WSDOT Traveler Information - Information Service Provider Functionality
Subsystem Description
The Information Service Provider Subsystem (ISPS) collects, processes, stores, and disseminates transportation information to system operators and the traveling public. The subsystem can play several different roles in an integrated ITS. In one role, the ISP provides a data collection, fusing, and repackaging function, collecting information from transportation system operators and redistributing this information to other system operators in the region and other ISPs. In this information redistribution role, the ISP provides a bridge between the various transportation systems that produce the information and the other ISPs and their subscribers that use the information. The second role of an ISP is focused on delivery of traveler information to subscribers and the public at large. Information provided includes basic advisories, traffic and road conditions, transit schedule information, yellow pages information, ridematching information, and parking information. The subsystem also provides the capability to provide specific directions to travelers by receiving origin and destination requests from travelers, generating route plans, and returning the calculated plans to the users. In addition to general route planning for travelers, the ISP also supports specialized route planning for vehicle fleets. In this third role, the ISP function may be dedicated to, or even embedded within, the dispatch system. Reservation services are also provided in advanced implementations. The information is provided to the traveler through the Personal Information Access Subsystem, Remote Traveler Support Subsystem, and the Vehicle Subsystem through available communications links. Both basic one-way (broadcast) and personalized two-way information provision are supported. The ISP is most commonly implemented as an Internet web site, but it represents any traveler information distribution service including systems that broadcast digital transportation data (e.g., satellite radio networks) and systems that support distribution through Field-Vehicle Communications networks. The ISP accomplishes these roles using constantly evolving technologies like the Internet (World Wide Web pages), direct broadcast communications (email alerts, pagers, satellite radio network data broadcasts), communications through Field-Vehicle Communications networks, etc.
Functional Area: Basic Information Broadcast
Broadcast dissemination of traffic, transit, maintenance and construction, event, and weather information to traveler interface systems and vehicles.
| ID | Requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The center shall disseminate traffic and highway condition information to travelers, including incident information, detours and road closures, event information, recommended routes, and current speeds on specific routes. | Existing |
| 2 | The center shall disseminate maintenance and construction information to travelers, including scheduled maintenance and construction work activities and work zone activities. | Existing |
| 3 | The center shall disseminate transit routes and schedules, transit transfer options, transit fares, and real-time schedule adherence information to travelers. | Planned |
| 5 | The center shall disseminate toll fee information to travelers. | Planned |
| 6 | The center shall disseminate weather information to travelers. | Existing |
| 7 | The center shall disseminate event information to travelers. | Existing |
| 9 | The center shall provide the capability to support requests from the media for traffic and incident data. | Existing |
| 10 | The center shall provide the capability for a system operator to control the type and update frequency of broadcast traveler information. | Existing |
Functional Area: Infrastructure Provided Trip Planning
Generation of pre-trip and enroute trip plans for travelers (and vehicles) based on current traffic conditions, work zones, weather, and travelers constraints and preferences. Includes end-to-end trips using multiple modes, such as bicycle, transit, etc.
| ID | Requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | The center shall log route plans, particularly for special vehicles such as those containing hazardous materials, over-sized vehicles, or motorcades, with a traffic center. | Planned |
Functional Area: Interactive Infrastructure Information
Personalized dissemination of traffic, transit, maintenance and construction, multimodal, event, and weather information to traveler interface systems and vehicles, upon request.
| ID | Requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | The center shall disseminate customized multimodal transportation service information (for example, from ferry and airline operators), including transfer points and other information, to travelers upon request. | Existing |
| 12 | The center shall manage payment for services, such as tolls, transit fares, parking lot charges, map updates, and advanced payment for tolls, and provide transaction success or failure details. | Planned |
| 13 | The center shall support requests for traveler information and advanced payment for traveler services from commercial fleet operators. | Existing |
| 14 | The center shall provide the capability to exchange information with another traveler information service provider current or predicted data for road links that are outside the area served by the local supplier. | Planned |
| 16 | The center shall provide the capability to support requests from the media for traffic and incident data. | Existing |
| 17 | The center shall provide the capability for a system operator to control the type and update frequency of traveler information. | Existing |
Functional Area: ISP Data Collection
Collection and storage of information supporting the operations of traveler information service providers. For use by operations personnel or data archives in the region.
