Standards: For Transit, By Transit

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Standards For Transit, By Transit

• Eva Lerner-Lam, PresidentPalisades Consulting
  Group, Inc.
• Presentation at the1999 Fall Conference of the
  New York Public Transit Association
• Saratoga Springs, NY
• November 17-18, 1999

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Why Are ITS Standards Important to Transit?

• Reduce capital and operating costs (increase
  benefit/cost of technology)
• Increase flexibility (plug-and-play
  compatibility)
• Assist in meeting future funding eligibility
  requirements

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Whats Happening to Help Make Transit ITS
Standards a Reality?

• National Architecture for ITS
• Base and Critical Standards
• National Transportation Communications for ITS
  Protocols
• Center-To-Center
• Dedicated Short-Range Communications
• Location Referencing and Messaging Standard
• International ITS Standards
• Transit-specific standards
• Bus Vehicle Area Network
• Transit Communications Interface Profiles
• Rail Transit Vehicle Interface Standards
• Smart Card Standards

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TCIP is . . .

• A FRAMEWORK AND A SUITE OF BUSINESS AREA DATA
  OBJECTS. The framework defines how TCIP fits
  into the ITS and other standards arenas, and the
  data objects can be specified in procurements by
  transit agencies to enable data exchange between
  transit departments and among transit and other
  traffic and transportation management agencies.
• TRANSIT INDUSTRY-DRIVEN. Consensus-based
  standards developed by the transit industry,
  facilitated by technical support consultants with
  both transit and ITS expertise.

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TCIP is . . .

• MOVING QUICKLY. Recently approved for balloting
  as Recommended Standards by Standards Development
  Organizations (ITE, NEMA and AASHTO).
• IMPETUS FOR A TRANSIT STANDARDS CONSORTIUM. User
  subgroups were a strong foundation for a
  permanent consortium.

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Status of TCIP Standards
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What does TCIP do?

• Refines Advanced Public Transportation System
  (APTS) data flows
• Defines a Transit Data (Interface) Dictionary
  (composed of relevantdata objects)
• Defines a Transit Message Set (composed of
  transit business objects or entities)
• Allows flexibility by providing a mechanism for
  marshaling data flows

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History

• Funded by US DOT FTA and Joint Program Office for
  ITS in October 1996
• Developed as an ITS standard under auspices of
  the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
• The Transit component of the National
  Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol
  (NTCIP)

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Unanticipated Odyssey

• Began as an ITS standard now firmly rooted in
  the transit arena
• Because of the information engineering focus on
  transit as a business enterprise, and
  acknowledgement of the different user groups
  within that enterprise, the project team had
  solid buy-in on the effort from the transit user
  community, vendors and agencies alike.

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APTS ITS System Architecture
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Transits Interface Problem
APP
APP
APP
APP
APP
APP
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TCIP Solution
APP
APP
APP
APP
APP
APP
TCIP Object Bus
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TCIP Architecture
C
ORE Business
Data
Scheduling System
Control Center
On-Board
Bus Stop
Time Pt.
GIS
Runcutting/
Dispatch
Annunciator
Planning
Route Architecture
Incident
Fare Collection
Spatial Analysis
Blocking
Management
Unit
Rolling Stack VIP
Network Analysis
Work Rule Policies
RT Display
Passenger Unit/
Map Database/
Display/Mapping
Procedure
Radio
Network
Schedule
Adherance

APC
VMS
Roster
Comm. Center
TCIP "Object" Bus
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Business Area Subgroups

• Passenger Information (PI)
• Scheduling/Runcutting (SCH)
• Incident Management (IM)
• Vehicle On-Board (OB)
• Transit Control Center (CC)
• Fare Collection (FC)
• Traffic Management (TM)
• Spatial Representation (SP)
• Common Public Transportation Objects (CPT)
• Rail Transit Vehicle (RTV)
• Paratransit as yet unfunded
• Dynamic scheduling/transfer connection protection
  as yet unfunded
• Transit garage management as yet unfunded

