16 I Transportation Research Record 1826

Paper No. 03-3253

To help transportation planners, the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) has recently sponsored the development of a sketch planning
analysis tool for estimating the benets and costs of intelligence trans-
portation system (ITS) deployment. Called the ITS Deployment Analysis
System (IDAS), the tool was developed by Cambridge Systematics for
FHWA and operates as a postprocessor to traditional planning models
that are based on the four-step planning process. IDAS was used to pre-
dict the likely benets of deploying ITS in Chittenden County, Vermont,
a medium-sized region in northwestern Vermont, to gain insight into
IDAS applicability in evaluating ITS benets. A sensitivity analysis was
also conducted to assess the sensitivity of IDAS results to the choice of
values of some of the models parameters. The sensitivity analysis demon-
strates that some of the models parameters tend to have a more signi-
cant impact on the results than others. Finally, the results indicate that,
for medium-sized areas similar to Chittenden County, coordination of sig-
nals along major arterials and transit projects for automatic vehicle loca-
tion and scheduling appear to be more cost-effective than freeway and
incident management systems.
While elements of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are being
implemented worldwide, the likely impacts of such deployments are
rarely explicitly quantied in technical travel demand modeling pro-
cedures such as the four-step planning process. There are many rea-
sons behind such a lack of integration. First, empirical observations
of how ITS affects travel behavior are very scarce. Second, there is a
fundamental difference between the philosophy of the traditional
four-step planning process and the likely impacts of ITS deploy-
ment (1). The traditional four-step planning process has always been
focused on average travel conditions; the impacts of unusual occur-
rences, such as incidents, are typically not considered. On the other
hand, many ITS applications (freeway incident management systems,
for example) are aimed primarily at these unusual occurrences.
Although it may be quite challenging to pinpoint the exact ben-
efits of deploying ITS technologies, there is still a genuine need
for tools and models capable of at least making reasonable and
sound estimates of such benefits. Several efforts are under way to
mainstream ITS and incorporate it into the regular metropolitan
transportation planning process. The implication of this is that ITS
projects will eventually have to compete with other traditional
transportation projects in a regions Transportation Improvement
Program for scarce and limited transportation dollars. This, in turn,
will require that transportation planners be able to clearly demon-
strate, to the public and elected officials, the cost-effectiveness of
ITS-related projects if they are to be implemented.
The need to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of ITS projects
is particularly important when planning for ITS deployment in
medium- and small-sized areas. Extreme congestion, which charac-
terizes larger metropolitan areas, is not an issue for these medium-
and small-sized areas. This typically weakens public perception of
the need for ITS deployment (2). In fact, in many medium-sized
areas, there is still a lot of skepticism, especially on the part of local
officials, about the cost-effectiveness of ITS technologies compared
with traditional capacity-improvement projects.
To help transportation planners, FHWA has sponsored develop-
ment of a sketch planning analysis tool, called the ITS Deployment
Analysis System (IDAS), for estimating the benefits and costs of
ITS deployment. IDAS, which was developed by Cambridge Sys-
tematics for FHWA, operates as a postprocessor to traditional plan-
ning models that are based on the four-step planning process and
is designed to evaluate several traditional and nontraditional ITS
benefits, as will be explained later in this paper (3).
IDAS is certainly a necessary tool for transportation planners.
However, so far, there are very few studies reported in the litera-
ture in which the tool was actually used to evaluate the cost-effec-
tiveness of proposed ITS deployments in a real-world setting,
especially for medium-sized areas. Documented real-world exam-
ples of the use of the tool could be beneficial in shedding more
light on IDAS capabilities and limitations and on providing guid-
ance on how this tool can be best applied. Using IDAS requires the
user to make several assumptions about the values of a large num-
