CMAP has recently calculated the transit passenger miles traveled per vehicle revenue hour by agency for the Chicago region in 2010. It is one of CMAP’s annually-tracked regional transportation indicators.  The data used to calculate this measure is from the National Transit Database, which is created annually by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) from data provided by transit agencies across the country. This performance measure is tracked because it is sensitive to both operational efficiency and passenger travel.

A free, 18-module Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) training course is now available online through the ITS Professional Capacity Building Program (PCB). The training course is designed for all levels of transportation professionals involved in ITS projects. The training modules cover how to evaluate, procure, and implement standards-based ITS devices and systems.

CMAP recently compiled a regional summary of intermodal lift freight data provided by railroads for calendar year 2010. A lift is the act of moving a container or trailer on or off a train. In 2010, the summary shows that the greater Chicago region (including Rochelle) handled about 6,730,000 lifts, up from about 6,145,000 in 2009. These intermodal containers and trailers are handled by the region’s 20 separate intermodal terminals for seven railroads.

CMAP also prepared a summary number to enable a comparison between Chicago and container ports around the world. Global port activity is measured by twenty-foot equivalent unit, or TEUs. CMAP estimated that the greater Chicago region handled 12.876 million TEUs in 2010. Comparing this number to information compiled by the Port of Rotterdam, this level of intermodal activity would rank Chicago as the world’s eighth busiest container port (after combining Los Angeles and Long Beach) if Chicago were a seaport.

Why is this important? While Chicago doesn’t handle the container volume of Shanghai, Singapore, or Hong Kong, the global TEU comparison numbers show that the Chicago region’s unparalleled national rail access facilitates a level of trade and commerce comparable to or greater than most other global cities. The rail access gives Chicago businesses good shipping opportunities across North America to ports on both coasts, thence to sea lanes serving the globe.

Source: CMAP photo
 

On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, the National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) will host a “Planning for Operations” webinar on the role of monitoring and evaluating progress toward operations objectives from noon to 1:30 p.m. CT. The webinar will focus on the key role of monitoring and evaluating managment and operations (M & O) strategies in metropolitan areas to help inform future decision-making and provide examples of how to evaluate operation strategies.

A new report by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides assistance to transportation professionals on how to successfully implement localized congestion relief projects in different environments. It was released as part of FHWA’s Localized Bottleneck Reduction Program (LBR) program, which focuses on operational improvements to mitigate recurring local congestion. The guide provides effective solutions to localized congestion relief when agencies are faced with institutional, design, funding, or safety issues.

On Tuesday, December 2011, the National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) will host the first in a two-part “Planning for Operations” webinar series on organizational management for signal systems from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CT. The webinar will assist organizations that operate traffic signals in assessing if they are structured to efficiently meet defined goals and objectives of its stakeholders, as well as help with creating a flexible system that will continuously update and improve the performance of a traffic signal system.

On Thursday, December 15, 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s ITS Joint Program Office will host a “Talking Technology and Transportation” webinar from noon to 1:30 p.m. CT. The free webinar will focus on systems engineering for Adaptive Signal Control Technology (ASCT) and how this technology advances the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Every Day Counts initiative. Experiences implementing ASCT and how system engineering assisted in important decisions that affected technology selection, system operation, and procurement will also be discussed.

On Tuesday, November 29, 2011, the National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC) will host a “Planning for Operations” webinar from noon to 1:30 p.m. CT. The free event will provide transportation planners and operators examples of how to develop and apply regional operations objectives and how multiple agencies can work together to accomplish agreed upon regional operations objectives.

On November 16, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Freight Management and Operations and the Office of Planning will host a “Talking Freight” webinar on measuring freight performance from noon to 1:30 p.m. CT. This free webinar will focus on tools being developed to measure the performance of freight and freight related infrastructure on the transportation system.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASTO) recently launched the System Operation and Management (SOM) Guidance website. The website provides transportation planners and operations program managers tools to evaluate agency capabilities in roadway system operations and management. A self-evaluation is also available to tailor guidance based on individual agency needs and current agency capabilities.