Multimodal ITMS: From Integrated Traffic Management to Integrated Transportation Management

Planning, designing, and operating integrated transportation management systems (ITMS) is a complex undertaking involving multiple agencies and jurisdictions. In order to respond to the numerous transportation and environmental issues facing metropolitan areas today, these systems are being designed and developed to include not only the traditional traffic and roadway management functions, but also provisions for emergency services, transit and other high-occupancy vehicles, as well as supporting travel demand management (TDM) strategies. While these functions address many of the modes currently operating in urban environments, they do not include all of the transportation components critical to the movement of both people and goods necessary to maintain the economic health and vitality of metropolitan areas. For ITMS to be a truly integrated system, and to move from a focus primarily on traffic management to a more global view of transportation management, consideration must be given to the inclusion of other modes and functions. Theses include toll facilities, bicycle and pedestrian systems, commercial vehicles and private operators, parking facilities, disaster response teams, railroads and land-side access to ferries, airports, ports, and railroads. It is only through the incorporation of these modes and functions that a truly integrated system will emerge.|The integration of these modes and functions into ITMS is not an easy process, however. Numerous technical and institutional issues will need to be addressed to help ensure that these systems are developed and operated with a multimodal focus. This resource paper is intended to help foster, enhance, and expand on the discussion of the components to be included in multimodal integrated transportation management systems, potential issues and opportunities associated with this approach and possible implementation strategies. As such, it builds on the experiences with existing transportation management system, the previous ITMS Symposium sponsored by the Transportation Research Board (1), and the activities of other groups. It takes a fresh look, however, at the modes and functions necessary to help cure the development and operation of multimedia ITMS to meet the complex transportation needs in metropolitan areas.