Office of Operations
21st Century Operations Using 21st Century Technologies
Table of Contents

Applying Transportation Systems Management and Operations to Rural Areas

Chapter 5. Role of Emerging Trends and Technology

Emerging technology creates new opportunities to address rural transportation challenges. It is important for agencies to understand technologies available today, and plan and design implementations to leverage future technologies.

Trends

Transportation Network Companies

Different types of trips are made every day—from a rural area to an urban area, internal to the rural area, and through the rural area. Not all of these trips can be supported by rural areas. For example, public transit usually stays within the urban areas, limiting the available mode choice of people living in rural areas, especially those who do not have access to personal vehicles. Transportation network companies (TNCs) are an increasingly popular alternative to driving a personal vehicle. TNCs use online platforms, often a smartphone application, to connect passengers to drivers who provide on-demand rides based on real-time information. TNCs can enable one passenger or a group of passengers to share a vehicle based on similar origins and destinations. By ridesharing, passengers can travel to and from special events in rural communities, which can reduce post-event congestion. Also, ridesharing services can reduce the potential of impaired driving on rural roads after recreation or social activities. TNCs can be used in rural areas to provide an alternative transportation choice where there are limited transit routes or mobility options. Table 2 presents potential benefits, challenges, key components, and an example use case of transportation network companies.

Table 2. Emerging Trend – Transportation Network Companies.
Potential Benefits Potential Challenges Key Components Example
  • Improves mobility choices.
  • Improves access to services.
  • Increases ability for shared-use vehicles (e.g., ridesharing) and cost savings.
  • Reduces potential impaired-driving collisions.
  • Although popular in urban areas, TNCs are not yet expanded as widely into rural areas.
  • The typical funding model of a mobile application may not be sustainable for areas with low numbers of participants, fewer destinations, and potentially longer trips. Alternate funding opportunities include Federal Transit Administration formula funding (Sections 5310 and 5311), mobility-on-demand grants, community initiatives, and other local or State grants.
  • General public user base.
  • Public-private partnerships.
  • Mobile service.
  • Mobile application platform.
 North Mankato, Minnesota, is a rural community that has a population of around 40,000 and has limited public transit. In 2019, the city council funded and launched a public-private partnership to provide a ride-sourcing service to address mobility needs of older adults, immigrant communities, post-secondary students, and disabled people.14 The ride-sourcing service directly employs drivers to provide residents a city-subsidized rate of $4/trip or $49/month for unlimited membership. Overall, the program has improved mobility gaps for disadvantaged populations

Crowdsourced Data

Crowdsourcing involves collecting data from a large sample of people. Typically, data are gathered from the internet or mobile applications that use a global positioning system (GPS) on a smartphone to follow user movements.15 Crowdsourced data can provide real-time information about weather conditions, potholes, incidents, and travel time delays in areas that cannot be monitored regularly. Crowdsourced data systems are a relatively low-cost solution for rural locations compared to installation of vehicle detector infrastructure, especially for agencies with limited staff and technology deployments to monitor rural transportation networks. Table 3 presents potential benefits, challenges, key components, and examples of crowdsourced data.

Table 3. Emerging Trend – Crowdsourced Data.
Potential Benefits Potential Challenges Key Components Examples
  • Improves operations and maintenance of infrastructure.
  • Reduces potential of weather‑related collisions by providing real-time information to inform travelers about potentially hazardous road surface and weather conditions.
  • Improves traffic management.
  • Improves tourism and travel information.
  • Abundant and high-quality data inputs produce valuable and accurate crowdsourced data. In rural areas where there are low densities and geographically dispersed settlements, there may not be sufficient participants required to identify and solve transportation-related issues that may arise. As a result, larger areas are more likely to have information gaps across the geography.
  • Lack of broadband access may contribute to information gaps
  • Smartphone or computer application.
  • Users are the general public or trained reporters.
  • Staff to process data from the public.
  • Staff training.
  • Cameras to validate reports (optional).
  • Idaho Transportation Department Citizen Reporting uses its 5-1-1 system16 to submit weather reports. The cost to develop the web interface was $65,000 in 2015.
  • Iowa Department of Transportation using a commercial crowdsourced data application to provide real time traveler information (weather, crashes, traffic, and road closures) through websites, phones, and mobile applications.
  • Software applications are available that crowdsources information to show the closest truck stop, available parking, weigh station information, fuel pricing, and optimized routing. These applications helps drivers know which parking lots have available space, rather than drivers parking in undesignated or unsafe areas.17

Broadband Communications

High-speed telecommunications (HST), also known as broadband, can have a large impact on society, especially in rural communities. HST aims to provide dependable, high speed internet, which is key for individuals living in rural communities. Broadband can support transportation needs and can play an important role in strengthening economic development. A study conducted in 2007 found that implementing broadband in rural communities showed an increase of 1–1.4 percent in population growth rate and an increase of 0.5–1.2 percent in the number of businesses over a 4-year period.18

