32-35 Briggs Feature

ITE JOURNAL / JANUARY 2001 THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON Transportation Operations has identified the need for cultural transitions within transportation organizations from traditional project-driven orientations to approaches focused on continuous systems performance and customer service.1 Institutional change, facilitating interjurisdictional cooperation to provide seamless transportation services, is a key element to achieving this goal. Many transportation organizations throughout the United States are already working toward this objective and may serve as models of successful practices and as sources of lessons learned. Some of the best examples are in areas where transportation service providers recognize the inherently regional nature of transportation and are developing management approaches that reflect this nature. In these areas, multiple public and private transportation entities are working together to address problems or provide services collectively under the auspices of what have been termed “new regional organizations.” New regional organizations are voluntary consortia of public and private entities that provide regionally integrated and coordinated transportation management and services. They are defined by multiple, autonomous organizations functioning as a unified entity.2 Transportation issues are regional in nature. Traffic congestion, air pollution, incident management and other issues cannot be addressed effectively through isolated applications by individual jurisdictions. These issues cross jurisdictional boundaries and require a coordinated approach involving many players. Management of major incidents provides a prime example. Key players may include law-enforcement agencies, fire and rescue agencies, transportation agencies, hazardous-materials cleanup services, towing and recovery companies, public and private providers of traveler information and transit agencies. A major incident is likely to impact transportation facilities maintained by multiple transportation agencies, as traffic diverts to alternative routes. Coordinating response requires advanced planning and effective real-time management. Prior to an incident, agency personnel must understand one another’s goals, address potential conflicts and come to consensus about how to meet goals collectively. Communication is central to realtime management of incidents. Each of the critical players must be notified and have sufficient information to work as part of a unified team, which requires effective information management, such as routing through a single source. The benefits of coordination can be significant. In San Antonio, TX, USA, implementation of incident-management programs resulted in a 41 percent reduction in accident rates, 20 percent reduction in average response times and average delay savings of 700 vehicle-hours per incident.3 Regional transportation organizations may also address the development of compatible traffic-control technologies and procedures, the distribution of traveler information, the provision of services to expedite freight movement, the interoperability of electronic tolling systems, or other applications. Often regional organizations perform multiple compatible functions, such as incident management, traffic control and traveler-information provision. A region can encompass a metropolitan area, corridor, or multistate area, depending on the purpose of the regional organization. In the new transportation environment, where the focus includes systems operations as well as design and construction, regional transportation organizations facilitate seamless operations and delivery of services. While there is no magic formula for development of regional organizations, there are critical elements, namely the integration of Operations in a Regional Transportation Organization Environment