Regional Collaboration and Coordination

Regional collaboration and coordination is the foundation for effective planning for operations. Collaboration and coordination among transportation operators and between planners and those responsible for day-to-day operations is vital for safe, seamless, and reliable travel across modes and jurisdictions. In this context, a region is considered to be any multi-jurisdictional area defined by the collaborative partners. Transportation planners and operators can have a greater impact on the performance of the transportation system in the region when they work together instead of separately to address transportation issues of regional significance with management and operations (M&O) strategies. Regional collaboration and coordination ensures that decisions related to the transportation planning process consider a regional perspective of transportation system performance. It brings necessary stakeholders together to help inform the process and ensure that planning decisions are made using all relevant information.

Implementing an objectives-driven, performance-based approach to planning for operations requires regional collaboration among transportation planners and operators. Inclusion of both operators and planners in the transportation plan development process is vital to ensuring that the objectives set forth in the plan are realistic and achievable. Coordination also is important for identifying operations strategies, monitoring system performance, and evaluating the effectiveness of implemented strategies. The role of collaboration and coordination in the objectives-driven, performance-based approach is explained in Advancing Metropolitan Planning for Operations: An Objectives-Driven, Performance-Based Approach – A Guidebook.

A Regional Concept of Transportation Operations (RCTO) is a management tool that can be used by planners and operations practitioners to define a strategic direction for improving regional transportation management and operations in a collaborative manner.

Regional operations collaboration and coordination is an ongoing, iterative effort. Five major elements form a framework on which managers with day-to-day responsibilities for providing transportation and public safety services can build sustained relationships and create strategies to improve transportation system performance. The framework creates structures through which processes occur that result in products. It implies a commitment of resources and is motivated by a desire for measurable improvement in regional transportation system performance.