MORPC has always been a strong proponent of sharing resources and information in order to achieve the most efficient and effective transportation system. The central Ohio region currently has several good transportation information systems, including the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Buckeye Traffic, the city of Columbus’ Paving the Way, and the Central Ohio Transit Authority’s (COTA) trip planning website, among others. In addition, MORPC’s RideSolutions program offers car- and vanpool matching options. There are also other data collection systems where the information is not widely disseminated to the public.

Although all of these stakeholders work together, the systems are not always linked with each other. It is therefore difficult for the public to obtain all information related to any particular trip at one site. None of the websites offer the option to compare transportation modes for a requested trip based on travel time, length, and cost.

In order to allow these functionalities, MORPC, together with Cambridge Systematics, has studied the feasibility of a system that displays all travel related information so that travelers can make informed decisions about the best transportation mode, route, time, and cost for each trip. Modal options should not be restricted to just highways and transit but should also consider bicycling, air travel, and other modes. The system should also serve as a clearinghouse for information about construction, congestion, incidents, emergencies, and evacuations. The system should be a consistent and credible voice to the media, general public, and system operators.

The feasibility study consisted of three main parts:

1. A survey of ITS stakeholders in the region that could provide travel-related information to a regional traveler information system. The results of this task can be found here.

2. A survey of the public to identify their knowledge of the existing systems and their preferences on how to get traffic information in the future. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 private businesses who travel as part of their operations. The results of this task can be found here.

3. A survey of existing successful systems in the nation and internationally. The travel information systems studied were San Francisco, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; Houston, TX; Munich, Germany; and London, Great Britain. The Best Practices report can be downloaded here.

Based on the results of these three tasks, the project team is developing a strategic plan and rough cost estimate to implement such a regional traveler information system in the region. The final report will be available on this website soon.

MORPC is currently meeting with a variety of local and state stakeholders to gain support, discuss needed technologies, and identify potential funding sources. A 2-page fact sheet that briefly summarizes the benefits for such a system can be downloaded here.

For more information, please contact MORPC project manager Kerstin Carr.