do you use on your traveler information system? Which apply to the quality of data collection? What tolerances does your agency have for faulty and/or missing data?
D-2. Is information available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is it time stamped? What specifications do you have related to updating of information and system coverage (e.g., how frequently is transit information updated, which roads are instrumented, etc.)?
E-1. What technologies do you use for gathering information about highways, traffic flow, transit, etc.? Please discuss the types of technology deployed and the frequency, spacing, etc., of the equipment. How do you plan to fill the gaps in your system coverage (for traffic, transit, etc.)?
E-2. What approach and technologies do you use to combine, or "fuse" the data? What technologies do you use to exchange information with other partners or other providers?
E-3. How do you provide traveler information to consumers or other agencies? How are dynamic message signs used for traveler information purposes? What percentage or number of users accesses your service via Internet versus the telephone? How does telematics and the use of personal wireless devices impact your system? How much does market acceptance for certain consumer electronics dictate what services that you provide?
E-4. How many telephone traveler information calls do you receive and what is the capacity of your system to handle the calls? What percentage of calls comes from landline and from cellular phones? Do you offer different tiers of services through the phone (i.e., basic, additional for fee)? What type of telephone interface do you provide and what is the average length of the call? How does your system use voice recognition techniques?
F-1. What technical standards does your system use? What regional, national, or international standardized messages does your system use?
F-2. Is your service available across country borders? How do you provide for multiple language capabilities? What other consistency issues are yet to be addressed, nationally or internationally?
F-3. What specific user interface guidelines did you develop for your traveler information system? How are the messages for telephone information constructed and are these shared directly with other media such as the Internet?
G-1. What issues related to privacy of your customers have you encountered?
G-2. What issues or requirements do you have related to conveying traveler information to those with disabilities?
G-3. What customer liability issues have you encountered? What about safety concerns of conveying traveler information, for example, driver distraction from using in-vehicle devices or cellular phones to access travel information?
| << Previous | Contents | Next >> |