ber of parameters that potentially could have a significant impact
on the analysis results. A sensitivity analysis on the sensitivity of
IDAS results to some of the most important parameters is defi-
nitely needed. However, such studies have not been found in the
literature at the current time.
PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The current paper strives to address the gap in the ITS planning lit-
erature by describing a study that used IDAS to predict the likely
benets of deploying ITS in Chittenden County, Vermont. As part
of the study, a sensitivity analysis was also conducted to assess the
sensitivity of the results to the choice of values for some of the
Cost-Effectiveness of Intelligent
Transportation System (ITS)
Deployment in a Medium-Sized Area
Case Study with ITS Deployment Analysis System
Adel W. Sadek and Bernard Baah
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Vermont,
Burlington, VT 05405.
models most important parameters. This paper, therefore, has the
following three specic objectives:
1. Shedding light on the capabilities and limitations of the IDAS
model and, in particular, on its applicability to evaluating ITS
deployments in medium-sized areas similar to Chittenden County;
2. Studying the sensitivity of IDAS results to the choice of values
for some of the models most important parameters; and
3. Drawing some general conclusions about the most cost-
effective ITS deployments for medium-sized areas on the basis of
the IDAS results.
The first section of the paper provides some background infor-
mation on IDAS and Chittenden County and describes the pro-
posed ITS projects whose likely impacts are evaluated in this
study. The second section outlines the steps of applying IDAS to
evaluating each of the proposed ITS projects. The results obtained
are then summarized and discussed in the third section, which also
reports on the sensitivity of the results to the models parameters.
Finally, the fourth section summarizes the main conclusions derived
from the study.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
ITS Deployment Analysis System
IDAS was developed in recognition of the critical need for tools for
quantifying the benets and costs of deploying ITS. At the core of
the software is a comprehensive ITS benefits library, which pro-
vides default values for the likely impacts of several ITS applica-
tions. This ITS library was compiled from numerous evaluations of
observed and simulated impacts of different ITS technologies from
all over the United States and the world. The software is also
equipped with an equipment database that provides a comprehen-
sive inventory of ITS equipment and costs associated with various
ITS applications. These two resources allow the user to estimate the
costs and benet of the suggested ITS improvements and to perform
benetcost analyses.
IDAS operates as a postprocessor for traditional transportation
planning models that are based on the four-step planning process. In
general terms, using IDAS to estimate ITS benets involves running
the four-step transportation-planning model, along with IDAS post-
processor modules designed for estimating ITS deployment impacts,
twice. The rst time, the model is run for the base case or the con-
trol alternative (i.e., without the planned ITS components). The sec-
ond time, the model is run with the planned ITS components in
place, after adjusting the network parameters likely to be affected by
ITS deployment. Those adjustments are based on the default values
stored in the ITS benets library.
To use IDAS, the user is required to provide two groups of data:
Data from travel demand models describing the supply
and demand characteristics of the transportation system under
study; and
Details about the proposed ITS improvements.
Details about ITS improvements are specified with a graphi-
cal user interface (GUI) that allows users to select the links and
nodes where the ITS devices are to be deployed. The specific
Sadek and Baah Paper No. 03-3253 17
information, however, varies with the different types of ITS
improvements.
After the user has specied the different ITS improvements, IDAS
makes some assumptions about the equipment required to imple-
ment such improvements. For example, for signal coordination,
IDAS assumes that the controllers will have to be upgraded and that
a communications link will have to be established between the con-
trollers. This information is then used to compute the costs of imple-
menting the ITS improvement. IDAS, however, allows the user to
check these assumptions and to make any desired modication. For
example, the user can change the number of pieces of equipment to
