CHAPTER 2

Information Gathering and Identification of Products

Phase I of the research involved gathering information from a wide variety of sources; assessing agency challenges and needs; identifying use cases for transportation planning and traffic operations that could benefit from improved data sharing, integration, and management; and identifying potential products for development in subsequent phases of the research that could begin to address some of the challenges and needs. This chapter presents the research approach with reference to findings from the Phase I research.

Information Gathering

During the information-gathering stage, the research team took a broad approach that involved researching transportation agencies’ data use practices, challenges and limitations, and needs in the areas of freight, emerging technologies, planning, shared mobility services, transit, work zones, traffic incident management (TIM), integrated corridor management (ICM), and active transportation and demand management (ATDM). The team identified and reviewed a comprehensive collection of relevant literature and data standards and conducted telephone interviews with a wide range of public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders. Specifically, the team

• Reviewed and documented information from more than 100 sources, including NCHRP reports, FHWA reports, state and local reports and white papers, journal articles, web articles, press releases, and blogs.
• Reviewed and documented information on 22 standards pertaining to data exchange and communications in intelligent transportation systems (ITS), traffic management, work zones, and transit:
  • Traffic Management Data Dictionary (TMDD) Standard for Center-to-Center (C2C) Communications V3.04
  • TransXML
  • Mobility Data Specification (MDS)
  • General Bikeshare Feed Specification (GBFS)
  • Open 511
  • Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx) Specification
  • General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS)
  • GTFS-Ride
  • Transit Communications Interface Profiles (TCIP): TCIP-S-001, Standard for Transit Communications Interface Profiles
  • European Committee for Standardization (CEN)/Technical Specification (TS) 15531 Service Interface for Real-Time Information (SIRI)
  • National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP):
    • 1202 v03, Object Definitions for Actuated Signal Controllers (ASC) Interface
    • 1211 v02, Object Definitions for Signal Control and Prioritization (SCP)

• • 1209 v02, Object Definitions for Transportation Sensor Systems (TSS)
  • 1204 v03, Environmental Sensor Station (ESS) Interface Protocol
  • International Organization for Standardization (ISO):
    • TS19091:2017, Intelligent Transport Systems—Cooperative ITS—Using V2I [vehicle-to-infrastructure] and I2V [infrastructure-to-vehicle] Communications for Applications Related to Signalized Intersections
  • Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE):
    • J2354_200402, Message Sets for Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS)
    • J2353_199910, Data Dictionary for Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS)
    • J2735-2016, Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) Message Set Dictionary
    • J2945/1 201603, On-Board System Requirements for V2V [vehicle-to-vehicle] Safety Communications
    • J2945/2_201810, Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) Performance Requirements for V2V Safety Awareness
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1609, Family of Standards for Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE)
• Conducted 22 telephone interviews with individuals representing a wide range of stakeholders, including city, county, and state transportation agencies; metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs); FHWA; transportation consultants; software companies; transportation network companies; data providers; transportation coalitions; and academics. The team identified individuals to be interviewed from projects found in the literature review as well as from the team’s knowledge, experience, and contacts.

The team documented all information gathered in standard templates that were compiled and reviewed to assess agencies’ challenges and needs with respect to data sharing, integration, and management.

Assessment of Challenges and Needs and Identification of Use Cases

Throughout the reviews of documents and standards and the interviews with stakeholders, the team noted challenges and needs and narrowed in on transportation planning and operations use cases in which agencies expressed challenges and limitations or fell short. The team identified the following 10 use cases and use case areas on which to focus:

• Managing big data from emerging technologies (specifically, crowdsourcing and connected vehicles),
• Freight data for planning and operations,
• Next-generation ICM systems,
• Improving transportation planning with emerging data,
• Using data for effective operations and enforcement of private shared mobility services,
• TIM performance measurement,
• ITS transit data for planning and operations,
• Integrating work zone event data with other data sources,
• Modernization of ATDM approaches, and
• Preparing agencies for smart cities.

