What is Transportation Informatics?

Real-time GPS data is available for the buses of the Metropolitan Bus Authority (AMA), the main mass transit system that services the Metropolitan Area of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The exact location of all the buses in service is registered in 10-second intervals.  In addition, passenger counters will be installed in buses serving high demand corridors, and the information registered will be sent to the AMA Control Center.

Traffic incidents are estimated to account for about 52 to 58 percent of the total delay experienced by motorists in all urban areas. This research proposes to reduce the societal cost of such incidents (which comes in the form of lost productivity, wasted fuel, harmful emissions, and potential secondary incidents) by developing and deploying a more efficient incident response system. 

Performance measurement of urban arterials is central to informed management decisions – obviously without knowing how the system performs, it is almost impossible to develop relevant management strategies.

MAP-21 requires that greater emphasis be placed on developing performance measures to justify roadway safety improvements. This project proposes to develop an alternative highway safety performance measure through the monitoring and classification of near crash events.

In recent years, and as a result of the continued increase in travel demand across the border coupled with the need for tighter security and inspection procedures after September 11, border crossing delay has become a critical problem with tremendous economic and social costs.