Appendix H
Questionnaire Response from TANN [14]

John Cox
May 30, 2002

PRIVATE ACTORS
Questions for individual interviews

Questions in blue: See questionnaires in: Battele/ US DoT. 2002. Sharing data for public information. Washington (http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Travel/DatShare.htm)


A - factual information

What is your business model regarding ownership and sharing of real time and archived TTI data?
User fees, Revenue Sharing

How do you protect the value of your TTI data?
Use agreements and the honor system.

In the locations where you receive data from public agencies, what type of data do you receive typically, only sometimes or never.

 

Electronic/digital

Verbal

Video

 

Typically

Sometime

Never

Typically

Sometime

Never

Typically

Sometime

Never

Motorway/ real-time

X

       

X

   

Motorway/ static

X

       

X

   

Public transport/ real-time

            

Public transport/ static

            

When you receive data with public agencies, are there conditions that they place on accessing data?

  • Technical specifications (e.g. hardware or software required) – In some cases, in most cases it is conditions we place on them… deliver the data to an FTP site.

  • Restriction on use (e.g. depiction of injury or identity on video images) - No

  • Acknowledgement of the source (e.g., use of logo, verbal mention) - No

  • Any other conditions? - No

    • Which, if any, of the following arrangements regarding cost of data sharing apply in the locations in which you operate? Please indicate if these arrangements are typical, occasional, or never apply.

  • You reimburse an agency for its costs to provide data - Never

  • You pay for your own hardware, communications, or software costs for accessing the data – No, not the data source site.

  • You are required to share a portion of the revenue generated from your business - No

  • You make in-kind contributions (e.g. sharing part of a communications fiber) - No

  • You make "value added" information available to the agency for internal use - No

  • Any other forms? (specify) - No

    • What distribution channels are used to deliver traveler information to the public? – Desktop and PDA Internet Web Sites; In-vehicle displays; Cell phones; Kiosks; Pagers.

    What TTI information is made available to the public? – Traffic congestion, incidents, alert messages, cameras, weather information.

  • What other information are made available?

    • What are the characteristics of the TTI service(s) your institution participates in regarding:

  • Service accessibility? - Internet, cell phone access.

  • User profile? – Commuters.

    • How many users do(es) the service(s) have per day? – 150,000 a month.

  • How did the number of users develop since the introduction of the service? – Steady growth over 4 years.


    • B – assessment and opinion

    What are key components of value-added TTI service provision:

  • In terms of service contents? – Graphic displays, text to voice

  • In terms of technologies? – XML data format

    • What are success criteria for the development of value-added TTI services:

  • In terms of context? (market size, geography, infrastructures, socio-economic structure, cultural differences) – Highly congested traffic corridors

  • In terms of markets and demand? (user expectations and acceptance, willingness to pay, cost/benefit) – Highly congested traffic corridors

  • In terms of technologies? (data sources, data exchange, data quality and reliability, end-user devices) – 24/7 real time data access

    • In your opinion, either based on your own experience or observing that of other firm's, is the practice of revenue sharing in return for receiving public agency data a successful approach? Why or why not? No. There is not sufficient revenue to share. Public/Private business agreements generally don’t work... public agencies do not take risks or operate for profit. The private sector makes huge investments in the delivery of the information which is not recognized by the public agencies even though these investments have significant value to the public sector. Presently private sector investments are a losing proposition and the public sector is not willing to share in these losses.

    What do you think are workable arrangements for public-private cooperation in TTI service provision? – If the public sector finds value in get traveller information into the hands of the consumer, then the public sector needs to make an all out effort to insure that large volumes of data gets into the hands of the private sector with great convenience and reliability.

  • In what do these arrangements differ? ?

    • What do you think are the principal driving forces of TTI service deployment:

  • At the institutional level? – A passion to get information into the hands of the consumer.

  • At the technological level? – Data collection coverage, access and broadband and wireless delivery.

    • What do you think are the principal obstacles for TTI service deployment:

  • At the institutional level? – Lack of interest, desire or motivation.

  • At the technological level? – Data gaps which includes coverage, access and reliable delivery of data.

    • In your opinion, what are crucial measures for enhancement and promotion of TTI service provision:

  • At the institutional level? - Lack of interest, desire or motivation.

  • At the technological level? –
  • Data gaps which includes coverage, access and reliable delivery of data.

    • What do you think should be the features of an enabling policy framework for TTI service deployment?
              An interest, desire, motivation and passion to get information into the hands of the consumer.
              Filling data gaps including coverage, access and reliable delivery of data.

  • What do you think are the deficits of the the Commission Recommendation in respect of these requirements? ??? - Too much time and energy is wasted on the wrong issues. Filling data gaps including coverage, access and the reliable delivery of free data to the private sector is the name of the game.


    • C – additional questions related to business models

    Regarding changes in your business model:

  • If you have more than one phase in your business model (or business plan), what are the phases and which phase are you in now? – The beginning. The market is yet to develop.

  • What important deviations, if any, have taken place between your actual record, future plans and your original business plan, and for what reasons? – Deviations take place everyday. No one is smart enough to predict how a brand new market is going to operate a year from now. Changes in technology, extensive delays in gaining access to data and slow market development forces continuous changes to the business plan. What hasn’t changed is the five year forecast. We are still 5 years away from a real market. We said the same thing 4 years ago.

    • Regarding lessons learned from your business experience:

  • What are some of the unexpected results, both positive and negative, that you have experienced in your business development? – The lack of data access. We expected more cooperation from the public sector. We thought traveller information was something the public sector wanted to happen. While there is strong support in some circles, the amount of public agency support is very limited.

  • Base on what you know today, how would you have done things differently? – Probably nothing. I wouldn’t know 4 years ago what I know today. And today is not much different than 4 years ago. There are still no large quantities of reliable data or very many markets that have data and it is still very difficult to predict when there will be reliable data. There is no large user market and it is still very difficult to predict when there will be a market. The same decision remains today. Do we have the staying power to wait for data and a market to develop or do we wait until the data is available before we enter the traveller information market.


    • Final Note: Traveler Information is not nor ever will be a self sustaining stand alone business. It is product within a portfolio of products that is operated by a service company. It will only be reasonably successful in a critical mass - economy of scale environment.


    Notes / References:

    14. - Questions are in regular font; answers are in italic.


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