| ID | Requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The center shall collect traveler information data, such as parking lot data, rideshare data, road network use data, vehicle probe data, and other data from traveler information system operations. | Existing |
| 2 | The center shall collect traveler requests, confirmations, and payment transaction data for traveler services provided. | Planned |
| 3 | The center shall assign quality control metrics and meta-data to be stored along with the data. Meta-data may include attributes that describe the source and quality of the data and the conditions surrounding the collection of the data. | Planned |
| 4 | The center shall receive and respond to requests from ITS Archives for either a catalog of the traveler information data or for the data itself. | Planned |
| 5 | The center shall be able to produce sample products of the data available. | Planned |
Functional Area: ISP Emergency Traveler Information
Distribution of emergency information to the traveling public, including evacuation information and wide-area alerts.
| ID | Requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The center shall disseminate emergency evacuation information to the traveler interface systems, including evacuation zones, shelter information, available transportation modes, road closures and detours, changes to transit services, and traffic and road conditions at the origin, destination, and along the evacuation routes. | Planned |
| 2 | The center shall provide evacuation information to shelter providers. | Planned |
| 3 | The center shall disseminate wide-area alert information to the traveler interface systems, including major emergencies such as a natural or man-made disaster, civil emergency, child abductions, severe weather watches and warnings, military activities, and law enforcement warnings. | Planned |
| 4 | The center shall provide the capability for a system operator to control the type and update frequency of emergency and wide-area alert information distributed to travelers. | Planned |
Functional Area: ISP Operational Data Repository
Processes, stores, and distributes real-time information on the state of the regional transportation system to transportation system operators.
Functional Area: ISP Probe Information Collection
Collection and aggregation of vehicle probe data, including calculation and dissemination of route travel times and usage. Includes environmental probe data collection, aggregation and dissemination.
Functional Area: ISP Traveler Data Collection
Collects traveler information from other centers, consolidates and refines the collected data, and makes this data available to traveler information applications.
| ID | Requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The center shall collect, process, and store traffic and highway condition information, including incident information, detours and road closures, event information, recommended routes, and current speeds on specific routes. | Existing |
| 2 | The center shall collect, process, and store maintenance and construction information, including scheduled maintenance and construction work activities and work zone activities. | Existing |
| 3 | The center shall collect, process, and store transit routes and schedules, transit transfer options, transit fares, and real-time schedule adherence information. | Planned |
| 5 | The center shall collect, process, and store toll fee information. | Planned |
| 6 | The center shall collect, process, and store current and forecast road conditions and surface weather conditions. | Existing |
| 7 | The center shall collect, process, and store event information. | Existing |
Functional Area: ISP Traveler Information Alerts
Provides personalized traveler information alerts, notifying travelers of relevant congestion, incidents, transit schedule delays. and other actionable information that may impact a trip. Relevant alerts are selected based on user-configurable parameters and thresholds.
Functional Area: Traveler Telephone Information
Distribution of traveler information and wide-area alerts to traveler telephone information systems such as 511, based on voice-based traveler requests.
| ID | Requirement | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The center shall provide the capability to process voice-formatted requests for traveler information from a traveler telephone information system, and return the information in the requested format. | Existing |
| 2 | The center shall provide the capability to process dual-tone multifrequency (DTMF)-based requests (touch-tone) for traveler information from a traveler telephone information system. | Existing |
| 3 | The center shall provide the capability to process traveler information requests from a traveler telephone information system. | Existing |
| 4 | The center shall provide information on traffic conditions in the requested voice format and for the requested location. | Existing |
| 5 | The center shall provide work zone and roadway maintenance information in the requested voice format and for the requested location. | Existing |
| 6 | The center shall provide roadway environment conditions information in the requested voice format and for the requested location. | Existing |
| 7 | The center shall provide weather and event information in the requested voice format and for the requested location. | Existing |
| 10 | The center shall provide current ferry and rail schedule and airport status information in the requested voice format and for the requested location. | Existing |
| 11 | The center shall provide the capability to support both specific caller requests as well as bulk upload of regional traveler information. | Existing |
| 12 | The center shall receive and forward region-specific wide-area alert and advisory information to the traveler telephone information system, including major emergencies such as a natural or man-made disaster, civil emergency, child abductions, severe weather watches and warnings, military activities, and law enforcement warnings. | Planned |