be deployed, or can specify whether new ITS equipment is to be
installed, whether it already exists, or whether it is to be shared with
other suggested ITS improvements in the region. Sharing equipment
with other improvements could help to signicantly reduce the cost
of ITS deployments.
IDAS output includes information about the cost and benets of
each ITS improvement, along with a benetcost analysis of the
project relative to the control alternative. For cost information,
IDAS calculates the capital and operating costs, as well as the aver-
age annual cost, which is then used in benetcost analyses. For
benets, IDAS evaluates benets under ve categories:
Travel time and throughput,
Emissions,
Energy,
Safety, and
Travel-time reliability.
Finally, IDAS generates benetcost statistics and system perfor-
mance measures, such as vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) and vehicle-
hours traveled (VHT), for each ITS option relative to the control
alternative (3).
Case Study for Chittenden County
Located in northwestern Vermont, Chittenden County is one
of 14 counties in the state and is part of the Burlington metropo-
litan area. In 2000, Chittenden County had 146,571 residents,
representing 24.1% of the states total population, and provided
over one-fourth of Vermont jobs. The countys area is about
540 mi
2
, but the population density varies significantly among
its cities and towns. The City of Burlington has a population
of 38,889 (population density of 3,704/mi
2
), and the City of
Winooski has population of 6,561 (a population density of
4,374/mi
2
). The towns of St. George and Bolton, meanwhile, have
populations of 678 and 971, respectively, for a population density
of 104/mi
2
.
The Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization
(CCMPO) has recently completed an ITS strategic deployment
planning study for the county (4). While the studys recommenda-
tions were project-specific, the CCMPO felt that more detailed
information on the likely benefits and costs of the proposed proj-
ects, beyond what was already in the strategic plan, would be
essential for approval to include those ITS projects in the countys
Transportation Improvement Program. The following paragraphs
briefly describe three of the most significant of those recom-
mended ITS projects and whose anticipated benefits are evaluated
with IDAS in the current study.
Shelburne Road Smart Corridor Project
Shelburne Road (US-7) is among the most important and congested
arterials in Chittenden County. The annual average daily traffic on
US-7 varies between 26,900 and 32,000 vehicles per day (vpd). The
timing of the Shelburne Road Smart Corridor project was selected
to coincide with a planned reconstruction of a 3.5-mi-long segment
of the corridor. For mitigating construction effects and providing
traveler information, the project will deploy
Limited closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras or nonintrusive
detection devices, such as the remote traffic microwave sensor
(RTMS);
Portable variable message signs (PVMS);
A pretrip traveler information website; and
A traveler information phone system.
The head end of the system would initially consist of PC equipment,
monitors, and communications equipment housed in a control cen-
ter. To minimize deployment cost, the vision is for the control cen-
ter to be housed in compact space in an existing facility such as the
Vermont Agency of Transportation district office or State Police
barracks. In addition, the Smart Corridor Project will coordinate
12 signals along US-7 and deploy signal preemption capabilities for
emergency vehicles at those signals.
Interstate 89 Advanced Traffic
Management System
This project will focus on an advanced traffic management system
(ATMS) for a 4-mi section of I-89, which constitutes the principal
urbanized freeway system in Chittenden County and has traffic vol-
umes ranging from 37,700 to 50,000 vpd. The project will provide
freeway monitoring and incident management capabilities along
that section by deploying CCTV cameras or RTMS or both for traf-
fic detection, along with variable message signs (VMS) for dis-
seminating traffic information. As with the previous project, the
vision is for a simple control center housed in an existing facility.
Automatic Vehicle Location for Transit Vehicles
This proposed project would deploy automatic vehicle location
(AVL) capabilities on the 30 transit vehicles belonging to the Chit-
tenden County Transit Authority (CCTA). The plan is for a fairly
simple geographical positioning system and cell phone combina-
tion unit to communicate via a commercial wireless service. The
central software is envisioned to allow for displaying real-time