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Integrating TCIP with the ITS National
Architecture
Transit ITS Data Flows and
Deliverables
A.
Public Transit
Vehicles
B.
PTV to/from
TrMS and other
transit facilities
C.
TrMS to/from Other ITS
Centers (TMC, EMSC, ISP,
selected transit facilities,
financial organizations)
D.
TrMS to/from
Kiosks
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Integrating TCIP with the ITS National
Architecture
On-Board
Fare Collection
TCIP Subgroups/Object
Transit Control Center
Message Sets
Scheduling/Runcutting
Passenger Information
Incident Management
Traffic Management
Spatial Representation
Common Public Transportation Objects
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Integrating TCIP with the ITS National
Architecture
TCIP Subgroups/Objects
Transit ITS Data Flows and
On-Board
Deliverables
Fare Collection
A.
Public Transit
Vehicles
Transit Control Center
B.
PTV to/from
Scheduling/Runcutting
TrMS and other
transit facilities
Passenger Information
C.
TrMS to/from Other ITS
Incident Management
Centers (TMC, EMSC, ISP,
selected transit facilities,
financial organizations)
Traffic Management
Spatial Representation
D.
TrMS to/from
Kiosks
Common Public Transportation Objects
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TCIP Approach
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Transit Communications Interface ProfileProject
Organization
US Department of Transportation FTA/ITS Joint
Program Office for ITS

Standard Development Organization
James Cheeks
Institute of Transportation Engineers
Project Director
Eva Lerner-Lam
Palisades Consulting Group, Inc.
TCIP Steering Group
NTCIPs TCIP Technical Working Group
Isaac Takyi NYC Transit Authority
James Cheeks, Eva Lerner-Lam,Polly Okunieff,
Isaac Takyi
Working Subgroups
Technical Project Manager
Polly Okunieff ARINC, Inc.
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Transit Communications Interface ProfilesWithin
the ITS Standards Development Structure
AASHTO, ITE, and NEMA Individual NTCIP Partner
Balloting Groups
NTCIP Joint Standards Committee Ed Seymour, Chair
NTCIP Standards Review AASHTO, ITE and NEMA
Committees
Transit Standards Review Group Existing APTA,
IEEE and ITE Committees
TCIP Technical Working Group Isaac Takyi, Chair
Other NTCIP Working Groups
TCIP Working Subgroups
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TCIP Current Status

• Framework Standard and first 8 business area
  standards in final balloting stages (Traffic
  Management pending final TMDD ballot)
• Series of 15 White Papers describing in detail
  specific approaches and issues
• Participation by more than 800 volunteers on the
  TCIP TWG (transit staff, vendors, consultants,
  academics)
• 6,700 volunteer hours contributed at 53
  face-to-face subgroup meetings
• Original work plan included 4 regional workshops
  completed 11, hosted by transit agencies
• All documentation posted at the TCIP Website
  www.tcip.org

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Data Interface Standards, at last

• Awakening, not to the problem (which was always
  present and acknowledged), but to the solution
• Rapidly growing sense of empowerment and
  self-determination by the user community
• Strengthened by coordination and cooperation with
  IEEE Rail Transit Vehicle Interface Standards
  Committee

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The Future

• How to fund testing of TCIP and development of
  more transit standards?
• Transit Standards (TS) Consortium
• A nationwide, grass-roots, transit industry
  initiative

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TSC Mission

• To provide a transit industry forum for
  comprehensive and integrated research,
  development, testing, training and maintenance of
  transit standards in order to improve cost
  effectiveness, customer service and employee
  satisfaction.

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Organizational Structure

• Independent, non-profit organization
• IRS-certified under Sec. 501 ( c ) 3
• Twelve-member Board of Trustees
• Technical Council and Education/Outreach Council
• Technical Working Groups for Functional Areas
  (e.g., data standards, hardware standards,
  reporting standards, etc.)
• Task Committees for specific standards-related
  activities

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Member-Driven

• Equal representation at all levels of TSC
• Operators
• Vendors
• Other
• University Transportation Research Centers
• State and local DOTs
• System Integrators
• Etc.

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Funding

• Three sources
• Member dues
• Grants from governmental agencies
• Stakeholder contributions to specific functional
  areas

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Status of TSC Effort

• White Paper published, December 1997
• First Board constituted and corporate entity
  legally established, March 1998
• Interim Technical Council constituted and Interim
  Executive Director appointed, March 1998
• First Annual Meeting, October 4, 1998
• FTA grant for start up activities June 1999
• Charter Membership Drive until early October 1999
• Second Annual Meeting, October 25, 1999

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Current Activities

• Assisting FTA with planning and programming of
  all transit standards activities, including ITS
  standards
• Facilitating coordinated transit ITS standards
  activities involving JPO, ITE, AASHTO, NEMA, SAE,
  IEEE, TRB and ITSA
• TCIP, Other Recommended Practices (e.g., Bus Stop
  Inventory, Y2K Aftermath, Transit Signal
  Priority, etc.)
• Transit ITS Outreach coordination
• Newsletters, email subscriber updates,
  teleconferences, forums, etc.

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Future Strategic Alliances

• Society of Automotive Engineers
• APTA
• ITS America
• Object Management Group
• Open GIS Consortium

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For more information...

• TCIP www.tcip.org
• TSC www.tsconsortium.org