The California Advanced Transportation Management Systems Testbed

The California Advanced Transportation Management Systems (ATMS) Testbed program focuses on the development of an integrated transportation operations system (TOS) based on real-time computer-assisted traffic management and communication. As distinct from previous "smart corridor" developments, this TOS is structured to integrate network-wide traffic information (both surface street and freeway) in a real-time environment and to provide "intelligent" computer-assisted decision support to traffic management personnel. With funding from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Division of New Technology and Research, a research program to accomplish this ambitious objective has been designed as a symbiosis between traffic management research and technology development, with provision for implementation of promising research developments in a real-world testbed. The effort is organized along three principal dimensions: (1) TOS decision support; (2) ATMS strategic response; and (3) database management, integration and communication.