location of buses on a map; developing routing, scheduling, and
driver assignment plans; and supporting temporary route changes.
EVALUATING PROPOSED ITS PROJECTS
WITH IDAS
To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the proposed ITS projects with
IDAS, the required travel demand data were obtained from the
CCMPO transportation-planning model and imported into IDAS.
Two market sectors were dened, one for autos and another for tran-
18 Paper No. 03-3253 Transportation Research Record 1826
sit. The details of the proposed ITS projects were then specied with
the GUI of the Alternatives Generator Module software, and the ITS
equipment assumed by IDAS was edited according to the specica-
tion of each project. The following sections describe how each ITS
project was specied and briey describe the methodologies used in
IDAS to evaluate each projects benets.
Shelburne Road Smart Corridor Project
To dene this project in IDAS, the following elements needed to be
specied:
Number and location of the CCTV cameras and traffic detectors;
Roadway links that will be covered by the traveler information
system; and
Means of information dissemination (i.e., in this case, a website,
a phone system, and PVMS).
For the signal coordination and preemption technology, the following
elements were specied:
Signals that will be coordinated;
Type of signal control (pretimed, actuated, or central);
Arterial links that will be affected by coordination;
Variability of demand and the frequency of signal timing plan
updates;
Signals that will be equipped with signal preemption capability;
Arterial links that will be equipped for signal preemption;
Number of emergency vehicles that will be equipped with
preemption capability; and
Percentage of emergency vehicles in the traffic stream.
Figure 1 gives a screen view of how the specied Shelburne Road
Project looks in IDAS.
For estimating the benets of signal coordination, IDAS rst per-
forms a traffic assignment for the control alternative. It then increases
the operational capacity of the arterial links affected by the coordi-
nation. The default value for the increase in the capacity is in the
range of 14% to 20% for a coordinated system of actuated con-
trollers, depending upon demand variability and the frequency of
updating timing plans. A second traffic assignment is then performed
for the ITS option to determine changes in VMT, VHT, and speeds.
From the results of these two assignment runs, user mobility benets
are calculated as: (C
b
C
i
)(T
b
+ T
i
) / 2, where C
b
and C
i
are the cost
per trip and T
b
and T
i
are the number of trips in the control alterna-
tive (base) and improvement cases. The user mobility measure thus
reects changes in travel time, delay, VMT, VHT, and trips and is
the primary metric for measuring travel and throughput benets in
IDAS. In addition to travel time and throughput benets, IDAS deter-
mines reductions in accident risk, emission levels, and energy con-
sumption as a function of changes in VMT, travel times, and speeds.
To estimate the benets to be expected from traveler information
systems, IDAS rst performs a traffic assignment for the control
alternative and computes the delay time for the links that will be
covered by the traveler information system. The delay time is com-
puted as the difference between the loaded travel time and the free-
ow travel time in addition to the incident delay computed in the
travel reliability module. The savings in delay time as a result of the
traveler information system is then computed as
Sadek and Baah Paper No. 03-3253 19
For VMS, the savings are computed for each link equipped with a
VMS as
The results are then summed over all VMS-equipped links. IDAS
default values are 10% for the percentage the time sign is on, 20%
for the percentage of vehicles saving time, and 3 min for the aver-
age time saved. Equations 1 and 2 thus provide the overall estimate
of person-hours saved as a result of deploying traveler information
dissemination devices. These person-hours saved are then translated
into user-mobility benets, as described above.
For emergency vehicle signal preemption, IDAS assumes a 30%
increase in the speed for the links affected by signal preemption
(default value) and determines the savings in VHT relative to the
control alternative. The travel-time benets are then determined for
the emergency vehicles assuming that the value of time for emer-
gency vehicles is 30 times the normal value of time (this large value
of time is assumed because saving time could translate into saving
lives in the case of emergency vehicles).
Traffic volume % time sign is on % of vehicles saving time
average time saved

