Knowledge Resources

All tests evaluating user response have arrived at a uniform conclusion that travelers will act based upon information from a trusted and well understood system that provides information of value. TransGuide’s survey of motorist reaction to the information in San Antonio demonstrated a high level of acceptance of the system (80 percent followed its instructions), and a significant level of appreciation (71 percent felt they saved time) for the benefits they derived from it.

No test has quantified isolated travel time benefits from incident management information alone, but motorists clearly felt that they derived an appreciable benefit from acting on the information, even in situations where information was only available en-route, such as in TransGuide Phase I, and where diversionary routing was not utilized. Acceptance data was excellent from TransGuide’s implementation of directional lane control signals, although the impact of these devices could not be isolated from the impact of the remainder of the incident management system.

FAST-TRAC (Oakland County, MI) experienced negative public perception due to problems with project/system image management. TransGuide attributes part of its success to a significant investment in outreach; DIVERT (St. Paul, MN) also executed an extensive outreach program, and identified project objectives in both travel behavior and user acceptance categories.