Skip to main content

USDOT releases plans for the future of ITS

The USDOT has released a new plan for ITS research and priorities for the second half of the decade. The new ITS Strategic Plan 2015-2019 outlines the direction and goals of the Department’s ITS Program and provides a framework around which the ITS Joint Program Office and other Department agencies will conduct research, development, and adoption activities to achieve them. The ITS Strategic Plan’s framework is built around two key ITS Program priorities, realising connected vehicle implementation and a
December 16, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The USDOT has released a new plan for ITS research and priorities for the second half of the decade. The new ITS Strategic Plan 2015-2019 outlines the direction and goals of the Department’s ITS Program and provides a framework around which the ITS Joint Program Office and other Department agencies will conduct research, development, and adoption activities to achieve them.

The ITS Strategic Plan’s framework is built around two key ITS Program priorities, realising connected vehicle implementation and advancing automation.

Realising connected vehicle implementation builds on the substantial progress made in recent years around design, testing, and planning for deployment of connected vehicles across the nation.

Advancing automation shapes the ITS Program around the research, development, and adoption of automation-related technologies as they emerge.

The priorities reflect stakeholder feedback on the need for the ITS Program not only to conduct research, but also to help with deployment and implementation of specific technologies related to connected vehicles and automation. The priorities indicate where the bulk of transportation research and innovation is heading. They are not exclusive of other technologies or research areas.

In addition, the ITS Strategic Plan includes program categories to provide the necessary structure for research, development, and adoption of ITS technologies. These include: Connected vehicles; Automation; Emerging capabilities; Enterprise data; Interoperability; and Accelerating deployment.

The ITS Strategic Plan was developed with significant stakeholder input from all relevant parties, both within and external to the Department. Close collaboration with all surface transportation modes (highways, rail, transit, motor carriers) and other agencies within the USDOT, such as the 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, helped shape the direction of the plan.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Making the most of Michigan
    January 9, 2018
    Michigan DoT’s Kirk Steudle takes time out from the ITS World Congress in Montreal to talk to Colin Sowman. Thirty years ago, a professional engineer named Kirk Steudle joined Michigan Department of Transportation (MDoT). Today he’s the state transportation director, responsible for more than 16,000km (10,000 miles) of state highways (including 4,000 bridges), some 2,500 employees and a budget of more than $4 billion. We caught up with Steudle during the ITS World Congress in Montreal and asked how he
  • Washington releases Vision Zero Action Plan
    December 18, 2015
    Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, in conjunction with the Department of Transportation (DDOT) the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and other city officials, has releases the District’s Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries to people walkers, cyclists and drivers by 2024. The Plan is the result of an extensive planning process involving 30 government agencies, community groups and residents. It places a high priority on making safety improvements and ref
  • ITS America statement on FCC proposed spectrum sharing
    January 21, 2013
    In response to recent comments by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and the ongoing study of spectrum sharing being undertaken by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) urged spectrum policymakers not to fast track a decision on opening the 5.9 GHz band to unlicensed users. A complete record and fair opportunity for all affected parties to participate in the process needs to be addressed, particularly since life-saving v
  • US state of the art workzone safety
    January 25, 2012
    The Texas Transportation Institute's Jerry Ullman talks about the state of the art in work zone safety in the US. Work zones are places where, perhaps more than anywhere else on the road network, mobility and safety are strongly linked. Historically, field crews and contractors wanted vehicles in work zones to be moving as slowly as possible, assuming that made conditions the safest for work crews. We are though starting to see a shift in such thinking with the realisation that excessive delays or slow-down