ADVANCING COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION THROUGH COORDINATION USING ITS – LESSONS LEARNED FROM AIKEN (SOUTH CAROLINA)

摘要

The Mobility Services for All Americans (MSAA) initiative is a United States Department ofTransportation’s (USDOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) research initiative thataims to enhance the efficiency and quality of human service transportation utilizing ITS.Travel Management Coordination Centers (TMCC) demonstration is a major outcome of theMSAA initiative. ITS forms the basis of the TMCC system by enabling two essentialfunctional features: 1) enhanced real-time traveler information capability, and 2) improved orenhanced operational coordination through advanced ITS fleet management tools. In 2008,the USDOT selected Aiken (South Carolina), Camden County (New Jersey), and Paducah(Kentucky) to develop and demonstrate the technological and institutional feasibility of adeployed TMCC and to assess its impacts. In 2010, Aiken and Paducah TMCCs becameoperational and began a new era of coordinated community transportation services. ThePaducah KY TMCC received the 2010 Community Transportation System of the Year Awardby the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA). The process andapproach that led to the ultimate success of these two TMCC demonstration projects suggeststhat while each TMCC design was significantly influenced by local unique operational needsand characteristics, certain foundational ITS capabilities, such as Computer-AidedScheduling and Dispatching (CASD), are required by all. This paper documents real-worldresults from the Aiken deployment and confirms that human service transportation in generalis an “under-challenged” area where ITS can make a major impact.