Appendix A - Survey Results

Question 1: Agencies Participating in Survey

Survey contributors were asked to enter the name of the agency they represented.

Responses were received from the following twenty-five (25) states as shown in Figure 2.

• Connecticut
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Maine
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Washington State
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

Question 2: Agencies Using RCRS

Survey contributors were asked if their agency is using a RCRS.

Respondents from twenty-three (23) of the states that responded indicated that their agency uses a RCRS. Respondents from the following two (2) states indicated that they are not using a RCRS:

• New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT)
• Georgia DOT (Note: Georgia DOT responded ‘Yes’ to the follow-up question that would indicate they use an RCRS, but did not complete additional questions.)

Question 2: Is your agency using RCRS?

Question 3: Type of RCRS Used

Survey contributors were asked which RCRS they are using.

Respondents from thirteen (13) states indicated their RCRS was developed in house. Respondents from nine (9) states indicated use of vendor RCRS products.

RCRS Product	State
In-House	Connecticut Kansas Maryland Mississippi Missouri Montana North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Tennessee Vermont Washington
Volt Delta	Nevada
Transcore TranSuite ATMS	Wisconsin Utah
Open TMS – Open Roads Consulting Inc.	West Virginia
Condition Acquisition Reporting Systems (CARS) – Castle Rock	Idaho Indiana Maine Minnesota
Lonestar	Texas

Question 3: What RCRS is your agency using?

Question 4: Duration of RCRS Use

Survey contributors were asked how long their agency has been operating RCRS.

Respondents in six (6) states have been operating their RCRS between 11 and 15 years and respondents in ten (10) states have been operating their RCRS between 6 and 10 years.

Number of Years Operating RCRS	State
1 to 5 years	West Virginia
6 to 10 years	Connecticut Idaho Indiana Maine Missouri Ohio Pennsylvania Tennessee Utah Washington
11 to 15 years	Iowa Kansas Minnesota Mississippi Oregon Vermont
More than 16 years	Maryland Montana Nevada North Dakota Texas Wisconsin

Question 4: How long has your agency operated a RCRS?

Question 5: RCRS Changes

Survey contributors were asked if they have made any significant changes to their RCRS since it initially launched.

Twenty-one (21) responses were received to this question. Half of the respondents indicated that they have deployed a second generation RCRS and have used the same developer for both versions. Approximately one-fourth of the responders indicated that they switched to a new vendor and/or software systems since their initial RCRS launch. One (1) state respondent (West Virginia) indicated that their RCRS is a first generation system. Overall comments received indicate that changes are needed to continually evolve and improve RCRS. Specific comments received on the history of RCRS in some states included:

• Pennsylvania DOT, which uses an in-house RCRS, implements 3 to 4 enhancements per calendar year to their system. Maryland has been adding 2 to 3 major releases to their RCRS each year since 2006.
• Oregon DOT’s new RCRS version is integrated with their dispatch/incident management system. This new system avoids duplicate entry into both systems.
• The Vermont Agency of Transportation initially deployed CARS for their RCRS. In 2012 an in-house system was developed by Vermont while working with New England states on a new regional RCRS.

Question 5: Have you made any signifcant changes to your RCRS since you intially launched it?

Question 6: RCRS Data Received

Survey contributors were asked what data is received by their agency’s RCRS.

Respondents in over nineteen states indicated that construction activities, roadway or lane blocking incidents, and road weather observations were received by their agency’s RCRS. Ten respondents indicated that their RCRS received travel time information.

Question 6: What data is received by your agency's RCRS?

Other data received by RCRS noted by respondents included:

Other Data/Information Received by RCRS	State
Chain Requirements	Oregon Nevada
CCTV	Idaho Nevada
DMS	Nevada
Special Event Information	Nevada Oregon Wisconsin
Road Conditions	Montana
Load/Truck Restrictions	Iowa Minnesota Montana Oregon
Speed Restrictions	Montana
Weather Radar	North Dakota
Wind speed	North Dakota
Maintenance Activities	Oregon West Virginia
Non-blocking Incidents	Oregon
Travel and Tourism	Vermont
Point Speed Detection	Maryland
Automated Vehicle Location from State Vehicles	Maryland
RWIS	Maryland Idaho
Impaired Traffic Signals	Maryland
National Weather Service	Idaho Iowa
Traffic Speeds	Iowa

Question 7: RCRS Data Entry

Survey contributors were asked how data received by RCRS is entered (manual, semi-automated or fully automated).