( ) 2
Number of trips affected market penetration delay time
delay savings

( ) 1
Interstate 89 Advanced Traffic
Management System
To dene this project in IDAS, the following elements needed to be
specied:
Number and location of the CCTV cameras and traffic detectors;
Freeway links that will be equipped with freeway monitoring
and incident management capabilities; and
Number and location of VMS.
To estimate the benefits of freeway monitoring and incident
management, IDAS assumes a 55% reduction in incident dura-
tion, a 42% reduction in emissions levels and fuel consumption,
and a 10% reduction in accident fatality rate. Because travel
demand models typically do not consider nonrecurrent conges-
tion, IDAS attempts to quantify the benefits of incident manage-
ment by focusing on improvements in travel-time reliability
instead of direct travel-time benefits (3). This calculation is
based on the links ratios of volume to capacity (V/C), taking
into account the reduction in incident duration between the con-
trol and the ITS alternative. In addition to calculating the travel-
time reliability benefits, IDAS also calculates benefits resulting
from reductions in emissions, fuel consumption, and accident
fatality rates.
FIGURE 1 IDAS screen view with associated deployments for Shelburne Road Project.
AVL for CCTA Transit Vehicles
To dene this project in IDAS, the following elements needed to be
specied:
Origindestination zones affected (i.e., the zones where mode
shift could occur as a result of improvement in the quality of service
for transit);
Total number of transit vehicles in the CCTA eet;
Total number of transit vehicles to be equipped with AVL;
Average capital cost per vehicle (the default value is $225,000
for a transit vehicle); and
Annual operating costs for CCTA.
IDAS assumes that the use of AVL or automated scheduling will
result in savings in both capital and operating costs to the operat-
20 Paper No. 03-3253 Transportation Research Record 1826
ing agency. The default values are reductions in the range of
1% to 2% in the eet size and 5% to 8% in operating costs. In addi-
tion, IDAS assumes a 15% reduction in both in- and out-of-vehicle
travel time for the combined use of AVL and automated schedul-
ing. With reductions in transit travel time determined, IDAS then
evaluates the effect of this on the mode split in the region (by per-
forming a mode split run) and estimates changes in VMT and
speeds. Changes in VMT and speeds are finally used to estimate
reductions in emissions, fuel consumption, and accident frequency.
RESULTS AND SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
Table 1 shows a summary of the results obtained for the three ITS
projects evaluated in this study. Specifically, the table gives the
annual benefits for each project (broken into the different benefits
Project: Chittenden County ITS Improvements.
Benefits are reported in 1995 dollars.
Annual Benefits Weight Smart
Corridor
Project
Transit
Vehicle
AVL
I-89 ATMS
Change in User Mobility 1.00 $ 4,334,480 $ 1,685,091 $ 150,906
Change In User Travel Time
In-Vehicle Travel Time 1.00 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
Out-of-Vehicle Travel Time 1.00 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0
Travel Time Reliability 1.00 $ 83,353 $ 64,729 $ 343,664
Change in Costs Paid by Users
Fuel Costs 1.00 $ 102,448 $ 58,488 $ 79,064
Nonfuel Operating Costs 1.00 $ 41,370 $ 21,037 $ (0)
Accident Costs (Internal Only) 1.00 $ 70,362 $ 35,141 $ 4,264
Change in External Costs
Accident Costs (External Only) 1.00 $ 12,417 $ 6,201 $ 752
Emissions
HC/ROG 1.00 $ 14,161 $ 5,649 $ 2,181
NOx 1.00 $ 10,311 $ 5,072 $ 10,254
CO 1.00 $ 226,019 $ 92,114 $ 30,237
PM10 1.00 $ (0) $ (0) $ (0)
CO2 0.00 $ (0) $ (0) $ (0)
Global Warming 0.00 $ (0) $ (0) $ (0)
Noise 1.00 $ 883 $ 425 $ (0)
Other Mileage-Based External Costs 1.00 $ (0) $ (0) $ (0)
Other Trip-Based External Costs 1.00 $ (0) $ (0) $ (0)
Change in Public Agencies Costs (Efficiency-Induced) 1.00 $ 0 $ 148,393 $ 0
Other Calculated Benefits 1.00 $ 19,672 $ (0) $ (0)
User-Defined Additional Benefits 1.00 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0

Total Annual Benefits

$ 4,915,476 $ 2,122,339 $ 621,322

Annual Costs

Average Annual Private Sector Cost
$ 305,821 $ 0 $ 0
Average Annual Public Sector Cost
$ 864,457 $ 430,555 $ 523,149

Total Annual Cost

$ 1,170,278 $ 430,555 $ 523,149

Benefit/Cost Comparison


Net Benefit (Annual Benefit Annual Cost)

$ 3,745,198 $ 1,691,784 $ 98,173

B/C Ratio (Annual Benefit/Annual Cost)

