Costs and Benefits of Using Intelligent Transportation Systems as an Alternative Data Source: Case Study

Intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) are an alternative data source that could lead to win–win situations: this source will not only benefit the transportation operations and planning communities by allowing them to access more and better data, but it will also enhance the appeal of ITS deployment by significantly broadening its originally intended benefits. Use of ITS-generated data as an alternative data resource is reflected in the archived data user services (ADUS) in the national ITS architecture. Usually, an agency will evaluate the costs and the benefits of ADUS before it decides whether to deploy ADUS. The costs and benefits of ADUS are examined on the basis of results from a case study in which ITS-generated traffic data were analyzed to determine whether they can help meet such traffic data needs as estimating the total travel volume and the total vehicle miles traveled. The cost is measured in terms of the effort needed to archive and reformat the data, revamp the software, and address data quality and data integration issues. The benefits are measured in terms of the value added by the ITS-generated data. Although the costs are high to use ITS-generated data for purposes other than the originally intended use, the research has proved that ITS-generated data can improve transportation decisions by, in this case, improving traffic estimates.