guidelines for virtual transportation strongmanagementstrong center.pdfVIP

Guidelines for Virtual  Transportation Management  Center Development National Rural ITS Meeting August 27, 2014 1 Project Purpose ‐Overview • To develop a guidebook that provides technical  guidance on planning and development of a  Virtual TMC • Virtual TMC Guidebook will serve as a key resource for  developing a virtual TMC, including: – Examples of various TMC models – Guidance for business planning – Procedures for addressing common technical, operational,  and institutional issues (e.g., data needs, communications,  collaboration agreements) 2 Introduction  Background Definition of “Virtual” • Per the Merriam‐Webster’s dictionary, one definition of the  word virtual is “Being such in essence or effect though not  formally  recognized or admitted”.   • Other definitions in the computing world context include: – “Created, simulated, or carried on by means of a computer or computer  network.” – “Performing the functions  of something that really is not there”   – “……simulated by a computer system as a convenient way to manage  access to shared resources”. 3 Introduction and Background Definition of a “Virtual TMC”: A Virtual TMC is the function of monitoring, controlling and managing the functional elements of a transportation management system through the use of computers and computer networks without being present at a physical nerve center or without the existence of such a physical nerve center. This includes the functions of monitoring, collecting, processing and fusing transportation system data; disseminating transportation information t