4.20 4.93 1.19
TABLE 1 BenefitCost Summary for Three ITS Projects
categories) along with the annual cost. The annual cost is computed
by converting the stream of expenses over the projects life cycle
into an average annual cost. The table also gives the benefitcost
ratio for each project. As can be seen, both the Smart Corridor
Project and the transit vehicle AVL projects seem to yield a very
favorable benefitcost ratio. The benefitcost for the I-89 ATMS
project, while positive, is rather small compared to that of the other
two ITS projects.
For the Smart Corridor and the transit vehicle AVL, most
benefits appear to be the result of changes in user mobility. Ben-
efits resulting from changes in user mobility account for about
88% of the total benefits for the Smart Corridor project and for
about 79% of the benefits for the transit vehicle AVL project. For
the I-89 ATMS project, benets from improved reliability in travel
time appear to be most signicant at about 55% of the total bene-
fits. This is consistent with the purpose of incident management
systems.
Sensitivity Analysis of Smart Corridor
Project Results
To analyze the sensitivity of the Smart Corridor project results to the
choice of values for some of the models parameters, the following
four parameters were altered:
1. Increase in capacity for traffic-actuated signal control,
2. Percentage of vehicles passing by a VMS that saves time,
Sadek and Baah Paper No. 03-3253 21
3. Percentage of time a VMS is turned on and disseminating
information, and
4. Average amount of timesavings from employing VMS.
Table 2 shows how the benetcost ratio was changed as a result
of changing these four parameters. In this table, the varied param-
eters are shown in boldfaced italics for easy tracking. The benets
and costs information immediately follows the parameters values.
The values underlined indicate the default parameter settings used in
the benetcost analysis (Table 1). A blank row is incorporated at the
end of each set of data on the variations of a particular parameter to
signal a change in the parameter being varied.
As can be seen, the increase in capacity for traffic actuated signal
control appears to be the parameter with the most signicant impact
on the results (i.e., the benetcost ratio). Changes in the values for
the other parameters seem to have a very minor effect on the results.
This is a clear indication that, for the Smart Corridor project, most
benets appear to be the result of the projects signal coordination
component and not the result of the traveler information components.
Another interesting observation pertains to the way the benet
cost ratio changed in response to changes in capacity. As the impact
range values changed from 14% to 17% to 20%, the benetcost ratio
took on values of 4.2, 6.5, and 5.2, respectively. That is to say, the
benetcost ratio initially increased with the increase in capacity
until a maximum value was reached, at which point the benet
cost ratio started decreasing. One possible explanation for this is that
with signicant increases in capacity and signicant improvements in
Parameter Parameter Value
Change in Capacity (%) 14 17 20
% Vehicles Passing VMS That Save Time (%) 20 20 20
Percent Time the Sign Is Turned On (%) 10 10 10
Average Amount of Time Savings (min) 3 3 3
Total Annual Benefits ($) 4,915,476 7,611,317 6,087,613
Total Annual Costs ($) 1,170,278 1,170,278 1,170,278
B/C Ratio 4.20 6.50 5.20
Change in Capacity (%) 20 20 20
% Vehicles Passing VMS That Save Time (%) 10 20 30
Percent Time the Sign Is Turned On (%) 10 10 10
Average Amount of Time Savings (min) 3 3 3
Total Annual Benefits ($) 6,068,447 6,087,613 6,101,711
Total Annual Costs ($) 1,170,278 1,170,278 1,170,278
B/C Ratio 5.19 5.20 5.21
Change in Capacity (%) 20 20 20
% Vehicles Passing VMS That Save Time (%) 20 20 20
Percent Time the Sign Is Turned On (%) 10 20 30
Average Amount of Time Savings (min) 3 3 3
Total Annual Benefits ($) 6,087,613 6,110,740 6,138,936
Total Annual Costs ($) 1,170,278 1,170,278 1,170,278
B/C Ratio 5.20 5.22 5.25
Change in Capacity (%) 20 20 20
% Vehicles Passing VMS That Save Time (%) 20 20 20
Percent Time the Sign Is Turned On (%) 10 10 10
Average Amount of Time Savings (min) 1 3 5
Total Annual Benefits ($) 6,063,748 6,087,613 6,101,342
Total Annual Costs ($) 1,170,278 1,170,278 1,170,278
B/C Ratio 5.18 5.20 5.21
TABLE 2 Sensitivity Analysis for Shelburne Road Smart Corridor Project
travel conditions, new traffic (i.e., induced demand) is attracted to the
improved corridor, and congestion starts to build again. Communica-
tion with Cambridge Systematics (the developer of IDAS) conrmed
the possibility of obtaining such results for the sensitivity analysis,
especially if trips are attracted from the freeway to the arterial network
as a result of improved travel conditions. Cambridge Systematics is
working on rening the travel reliability module for inclusion in
future releases of the software, after gaining approval from FHWA.
Sensitivity Analysis of I-89 ATMS Project Results
In this case, the following ve parameters were altered:
1. Percentage of vehicles passing by a VMS that save time,
22 Paper No. 03-3253 Transportation Research Record 1826
2. Percentage of time a VMS is turned on and disseminating
information,
3. Average amount of time savings from employing VMS,
4. Percentage of reduction in incident duration resulting from
providing incident management services, and
5. Fatality rate.
Table 3 shows the results of this sensitivity analysis. As can be seen,
the sensitivity of the results to changes in the parameters appears to
be rather minor. The percentage of time the VMS signs are on was
found to be the factor with the most signicant impact on the results.
However, its impact is still rather small.
An interesting observation from Table 3 is that changes in the per-
centage of reduction in incident duration resulted in modest (but not
as large as one would expect) changes in the benetcost ratio. Ide-
Parameter Parameter Value
Percent Vehicles Passing VMS That Save Time (%) 10 20 30
Percent Time the Sign Is Turned On (%) 10 10 10
Average Amount of Time Savings (min) 3 3 3
Incident Duration Reduction (%) 55 55 55
Fatality Rate 10 10 10
Total Annual Benefits ($) 545,869 621,322 696,775
Total Annual Costs ($) 523,149 523,149 523,149
B/C Ratio 1.04 1.19 1.33

