Case for unified linear reference system

摘要

The transportation industry distinguishes its activities and data into three functionally and institutionally distinct domains. Transportation infrastructure management activities make transport links (e.g., roads, rail lines, transit routes) available for travel. In contrast, civilian and military transport operations focus on finding and using the best transport links. Each of these three transportation interest groups - transportation facility operators, civilian and military transportation users - currently collects and maintains separate, often redundant or inconsistent information concerning the location and status of the transportation system, the vehicles using the system, and the passengers and freight (or material) being conveyed. Although there has been some progress made in integrating data within each domain, little emphasis has been placed on identifying and improving the flow of information between them. Because activities initiated in one domain affect conditions in the others, defining these flows is crucial to the next generation of planners, traffic managers and customers of transportation services. For example, construction and maintenance activities affect civilian and military route choices and travel times; large scale military movements disrupt civilian travel and have potentially major effects on the infrastructure and so on. This intertwined interest in the transportation system implies the need for data integration not only within each sphere of interest but among the spheres as well. Although recent policy statements by the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Defense and ITS America indicate a desire to combine and share information resources, there are enormous technical and institutional barriers that need to be overcome.