The National Transportation Operations Coalition Evolution of the Message Communications, Outreach and Social Media Portfolio

April 8-10, 2013 AASHTO SSOM Annual Meeting Phoenix, Arizona Douglas E. Noble, P.E., PTOE Program Manager National Transportation Operations Coalition

How Far Have We Come

 1999- National Dialogue  1999-National Steering Committee on Transportation Operations  2001-National Dialogue on Transportation Operations  2001-National Transportation Operations Coalition

2001 National Summit on Transportation Operations

 Theme: Building the Future of Transportation Operations  Goal: Identify and discuss key strategies to advance operations in both the reauthorization of TEA-21 and Operations Programs

Questions Addressed

 What elements are needed to advance transportation operations/system management?

 Where is common ground on issues being discussed?

 What areas still need substantial additional thought, consideration, research?

Summary of Recommendations

• Increase the focus on transportation operations at the federal, state, regional and local levels in response to customer needs.

• Define transportation operations in a way that is meaningful to the public, public officials and professionals. Foster greater awareness of the value of transportation operations.

• Enhance performance of the transportation system through performance-based decision-making and an increased focus on safety, reliability and security. Support development of the necessary information infrastructure (“infostructure”) for data collection.

Summary of Recommendations Contd.

Create linkages between traditional capital planning processes and planning for operations.

• Support and assist homeland security initiatives.

• Facilitate accelerated evolution of cultural change within transportation agencies to adopt policies and practices that support operations.

• Enhance interagency coordination and cooperation.

• Continue funding and support for operations programs and policies at the federal level and encourage greater participation at the state, regional and local levels .

Big Goals

What did we accomplish?

National Transportation Operations Coalition Original Mission

 To improve management and operation of the nation's existing transportation system so that its performance will exceed customer expectations.

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Who is NTOC?

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

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International Municipal Signal Association

 American Highway Users Alliance  American Public Transportation Association 

American Public Works Association

 Association for Commuter Transportation  American Traffic Safety Services Association 

Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations

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Federal Highway Administration

 Federal Transit Administration  I-95 Corridor Coalition 

Institute of Transportation Engineers

 International Association of Chiefs of Police  International City/County Management Association  National League of Cities 

ITS America

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ITS Joint Program Office

 National Association of County Engineers  National Association of Development Organizations  National Association of Regional Councils  National Association of City Transportation Officials 

National Conference of State Legislatures

 National Governors Association  Public Technology Institute  Roadway Safety Foundation  Smart Growth America 

Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Network

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Transportation Research Board

 American Trucking Association

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Original Goals

Minimizing congestion and improving safety on our area wide metropolitan transportation systems and priority corridors.

Implementing and sustaining effective transportation operations centers.

Reducing delays and disruptions caused by incidents.

Minimizing the adverse effects of work zones, including duration, congestion and safety.

Providing effective transportation prior to, during and after emergencies and disasters.

Minimizing traffic tie-ups in conjunction with special events.

Reducing congestion and delay by regular re-timing of traffic signals.

Providing timely and accurate information to travelers.

Improving the linkages between modes for passengers and freight.

Providing reliable and quick response Mayday systems for travelers.

Original Goals Cont’d

We Know We Are Successful When:  Customer surveys indicate consistently increasing satisfaction with the performance of the transportation system.

 The focus of decision makers and transportation agencies includes continuous performance based delivery of services in addition to implementation of individual projects.

  Performance measures are in place that are understandable, measurable, and are used effectively in making decisions improving transportation systems performance.

Managing and operating the transportation system are integral parts of a funding and staffing continuum that also includes planning, design, construction and maintenance.

NTOC Action Teams

NTOC was founded on 7 action teams and one subcommittee. Activities for these action teams have currently concluded and the results can be found below:         Making the Business Case Performance Measures Operations and Planning Traffic Signals Outreach to Non-elected Officials Developing Transportation Operations Professionals Small Urban/Rural National Associations Working Group (NAWG): the formal committee for outreach and communications under the NTOC umbrella, serving to inform and educate about ITS and Transportation Management and Operations.

NTOC Products

      The Business Case for Transportation System Management and Operations [Michael Morris, Syracuse Univ.] NTOC Performance Measure Initiative Final Report Led to Guide to Benchmarking Operations Performance Measures [NCHRP 20-7/ Stan Young UMd] Traffic Signal Self Assessment and Report Card 2007, 2009, 2012 Outreach and communications [Platform evolving with technology and social media] • Forums • Newsletter Developing Transportation Professionals • Webcast • Resources

Current NTOC Vision

NTOC will be successful when transportation decision-makers actively pursue and deploy transportation system management and operations strategies and technologies to enhance the performance of the nation’s surface transportation system, with Transportation Operations being recognized as an integral part of a transportation funding and staffing continuum along with planning, design, construction and maintenance.

National Transportation Operations Coalition

   NTOC will advance the development and implementation of Transportation Operations strategies by working cooperatively to: Identify and communicate the proven benefits of Transportation Operations to all stakeholders, including but not limited to policy makers, practitioners, communities and the media. Develop and provide support for the Transportation Operations practitioner community through educational and technical resources. Provide a forum for Transportation Operations leaders and stakeholders to share news, best practices, and strategies.

NTOC Portfolio Elements

Web site: www.ntoctalks.com

• • General organization information Newsfeeds and calendar

NTOC Talks

Newsletter: • Over 6,000 members and >30% click thru rate • Provides operations news from all 26 NTOC member organizations

Talking Operations

Web Casts www.ntoctalks.com/web_casts.php

(on hiatus) Free, online information sessions designed for transportation practitioners and decision makers nationwide.

NTOC Web Forums

The NTOC Forums and Traffic Signal Library were initially developed and launched in 2009/2010 through an NTOC subtask.

By leveraging NTOC member relationships, the goal is to improve traffic signal operations nationally by providing: • • a peer-to-peer network of practitioners and experts who could discuss traffic signal management, operations, safety and maintenance issues a one-stop electronic library of pertinent traffic signal documents Project researched available Web platforms to provide the most functionality for the least cost and maintenance

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Why use the Groupsite Platform?

Flexible, easily customized, low-cost platform Allows administrative control over the site while enabling users to create groups, launch discussions and post documents Enables continual growth based upon practitioner and NTOC stakeholder participation Low start-up and maintenance costs compared to building a traditional, independent Web site Hosted material lives in the cloud, not on a particular entity’s servers Provides a distinct URL that can be maintained by any NTOC stakeholder—no propriety information needed to host or manage the site Allows NTOC to focus more on content than coding

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NTOC Groupsite Features

Collaborative, online work space Virtual file cabinets to post, store, and view documents Social networking tools User Profiles Discussion forums Calendars RSS News feeds Subgroups by invitation Searchable across all content types Allows restricted access to invitation only groups Additional functionality available Mobile App platform

Benefits of the NTOC Groupsite Platform

Platform for a one stop shop for operations information across the broad range of NTOC membership groups: • Enables discussions and collaboration to continue beyond Webinars, workshops, academies or conferences • • • Provides a secure location to host a variety of documents and work materials Enables direct access to experts and peers Connects individuals with similar challenges and interests

NTOC Groupsite [ ntoctsl.groupsite.com ]

Questions?

Contact: Douglas E. Noble, P.E., PTOE Program Manager National Transportation Operations Coalition [email protected]

(202) 785-0060 ext. 148 Michelle Birdsall Communications Manager National Transportation Operations Coalition [email protected]

(202) 785-0060 ext. 139