Percent Vehicles Passing VMS That Save Time (%) 20 20 20
Percent Time the Sign Is Turned On (%) 10 20 30
Average Amount of Time Savings (min) 3 3 3
Incident Duration Reduction (%) 55 55 55
Fatality Rate 10 10 10
Total Annual Benefits ($) 621,322 772,228 923,134
Total Annual Costs ($) 523,149 523,149 523,149
B/C Ratio 1.19 1.48 1.76

Percent Vehicles Passing VMS That Save Time (%) 20 20 20
Percent Time the Sign Is Turned On (%) 10 10 10
Average Amount of Time Savings (min) 1 3 5
Incident Duration Reduction (%) 55 55 55
Fatality Rate 10 10 10
Total Annual Benefits ($) 520,718 621,322 721,926
Total Annual Costs ($) 523,149 523,149 523,149
B/C Ratio 1.00 1.19 1.38

Percent Vehicles Passing VMS That Save Time (%) 20 20 20
Percent Time the Sign Is Turned On (%) 10 10 10
Average Amount of Time Savings (min) 3 3 3
Incident Duration Reduction (%) 25 40 55
Fatality Rate 10 10 10
Total Annual Benefits ($) 466,188 553,451 621,322
Total Annual Costs ($) 523,149 523,149 523,149
B/C Ratio 0.89 1.06 1.19

Percent Vehicles Passing VMS That Save Time (%) 20 20 20
Percent Time the Sign Is Turned On (%) 10 10 10
Average Amount of Time Savings (min) 3 3 3
Incident Duration Reduction (%) 55 55 55
Fatality Rate 5 10 15
Total Annual Benefits ($) 618,814 621,322 623,830
Total Annual Costs ($) 523,149 523,149 523,149
B/C Ratio 1.18 1.19 1.19
TABLE 3 Sensitivity Analysis for I-89 ATMS Project
Sadek and Baah Paper No. 03-3253 23
Parameter Parameter Value
Total Annual Agency Operating Costs ($) 1,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000
Agency Annual Operating Cost Savings (%) 8 8 8
Number of Vehicles Equipped 30 30 30
Total Annual Benefits ($) 2,056,095 2,122,339 2,193,238
Total Annual Costs ($) 430,555 430,555 430,555
B/C Ratio 4.78 4.93 5.09

Total Annual Agency Operating Costs ($) 2,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000
Agency Annual Operating Cost Savings (%) 6 8 10
Number of Vehicles Equipped 30 30 30
Total Annual Benefits ($) 2,088,053 2,122,339 2,158,952
Total Annual Costs ($) 430,555 430,555 430,555
B/C Ratio 4.85 4.93 5.01

