A Framework for Improving Travel Time Reliability (2013)

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10 C h a p t e r 1 Travel time reliability is an emerging topic that is becoming more important to understand. Unreliable travel time can occur due to recurring congestion (bottlenecks and poor traf- fic signal timing) and to nonrecurring congestion (traffic inci- dents, weather, work zones, and special events). However, there is a lack of common understanding among transportation policy makers and professionals regarding the concept of travel time reliability and how to improve it. Roadway reliability can be improved through the applica- tion of Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSM&O) strategies. The relationship between travel time reliability and TSM&O is described as follows: Travel time reliability is a major component of the congestion problem. Both anecdotal and technical studies indicate that average congestion levels have—and are continuing—to grow in our cities. In their 2005 report, Texas Transportation Institute researchers found that congestion levels in 85 of the largest metropolitan areas have grown in almost every year in all population groups from 1982 to 2003. But, it’s not just the typical or average condition that’s important. The notion of travel time reliability—how consistent (or variable) travel condi- tions are from day-to-day—has taken on increasing impor- tance. The variation in travel times is now understood as a separate component of the public’s and business sector’s frus- tration with congestion problems. Travelers adjust to vari- ability by planning for additional time beyond what is typical, to ensure that they arrive on time. This extra planning time has costs associated with it that have not traditionally been accounted for in transportation analyses. Because systems operations and management deal directly with the root causes of unreliable travel (e.g., incidents, weather, work zones, demand surges), they can reduce the travel variability experienced by our customers. (AASHTO Subcommittee on Systems Operations and Management Subcommittee 2008 Strategic Plan, p. 5.) Only a few agencies throughout the United States have suc- cessfully implemented a comprehensive TSM&O program to address travel time reliability. Two that have been successful are the Virginia and the Washington State DOTs. Thus, there is a need to provide a common understanding of the causes of unreliable travel time and the actions that can be pursued to address this problem. The SHRP 2 Project L17, A Framework for Improving Travel Time Reliability, was intended to address this need by moving TSM&O into mainstream agency practice. This was accom- plished by organizing project activities into three parallel tracks: • Track A: Developing a synthesis of relevant literature and identifying gaps in knowledge that need to be filled. • Track B: Conceptualizing, building, and testing a Knowl- edge Transfer System (KTS). • Track C: Enhancing branding and communication of TSM&O strategies to encourage their widespread distribu- tion throughout the profession. These three tracks are illustrated in Figure 1.1. project Description SHRP 2 Project L17 is a capstone project in the Reliability program because it was intended to integrate products from other SHRP 2 projects as well as from other sources of TSM&O information. The main objectives of the project were to 1. Provide the means for mainstreaming reliability findings and products; 2. Develop diverse “value of Reliability/TSM&O” messaging pieces; 3. Provide an accessible synthesis of reliability findings and products; 4. Develop a user-driven comprehensive KTS; and 5. Develop reliability branding and marketing plans for the KTS. Introduction

11 To accomplish these objectives, the following products were developed: A KTS was developed to accomplish the first and fourth objectives. A series of communication strategies, an aca- demic white paper, and a business case primer were developed to accomplish the second and fifth objectives. A summary of TSM&O reports and documents and the gap-filling projects were conducted to accomplish the third objective. Scope of Work This section briefly describes the relevant tasks and activities of each track that were conducted during the SHRP 2 L17 project. Further details and the key findings on each track are described in the remaining chapters. Phase 1: Synthesis Phase 1 of the project included (a) a comprehensive synthesis of key reliability and TSM&O content, (b) the current state of the practice with respect to KTSs in and outside the transportation arena, and (c) a summary of existing TSM&O-related branding and communication materials. To support these three activities, outreach activities with user and institutional communities were conducted so that the team could gain feedback from key players in the TSM&O area and improve the KTS. Following is a summary of the main activities that were conducted for each track in Phase 1. Track A: Content Building • Task 1: Identified the objective of the relevant research to be synthesized. • Task 2: Developed a useful structure and format for the content synthesis. • Task 3: Reviewed available material. • Task 4: Prepared synthesis report. Track B: KTS • Task 1: Reviewed and evaluated knowledge needs in the transportation field. • Task 2: Reviewed the current state of the practice in KTSs within the transportation field. • Task 3: Reviewed and evaluated KTS examples from out- side the transportation field. Track C: Branding and Communication Methods • Task 1: Identified and summarized existing TSM&O-related branding and communications methods and activities. Figure 1.1. Work flowchart for Project L17, as organized into three tracks.

12 • Task 2: Identified and summarized academic community support activities for TSM&O. Phase 2: Gap Analysis Phase 2 of the project described the KTS functionalities and identified existing gaps based on knowledge identified in Phase 1. This phase also included the formal establishment of user and institutional community groups as well as formal meetings in order to get feedback on gap filling and KTS functionalities. These community groups were also used to identify important business cases and to help develop the brand that will be used to mainstream reliability and TSM&O. Fol- lowing is a summary of the main activities within each track in Phase 2. Track A: Content Building • Task 1: Identified products necessary for implementing SHRP 2 Reliability research. • Task 2: Identified remaining gaps in reliability estimation, improvement strategies, and institutional arrangements. • Task 3: Evaluated content gaps. Track B: KTS • Task 1: Identified options for the KTS components. • Task 2: Identified functions needed for a Reliability/ TSM&O KTS. • Task 3: Prepared a conceptual design of the KTS. Track C: Branding and Communications • Task 1: Developed an appropriate segmentation of the tar- get audience. • Task 2: Identified appropriate business cases by target audience. • Task 3: Developed the brand. • Task 4: Prepared a status report on academic curricula. Phase 3: Gap Filling Track A: Content Building The objective of this phase was to carry out a series of modest- sized projects that would result in a more comprehensive, useful, and usable KTS. The projects to be performed resulted from the gap analysis effort conducted in Phase 2 and included a mix of synthesis, analysis of data already collected for SHRP 2 research, limited analytics, limited simulation, and limited additional field data collection as needed. The product of the Phase 3 effort was a synthesis report or guidebook for each gap- filling project. Track B: KTS Prototype and Specs • Task 1: Reviewed gap-filling materials from other tracks. • Task 2: Determined the content structure of the web-based component. • Task 3: Identified website considerations and specifications. Track C: Product and Brand Testing • Task 1: Gathered user network reaction to product and brand definition. • Task 2: Created consensus and commitment for long-term implementation. Phase 4: Build and Test the KTS Track B: Build and Test the KTS • Task 1: Incorporated synthesis and gap-filling content that was previously developed into the final KTS structure. • Task 2: Developed the website component of the KTS. • Task 3: Beta tested the KTS. • Task 4: Developed KTS documentation. • Task 5: Prepared the implementation academic white paper. Track C: Communication Strategies and Materials • Task 1: Developed web content to support the KTS. • Task 2: Developed communications samples. • Task 3: Reported on the state of academic curricula. • Task 4: Developed the communications strategy. The remainder of this final report is divided into three chapters: Chapter 2, Existing Reliability/TSM&O Content; Chapter 3, Knowledge Transfer System; and Chapter 4, Brand- ing and Communication.