Collection and dissemination of real-time travel time and incident information with in-vehicle communication technologies

A unique public/private venture is underway in Houston, Texas, to improve the accuracy and timeliness of real-time traffic information available to motorists, commercial vehicle operators, and transit agencies. A system is currently under development which utilizes the concepts and technologies of Intelligent Vehicle/Highway Systems (IVHS) to collect travel time and incident data directly from commuters traveling in the 1-45 (North) Freeway/US-59 (Eastex) Freeway corridor. A fully automated system for collecting information is planned, but until the hardware can be selected and installed, a manual system using cellular telephones will be used. Traffic and incident information will be made available to motorists, commercial fleet operators, and transit agencies through a variety of communication mediums, including changeable message signs located at key diversion points in the corridor and direct line connections to dispatching centers of transit and commercial fleet operations. This paper describes the design of the system to obtain travel time and incident data in real-time directly from commuters traveling in the corridor.