Total Annual Agency Operating Costs ($) 2,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000
Agency Annual Operating Cost Savings (%) 8 8 8
Number of Vehicles Equipped 10 20 30
Total Annual Benefits ($) 5,019,156 7,399,424 2,122,339
Total Annual Costs ($) 425,224 427,890 430,555
B/C Ratio 11.81 17.29 4.93
TABLE 4 Sensitivity Analysis for the Transit Vehicle AVL and Scheduling Project
ally, the benets of incident management systems should be evalu-
ated with a Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) model that is capa-
ble of modeling time-varying supply and demand conditions (5). In
the absence of a DTA model, improvement in travel-time reliability
is probably the best performance measure left for approximating the
benets of such systems. The sensitivity analysis, however, indi-
cates that this performance measure might not be very sensitive to
changes in incident characteristics.
Sensitivity Analysis of Transit Vehicle AVL
Project Results
For this project, the following three parameters were changed:
1. Total annual agency operating costs for the CCTA,
2. The agencys annual operating cost savings, and
3. Number of vehicles in the CCTA eet to be equipped with
AVL and scheduling capabilities.
Table 4 summarizes the results of the sensitivity analysis. As can
be seen, changes in the agencys operating costs and savings appear
to have a minor impact on the results. On the other hand, the num-
ber of vehicles equipped with AVL capabilities appears to have a
dramatic impact on the results. However, the trend of change in the
benetcost ratio resulting from changes in the number of vehicles
equipped is somewhat unexpected. Equipping only 20 vehicles out
of a total of 30 vehicles in the eet appears to yield higher benets
than equipping the entire fleet. This result appears somewhat
counterintuitive. Discussions with the Cambridge Systematics
IDAS developer revealed that these counterintuitive results are
sometimes obtained when using IDAS default V/C curves for the
assignment run. The default V/C curves typically produce very low
networkwide average speeds, which could cause erratic results.
Cambridge Systematics plans to add some users tips, after FHWA
approval, to the IDAS website to address issues like those encountered
in this study.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, the software tool IDAS was used to evaluate the cost-
effectiveness of three ITS projects recommended for implementa-
tion in Chittenden County, Vermont, a medium-sized area with a
population of about 140,000. A sensitivity analysis was also con-
ducted to study the sensitivity of IDAS results to changes in the
models parameters. The main conclusions of the study are given
below. However, these conclusions are specic to the study area
considered. IDAS would need to be applied to several other similar
areas before general conclusions could be drawn.
IDAS appears to be a useful tool for evaluating the cost-
effectiveness of ITS projects. However, the user is advised to care-
fully check IDAS assumptions for the equipment needed for a
given project and the impacts of ITS deployments. The user is also
advised to make sure that the V/C curves used for assignment are
consistent with the local model. The following points can be made:
1. IDAS seems to be applicable for use in evaluating ITS de-
ployments in medium-sized areas as well as in larger metropolitan
areas. However, some of the models default values might be more
applicable to larger metropolitan areas.
2. The results of the sensitivity analysis conducted indicate
that some of the models parameters tend to have a more signifi-
cant impact on the results than others. For signal coordination,
changes in capacity appear to have the most significant impact on
the benefitcost ratio.
3. For VMS-based traveler information systems, the percentage
of time that the sign is on and disseminating information seems to
be the most signicant parameter.
4. For incident management systems, the results were not very
sensitive to changes in the percentage of reduction in incident dura-
tion. This could be attributed to the fact that improvement in travel-
time reliability is only an approximate measure for estimating the
benets of incident management systems.
5. For the transit AVL project, the number of vehicles equipped
was found to be the most signicant parameter.
24 Paper No. 03-3253 Transportation Research Record 1826
2. Kane, T., T. H. Maze, and V. P. Pearce. Intelligent Transportation Systems
Planning in a Medium-Sized, Relatively Uncongested Urban Area. In
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research
Board, No. 1679, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.,
1999, pp. 1014.
3. ITS Deployment Analysis System Users Manual. Cambridge Systematics
and ITT Industries, Cambridge, Mass., 2000.
4. Sadek, A. W., R. Chamberlin, and P. Keating. Use of the National Archi-
tecture to Develop an Intelligent Transportation Systems Strategic Plan:
Case Study for a Medium-Sized Area. In Transportation Research
Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1774, TRB,
National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 2001, pp. 7179.
5. Sadek, A. W., S. Morse, J. Ivan, and W. El-Dessouki. Case-Based Rea-
soning for Evaluating Intelligent Transportation Systems Benets. Com-
puter-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering Journal, 2003 (in press).
6. Sadek, A. W., R. Chamberlin, and P. Keating. An Intelligent Transporta-
tion Systems Strategic Deployment Plan for Chittenden County, Vermont.
Presented at the 11th Annual Meeting of the Intelligent Transportation
Society of America, Miami Beach, Fla., 2001.
Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Intelligent Transportation
Systems.
6. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that, for
medium-sized areas, signal coordination along major arterials and
transit vehicle AVL and scheduling projects appear to be more
cost-effective than freeway and incident management systems.
This conclusion is in agreement with what has been observed in a
number of ITS strategic planning studies conducted for medium-
sized areas around the country. In most of these studies, more
emphasis was placed on signal coordination and transit-related ITS
projects than on freeway control (6), while for larger metropolitan
areas, freeway management systems are typically among the first
ITS deployments.
REFERENCES
1. Hatcher, S. G., J. A. Bunch, and D. L. Roberts. Incorporating Intelligent
Transportation Systems into Major Investment Studies: Conceptual
Issues and Challenges. In Transportation Research Record 1651, TRB,
National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1998, pp. 816.