Respondents indicated that travel times received by RCRS are fully-automated. Respondents noted that construction activity data received by RCRS are manually entered and semi-automated. Respondents indicated that roadway or lane blocking incidents and roadway weather observations data is received by RCRS by manual data entry, semi-automated systems, and fully-automated systems. A summary is provided in the table below.

Respondents noted that CCTV, DMS, traffic speeds, radar and wind speeds are an automated entry into some agencies RCRS. Manual entries noted by respondents for some RCRS included chain requirements, special events, truck restrictions and maintenance activities.

Data Received by RCRS	Manual Entry	Semi-Automated Entry	Fully Automated Entry
Construction Activities	20 states ID, IN, IA, KS, ME, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, ND, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI	2 states CT, MA	0 states
Roadway or Blocking Incidents	17 states ID, IN, IA, KS, ME, MS, MO,MT, NV, ND, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VT, WA	3 states CT, MA, WI	2 states MN, WV
Roadway Weather Observations	12 states ID, IN, IA, KS, ME, MO, ND, PA, TN, TX, UT, WI	3 states MA, MI, VT	3 states OH, OR, WA
Travel Time Information	0 states	0 states	12 states ID, KS, MA, MI, MN, NV, OH, OR, TN, TX, WA, WI

Question 8: RCRS Data Frequency

Survey contributors were asked how frequently the data is received by their RCRS.

In order to understand each respondent’s ability to meet the SAFETEA-LU Section 1201 Real-Time System Management Information Program (RTSMIP) requirements, the survey asked responders to indicate the frequency at which different data types are updated in the RCRS. The following table describes the Section 1201 requirements.

Section 1201 Requirements Overview

Data Received by RCRS	Interstates – Outside Metro	Interstates – Within Metro	Metro Area Routes of Significance
Construction Activities	20 minute latency from time of closure	10 minutes latency from time of closure	10 minutes latency from time of closure
Roadway or Blocking Incidents	20 minute latency from time of verification	10 minute latency from time of verification	10 minute latency from time of verification
Roadway Weather Observations	20 minute latency from observation	20 minute latency from observation	20 minute latency from observation
Travel Time Information	N/A	10 minute latency from calculation	10 minute latency from calculation

Respondents indicated that data (construction activities, roadway or lane blocking incidents, roadway weather observations, and travel time information) is most frequently updated within 10 minutes of observation as show in the table below.

Data Received by RCRS	Within 10 minutes of observation	Within 20 minutes of observations	On a regular schedule, regardless of whether conditions change	Daily
Construction Activities	12 states CT, IA, IN, MA, MO, MS, ND, OH, OR, TN, VT, WI	0 states	3 states ME, MT, WI	5 states KS, MN, TX, WI, WV
Roadway or Blocking Incidents	16 states CT, IA, ID, IN, MA, MN, MO, MS, ND, NV, OH, OR, TN, TX, VT, WI	4 states KS, ME, MT, WV	0 states	0 states
Roadway Weather Observations	11 states IA, IN, MA, MO, MS, ND, NV, OH, OR, TN, VT	3 states KS, MT, TX	6 states IA, ID, MN, UT, WI, WV	0 states
Travel Time Information	9 states ID, MA, MS, NV, OH, OR, TN, TX, WI		1 state MN

Question 9: RCRS Data Sources

Survey contributors were asked to identify what sources of data are used for their RCRS.

Respondents were asked if their RCRS data was received from the agency’s network, other agencies, the private sector or travelers. Most responded that data is received from the agency network and only a few identified travelers as a data source for construction, incidents and roadway weather conditions.

Question 9: From what source does your RCRS receive data?