Request for Public Participation in the Development of the National Program Plan for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), formerly called Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. 94-2]

Request for Public Participation in the Development of the

National Program Plan for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS),

formerly called Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation solicits public comment on a

third draft of a National Program Plan (the Plan) for Intelligent

Transportation Systems (ITS), formerly called Intelligent Vehicle-

Highway Systems (IVHS). ITS applies advanced technologies such as

information processing, communications, and electronics to surface

transportation needs. The Plan is being developed based on a set of

user services, each of which is designed to respond to the needs of

particular users. The draft Plan attempts to integrate Federal, State,

local government, and private sector activities in a single document to

present a coherent picture of how the public and private sectors will

work together to achieve ITS program goals. The Plan seeks to reflect

the consensus view of all parties interested in the development and

deployment of ITS.

DATES: Comments on the November 1994 draft are due December 30, 1994.

Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent

possible.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Docket Clerk, Docket No. 94-2,

room 4232, United States Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh

Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20590. Commenters on the previous drafts

will automatically receive a copy of the November 1994 draft; others

may obtain a copy by contacting the Federal Highway Administration,

HVH-2, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Room 3400, Washington, D.C. 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Euler, Deputy Director, Joint

IVHS Program Office, Federal Highway Administration, HVH-2, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Room 3400, Washington, D.C. 20590, Ph: (202) 366-2196,

Fax: (202) 366-8712.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The objective of the ITS program is to apply advanced technology in

the areas of information processing, communications, control, and

electronics to improve safety, reduce congestion, increase mobility,

reduce the energy and environmental harm caused by transportation, and

increase economic productivity. The ITS program also incorporates the

use of strategic planning and innovative management practices at all

levels of government to implement those initiatives which enhance our

national surface transportation system, strengthen our economy, and

benefit a broad range of users.

To that end, the third draft incorporates various of the comments

received through the earlier notice process and the public forums, as

well as those received from individual members of ITS AMERICA, a broad-

based, non-profit organization that also serves as a utilized Federal

Advisory Committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

App. 2). ITS AMERICA will also be distributing copies of the Plan to

its membership and preparing consensus comments on the Plan; therefore,

member comments to ITS AMERICA need not be duplicated in comments to

the DOT docket.

The Plan is intended to clearly present the ITS program to

Congress, other government leaders, and private sector entities. It is

intended to guide investment decisions in the development and

deployment of ITS products and services to be made by private entities,

the Federal government, and local governments; to facilitate

prioritization and coordination of ITS development activities; to

reduce duplication of effort; and to ensure ITS program activities are

directed toward deployment of ITS services in a nationally compatible

intermodal system.

These services have been grouped into the following categories or

``bundles'': Travel and Transportation Management, which would improve

the flow of traffic and provide travel-related information to the

public; Travel Demand Management, which would reduce vehicle demand by

encouraging modes other than the single occupancy vehicle; Public

Transportation Operations, which would assist in delivering improved

public transportation systems; Commercial Vehicle Operations, which

would improve the efficiency and safety of commercial fleet operations;

Electronic Payment, which would allow travelers to pay for

transportation services with electronic cards or tags; Emergency

Management, which can be used by police, fire, and rescue authorities

to improve their management of, and response to, emergency situations;

and Advanced Vehicle Control and Safety Systems, which would provide

improved vehicle safety.

The deployment of these user services will depend on a range of

issues that will be assessed in formulating and implementing the Plan,

including cost, public acceptance, the maturity or availability of the

technologies, and regulatory issues. The Plan will also serve as the

framework for a continuing process that will assess progress and allow

government and private sector investment decisions to be made after the

views of all interested parties have been considered.

Because the Plan is being developed with the user as the focus, the

Department is interested in participation from a broad range of

individuals and organizations including, but not limited to, public

officials from State and local governments, consumer groups, vehicle

manufacturers and other private sector entities, transit authorities,

toll authorities, small businesses, academic institutions,

associations, and individual citizens.

This is the third notice on the Plan. The first notice, at 58 FR

65814 (December 15, 1993), contained background information on the

national ITS program, including a detailed description of the user

services. The second notice, 59 FR 26552 (May 20, 1994), announced a

series of five public forums (held around the country in June 1994) to

obtain input on the Plan development. Comments received in response to

both notices, and the public forums, have been utilized in preparing

the third draft of the Program Plan that is now available.

This draft of the Plan has been substantially revised from the

previous draft, and edited to reduce its length and remove

redundancies. A new chapter has been added that discusses the societal,

economic, legislative, and other forces that led to the ITS program.

User Service Integration and National Compatibility have been divided

into separate chapters, and the discussion of telecommunications issues

has been expanded. The Deployment and Deployment Support chapters have

been substantially revised to reflect 5-, 10-, and 20-year deployment

scenarios, provide an analysis of the potential affects of different

levels of public and private sector participation in ITS deployment,

and a description of program initiatives to address deployment

barriers. A new Travel Demand Management bundle has been created that

encompasses the Pre-Trip Travel Information, Ride Matching and

Reservation, and Demand Management and Operations user services.

In response to a number of comments, a Synopsis of the Plan has

been developed and is included with the third draft. This third draft

is intended to be the final draft before publication of the first

edition the Plan in March, 1995. The Plan will then be updated

periodically to reflect changes in the development and deployment of

the ITS program.

Information Requested

The Department is especially interested in public comment on

Chapter 6, Deployment, and Chapter 7, Deployment Support, the

deployment scenarios presented, the analysis of the effects of

different levels of public and private sector participation in ITS

deployment, and the discussion of program initiatives to address

deployment barriers. Respondents are also asked to indicate their

agreement with the publication of this document, following the comment

period and with comments considered, as the first edition of the

National ITS Program Plan.

Any additional information, suggestions, opinions or other comments

that would assist in further developing the Plan would be welcome.

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48; Pub. L. 102-240, Secs.

6051-6059, 105 Stat. 2189-2195.

Issued on: November 15, 1994

Rodney E. Slater,

Federal Highway Administrator.

[FR Doc. 94-28769 Filed 11-21-94; 8:45 am]

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