The team developed a detailed summary of each use case, which included a background, state-of-practice review, relevant data sources, relevant data standards (where applicable), challenges and needs, and existing resources and products. The team found that while there were challenges and needs associated with specific use cases, many applied to more than

one use case. The most common challenges identified across the use cases included the following:

• Benefits of new approaches or technologies for data management are not fully understood or appreciated by transportation agencies (particularly at the leadership level).
• Data siloes; lack of internal data sharing; and insufficient tools, technologies, and technical data expertise inhibit the ability for agencies to fully exploit their data.
• Data are not properly maintained, which leads to data quality issues.
• Data are insufficient—(e.g., lack of real-time data, raw data, or sufficiently granular data).
• Available data sources do not easily integrate.
• Proprietary systems or data ownership issues prevent the integration, sharing, and use of data as well as the ability for agencies to validate or ensure data quality.
• Existing data architectures are unable to effectively ingest, process, or manage data load.
• There is a reluctance to share data (internally and externally) because of privacy, security, or accuracy concerns.
• Agencies do not always have expertise in developing contractual agreements or drafting and enforcing favorable contractual terms.
• Approaches to protect data privacy negatively affect data usability.
• Outdated analyses and processes do not account for new data, new technologies, or new behaviors.
• Administrative barriers, information technology (IT), and legal processes hinder procurement.

Likewise, the most common needs across the use cases included the following:

• Standards for harmonized datasets or data products that are relevant to modern data applications.
• Automated, standardized methods to improve data quality or data collection.
• Support for integrating new datasets and enriching existing datasets.
• Guidance on assessing the quality and potential of various datasets as well as on identifying potential use cases for the data.
• Updated internal and external business processes to facilitate data integration, sharing, and management.
• Improved data coverage with detailed, real-time data.
• Improved data sharing and collaboration both internally and with partner agencies.
• Education/training on modern data management practices and other data science skill sets.
• Cost–benefit analysis to support the adoption of modern data architecture and the associated changes in procurement.
• Guidance on how to communicate data effectively with executives and other internal stakeholders.
• Guidance on drafting and enforcing technical contracts with data providers and data users.
• Policies to reconcile the need for usable data with the need to protect sensitive information and personally identifiable information (PII).
• Guidance on providing incentives for private-industry partners to provide data.
• System requirements for data product procurement, deployment, and testing.
• Open data platforms for data sharing with access methods that meet the needs of multiple audiences.

The research team compiled and documented the findings from the information-gathering activities into a Phase I interim report for the project panel. The findings were subsequently documented in a web-based knowledge library for NCHRP Project 08-119, which is presented and described in Chapter 3 of this NCHRP Research Report. Additionally, the Phase I Executive Summary (TRB 2021) can be found on the NCHRP 08-119 project webpage on the TRB website (https://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4543).

Identification of Research Products for Development

The final step in Phase I was to identify and select a set of research products, to be developed in Phase III of the project, that would help agencies overcome identified challenges with data sharing, integration, and management. The team identified potential opportunities to address the challenges and needs identified, both overarching and specific to certain use cases.

In all, the team identified 30 potential products for consideration by the project panel. Potential products included short documents on specific topics, including case studies of effective practices and lessons learned; condensed or simplified guidelines on various topics; assessments of real-world data for quality, potential use cases, and requirements; online tools; pilot integration of real-world data to demonstrate approach, feasibility, and value; and draft data specifications and frameworks to support data integration. Some of the potential products were novel, while others were built from or expanded upon existing products. Some potential products were specific to one use case, while others applied to multiple use cases. Some potential products leveraged or built upon other ongoing efforts.

After review and consideration of the list of potential products, the project panel selected seven. The team had to pivot on several products, owing to a lack of data availability or the identification of related ongoing efforts. Several products also were added to the list. In the end, the team developed the following 11 products:

• Data Decision Tree for Big Data in Freight Transportation Planning and Operations,
• Freight Data Interoperability Framework: Update,
• Use of Waze for Cities Partnership Data for Operations and Planning,
• Vehicle Probe Data Primer,
• Improving the Sharing, Quality, and Management of Data to Support Traffic Incident Management Use Cases: A Guide,
• Uses of Smart Work Zone Devices for Work Zone Data Feeds: Five Case Studies,
• Shared Mobility Data: A Resource Guide,
• Managing Sensitive Shared Mobility Data,
• LinkerAT: Guidelines and Demonstration for Implementation of an Improved Conflation and Geodata Reference Process,
• Opportunities and Challenges in Improving the Use of Data in Integrated Corridor Management Systems, and
• Using Connected Vehicle Data for Transportation System Management.

Each of these products is briefly described in Chapter 4, and the products are presented in their entirety in Part II of this Research Report.

References

TRB. (2021). NCHRP 08-119 Data Integration, Sharing, and Management for Transportation Planning and Traffic Operations: Phase I Report—Executive Summary. Washington, DC. https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/nchrp/docs/NCHRP08-119_Phase_I_Summary.pdf.