Due to limited communications infrastructure, adults who live in rural areas remain less likely than urban or suburban adults to have home broadband or own a smartphone. Laying fiber lines and setting up related infrastructure can require funds that can be burdensome for rural residents. Data from the Federal Communications Commission show rural areas are less likely to be wired for broadband services and tend to have slower internet speeds compared with other areas of the country.19 There are also fewer broadband providers operating in rural areas, which means consumers tend to have limited options when subscribing to high-speed services. A key factor for successfully implementing HST is public-private partnerships. There are efforts in several States to share public right-of-way to foster development of broadband communications. Expanding broadband communications will allow transportation agencies to connect to existing cellular-only devices or add new TSMO strategies or devices in rural areas that have no current communications available. Reliable internet facilitates efficient and reliable communication between different ITS devices and traffic management centers (TMCs). Table 4 presents potential benefits, challenges, key components, and an example of a broadband communication study.

Table 4. Emerging Trend – Broadband Communication.
Potential Benefits Potential Challenges Key Components Example
  • Improves access to affordable high-speed internet.
  • Increases access to healthcare (e.g., telemedicine).
  • Allows rapid response to incidents or emergencies (e.g., weather).
  • Improves tourism and travel information.
  • Potential high installation costs.
  • Current infrastructure in many rural areas does not support consistent and dependable high-speed broadband access. Based on the 2021 Broadband Deployment Report, 17.3 percent of Americans in rural areas and 21 percent of Americans in Tribal lands lack coverage from fixed terrestrial 25/3 megabits per second broadband, compared to 1.5 percent of Americans in urban areas.20
  • Optical fiber
  • General public user base
  • Staff to design infrastructure to support new broadband
  • Staff training and maintenance crews
  • Public-private partnerships
 843 miles on the Interstate 90 Corridor through South Dakota, southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Two-thirds of this Interstate 90 corridor, which runs from Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts, is in rural areas.

Technologies

Connected Vehicles

Technology is a powerful tool for addressing transportation challenges in rural areas, where resources are scarce, maintenance and operations of transportation systems can be costly, and information about large geographic areas can be difficult to collect. One emerging technology that may benefit rural areas is connected and automated vehicle technology. Connected and automated vehicle technology, as seen in figure 5, enables cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles in the traffic stream to communicate with each other, surrounding infrastructure, and smartphones.

Artist's illustration shows two connected vehicles.

Figure 5. Illustration. Minnesota Department of Transportation testing an autonomous vehicle.
Source: Minnesota DOT.

Artist's illustration shows two connected vehicles. Both are trucks with open cargo spaces behind the cab. In the first truck, two people are in the cargo area along with a number of construction cones. A series of these cones are on the pavement along the demarcation line separating the lane where the vehicles are from the travel lane beside it. The first vehicle is labeled 'leader vehicle (manned)'' and the second labeled 'follower vehicle (unmanned).'' The two are connected via a wireless link ('ecrumbs').

With connected and automated vehicle technology, signals are transmitted through a wide range of platforms to provide information about other vehicles (vehicle-to-vehicle) and surrounding infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure). The infrastructure contains sensors that gather real-time traffic information, which is then transmitted to connected vehicles, smartphones, or GPS devices. Connected vehicles could dramatically improve safety by warning drivers in rural areas about nearby hazards such as a traffic light about to turn red, dangerous driving conditions, sharp curves, or merging vehicles. Use of autonomous vehicles during routine roadway maintenance activities, such as roadway striping or shoulder repair, can also improve safety by removing maintenance workers from active work zones. Table 5 presents potential benefits, challenges, key components, and examples of connected vehicle deployments.

Table 5. Emerging Trend – Connected Vehicles.
Potential Benefits Potential Challenges Key Components Examples
  • Connected vehicle technology could reduce unimpaired vehicle crashes by 80 percent.21
  • 94 percent of crashes are due to human error, so removing the potential for human error protecting drivers, passengers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.22
  • Improves safety through stop sign gap assistance and warnings for curve speed, Do Not Pass, spot weather impact, reduced speed zones, and work zones using dedicated short-range communication.23
  • Improves access to emergency services.
  • Helps freight carriers operate more efficiently and safely with truck parking, truck platooning, or other applications to reduce unnecessary travel risks.
  • Improves traffic management.
  • Allows rapid response to incidents or emergencies (weather).
  • Improves tourism and travel information.
  • Lack of funding. There is a potentially high implementation cost to deploy connected vehicle technology and applications in rural areas.
  • The lack of reliable communications and power infrastructure may be an obstacle to deploy connected vehicle applications. Dedicated short-range communication and cellular and broadband communications are recommended for a robust connected vehicle system.24
  • Vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity.
  • The I-80 Corridor Connected Vehicle Pilot project in Wyoming will deploy vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-vehicle technology to warn drivers about road weather advisories and reduced speed conditions.26 The primary goal is to improve safety and reduce weather-related incident delays.
  • Minnesota DOT initiated a pilot where 10 snowplows on I-35 were outfitted with connected vehicle technology that activated digital message signs to notify drivers “snowplow ahead, use caution.” The project is intended to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
  • Colorado DOT installed connected vehicle technology along 18 miles of I-25 and in 100 State-owned vehicles that travel along the corridor. The goal is to collect and store data from the highway system so the data can be used to coordinate emergency responses and manage traffic.26

