ITS Across the US and the World

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) represent the next step in the evolution of the nation’s entire transportation system. DOT's across the country and the world now know that only building new roads will not solve the problem of congestion and safety. Consider these staggering transportation statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

  • Annual delay per peak period (rush hour) traveler, which has grown from 16 hours to 46 hours since 1982.
  • Annual financial cost of traffic congestion, which has ballooned from $14 billion to more than $63 billion since 1982 (as expressed in 2002 dollars).
  • and Wasted fuel, totaling 5.6 billion gallons lost to engines idling in traffic jams.
In addition to building traditional transportation methods, the ultimate goals of American ITS programs are to improve the efficiency and safety of the entire nation’s surface transportation system (road, rail, water and air). ITS became official in 1991 when Congress legislated the program for the nation.

For more information about ITS, visit the national Web site at www.its.dot.gov.

St. Louis and other metropolitan areas across the country have enjoyed considerable benefits from implementing ITS programs similar to Gateway Guide. Here are some of their findings in after action studies:

  • In 2002, a University of Missouri-Columbia study of MoDOT's Motorist Assist incident management program (an integral part of Gateway Guide) showed the following benefits:
    - Reduced vehicle delay by 188,677 hours.
    - Reduced secondary accidents on I-70 and I-270 by 456.
    - Quantified benefits were estimated at $16.4 million.

    Success Stories in other Metro Areas
  • Atlanta’s ITS program, NAVIGATOR, reduced highway incident times by 23 minutes, which resulted in a $44.6 million savings to the public in the form of reduced delays.

  • A San Antonio, Texas, deployment of dynamic message signs, combined with an incident management program resulted in a 2.8% decrease in crashes.

  • Houston's Transtar program showed a conservative estimate of freeway incident timesavings at five minutes per vehicle, but analysis showed a saving of 30 minutes for major freeway incidents. Total annual estimated delay savings is 572,095 vehicle-hours. Estimated economic value of these savings is $8,440,000 annually.

    The U.S. Department of Transportation also collects data on ITS programs in the nation’s biggest cities. Here are some results:

  • Accidents reduced by 24 to 50% while increasing speeds by 13 to 48%.

  • Advanced traffic surveillance and signal control systems have resulted in travel time improvements ranging from 8 to 25%.

  • Traffic management systems, primarily through ramp metering, have reduced crashes by 24 to 50% while handling 8 to 22% more traffic at speeds 13 to 48% faster than pre-existing congested conditions.

  • Incident management programs can reduce delays associated with congestion caused by incidents on highways by 10 to 45%.

    To read more about ITS Success stories across the US, Click here.
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