AN APPROACH TO MONITORING PERFORMANCE MEASURES OF TRANSIT INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS

Quite often, transit agencies deploy intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies without attempting to monitor performance measures of these technologies. Further, benefits that can be realized from ITS technologies are seldom measured or tracked. Because of the high cost of deploying ITS technologies and their great monetary and non-monetary benefits, transit agencies need to continuously monitor performance measures of these technologies. This paper investigates the performance and benefits of transit ITS deployments in the Washington Metropolitan area (including Northern Virginia) and how they have been measured. The paper discusses the extent of transit ITS deployment in the region, the projects objectives and the measures being used to evaluate performance, the documented benefits, and other impacts of the deployments. The paper also makes recommendations for ongoing performance monitoring. Building on Washington Metropolitan's data and information, the paper describes the recommended steps to be taken by any transit agency, or regional authority, for a successful continuing process for monitoring performance data. The recommended steps include: (1) Policies for Monitoring Process; (2) Acquiring Specific Performance Measures; and (3) System for Storage and Dissemination of information.