Unmanned Aerial Systems

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are aircrafts that operate by a remote control or an onboard computer. UAS can be used for evaluating road conditions in hazardous locations, monitoring traffic, mapping unpaved roads, or inspecting existing infrastructure (e.g., underneath bridges). These devices can also be used for emergency services such as aerial observation (e.g., scene of a crash or wildfire detection) or search-and-rescue efforts to scout areas with difficult terrain. During or after natural disasters, such as floods, UAS can deliver medical supplies and allow those in need to communicate with medical personnel. Table 6 presents potential benefits, challenges, key components, and an example of an UAS.

Table 6. Emerging Trend – Unmanned Aerial Systems.
Potential Benefits Potential Challenges Key Components Examples
  • Improves access to emergency services and facilitates appropriate level of response.
  • Provides aerial observation or surveying during crashes or natural disasters.
  • Enables ability to inspect infrastructure or map new roads.
  • Enables ability to monitor traffic.
  • May require trained technical staff to operate and maintain.
  • Changing Regulations, technology, and public acceptance.
  • Aircraft (drone) with camera.
  • Remote controller and flight software.
  • Training for UAS operators.
 In 2018, the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office used drones 20 times to map crash scenes and used them 15 times to support specialty law enforcement teams in Tippecanoe County and neighboring counties and jurisdictions. Overall, it can cut 60 percent off the down time for traffic flow following a crash.27

14 Ranjit Godavarthy and Jill Hough, Opportunities for State DOTs to Encourage Shared-Use Mobility Practices in Rural Areas, National Cooperative Highway Research Program (Washington: December 2019), http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/2065/Task76Report.pdf. [ Return to Return to Note 14 ]

15 “Rural Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Toolkit,” National Center for Rural Road Safety, https://ruralsafetycenter.org. [ Return to Return to Note 15 ]

16 "511 Idaho," Idaho Transportation Department, accessed May 1, 2021, http://511.idaho.gov/. [ Return to Return to Note 16 ]

17 Aaron Marsh, "Crowd-Souring Helps App Get around Parking Data Limitations," FleetOwner, November 5, 2015, https://www.fleetowner.com/technology/article/21692143/crowdsourcing-helps-app-get-around-parking-data-limitations. [ Return to Return to Note 17 ]

18 FHWA, Rural Interstate Corridor Communications Study (Washington: August 2007), https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/int_its_deployment/rural/congrpt0807/report_to_congress.pdf. [ Return to Return to Note 18 ]

19 Federal Communications Commission, 2015 Broadband Progress Report (Washington: February 2015),

https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/reports/broadband-progress-reports/2015-broadband-progress-report. [ Return to Return to Note 19 ]

20 Federal Communications Commission, 2021 Broadband Deployment Report (Washington: January 2021), https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-annual-broadband-report-shows-digital-divide-rapidly-closing. [ Return to Return to Note 20 ]

21 USDOT, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Benefits for Rural Communities, https://www.its.dot.gov/factsheets/pdf/Rural.pdf. [ Return to Return to Note 21 ]

22 USDOT, Intelligent Transportation Systems Benefits. [ Return to Return to Note 22 ]

23 FHWA, Rural Connected Vehicle Gap Analysis: Factors Impeding Deployment and Recommendations for Moving Forward, FHWA-JPO-18-612, (Washington: August 2017), https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/34723. [ Return to Return to Note 23 ]

24 FHWA, Rural Connected Vehicle Gap Analysis. [ Return to Return to Note 24 ]

25 “CV Pilot Deployment Program,” Intelligent Transportation Systems, accessed May 1, 2020, https://www.its.dot.gov/pilots/wave1.htm. [ Return to Return to Note 25 ]

26 Rachel Riley, “Colorado Paves Way for ‘Vehicle-to-Everything’ Highway Pilot,” The Gazette, January 7, 2019, https://www.govtech.com/fs/transportation/colorado-paves-way-for-vehicle-to-everything-highway-pilot.html. [ Return to Return to Note 26 ]

27 “Public Safety Implementation of Unmanned Aerial Systems for Photogrammetric Mapping of Crash Scenes,” Transportation Research Record 2673, no. 7 (2019): 567-574, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0361198119850804. [ Return to Return to Note 27 ]