[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38335-38338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18303]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
511 Traveler Information Telephone Number Program Support
Assistance Program; Request for Applications
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; request for applications.
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SUMMARY: This document requests applications for assistance from public
agencies in developing plans for implementing systems to provide
traveler information over the telephone using the common three-digit
national
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access number, 511. When an implementation plan exists, this assistance
also may be used to convert existing traveler information telephone
numbers to 511. This assistance program provides Federal funding to
public agencies to develop regional and statewide plans for
implementing 511 traveler information services, and/or to help defray
the costs of telephone service providers in converting traveler
information telephone numbers. Applications in response to this notice
will be assessed to determine: (1) The readiness of the applicant to
develop an implementation plan for 511 services; (2) the adequacy of
the proposed approach related to geographic areas, institutional
coordination, and information to be provided; and/or (3) if assistance
is to be used for converting traveler information telephone numbers,
the readiness of the applicant to convert in a timely fashion. This
notice replaces, in its entirety, the notice of request for
applications for conversion to 511, published August 9, 2000, at 65 FR
48797.
DATES: Applications for 511 program support assistance must be received
prior to June 1, 2002. Decisions regarding the acceptance of specific
applications for funding will be made within 60 business days of
receipt.
ADDRESSES: Applications for 511 program support assistance should be
submitted electronically via e-mail to [email protected], or
mailed directly to the Federal Highway Administration, Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office, 511 Planning
Support, HOIT-1, 400 Seventh St., SW., Room 3416, Washington, D.C.
20590-0001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Rupert, Office of Travel
Management (HOTM-1), (202) 366-2194; Mr. William S. Jones, ITS Joint
Program Office (HOIT-1), (202) 366-2128; or Ms. Gloria Hardiman-Tobin,
Office of Chief Counsel (HCC-32), (202) 366-0780; U.S. Department of
Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 400 Seventh Street,
SW., Washington, D.C. 20590-0001. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded using a modem
and suitable communications software from the Government Printing
Office's Electronic Bulletin Board Service at (202) 512-1661. Internet
users may reach the Office of the Federal Register's home page at
http://www.nara.gov/fedreg and the Government Printing Office's web
page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.
The document may also be viewed at the U.S. Department of
Transportation's ITS home page at http://www.its.dot.gov.
Background
On March 8, 1999, the U.S. Department of Transportation petitioned
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt a new, national
three-digit telephone number to allow Americans to access on-the-spot
transportation and traveler information such as road conditions and bus
schedules. The burgeoning traffic reporter industry reflects the hunger
that citizens have for more travel information, and the positive role
the government can play as a partner in providing that information.
The nationwide three-digit number will utilize and significantly
advance the intelligent transportation infrastructure already in place
to assist some States and cities in providing traveler information. The
traveler information will continue to be provided by private companies
or public/private partnerships already delivering this service. The
number will provide information about bad weather, construction, or
traffic jams that cause delays for businesses and the general public,
as well as information about the status of transit buses, ferries,
light rail, and other public transportation in local communities. In
addition, by directing drivers away from congestion and hazardous
conditions, the nationwide three-digit number will provide better
access for emergency vehicles responding to accidents.
The FCC placed the DOT's petition in its docket (File No. NSD-L-99-
24, CC Docket 92-105; 57 FR 22681, May 29, 1992), and comments
submitted to the FCC were favorable to adoption of a national three-
digit traveler information number. On July 21, 2000, the FCC assigned
511 as the nationwide traveler information telephone number and granted
responsibility for it to government transportation agencies.
Using 511 as a single number to provide traveler information that
might now be provided by a number of telephone numbers associated with
various transportation agencies or jurisdictions demands a significant
degree of coordination within any State or region. Therefore,
transportation officials must consider how a telephone call to 511 will
be handled depending on the caller's location before they begin
discussions with telecommunications providers to implement 511
telephone services.
In order to assist locations in the planning necessary to convert
existing telephone access numbers and facilitate implementing the 511
telephone service, the DOT developed a program to provide Federal
funding assistance. As an initial implementation of this assistance,
the FHWA published a notice on August 9, 2000, at 65 FR 48797,
requesting participation in a program to help defray the costs
associated with converting existing traveler information telephone
numbers to 511. Based upon early applications and initial work by
States such as Kentucky, Virginia, and Arizona, it became clear that
some sort of assistance to areas to develop 511 traveler information
systems would be more beneficial toward deployment of 511 services
nationwide than just converting existing telephone numbers. Therefore,
this 511 support assistance program replaces the earlier conversion
program, and offers funding to State transportation departments to
develop plans for 511 services. If 511 deployment plans exist, the
funds may be used to defray the costs of conversion to 511 or the
development of 511 services. The development of 511 services may
include development of basic traveler information services, if none
exist or are inadequate for delivery by 511. A critical element of
developing 511 deployment plans is determining the available traveler
information services and the ``gaps'' that may exist when considering
statewide deployment.
This is expected to be a two-year program beginning in fiscal year
(FY) 2001 with approximately $5 million in Federal funds available. The
maximum amount of Federal funding provided under this program for any
State is limited to $100,000. The number of applications approved for
funding each FY will depend upon the number of applications submitted
and the total funding available for each FY.
Objectives of the 511 Support Assistance Program
The goal of the 511 support assistance program is to accelerate the
implementation of 511 nationwide for traveler information. Through this
program, the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office
(ITS-JPO) expects to enable every State to develop plans or programs
that result in the deployment of traveler information services
delivered through the 511 telephone number. The creation of statewide
511 deployment plans will facilitate discussions with
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telecommunications firms on implementing 511 services, and serve as a
key building block for a 511 system available nationwide.
Applications for 511 support assistance may be submitted by any
State transportation department able to serve as a facilitator or
manager for 511 within the State, acting on behalf of the effected
parties in the State and surrounding areas, as appropriate, for
delivering 511 services.
Funding
The FHWA anticipates that applications selected for funding will
begin in FY 2001. The instrument to provide funding, on a cost
reimbursable basis, will be an ITS partnership agreement. Federal
funding authority is derived from section 5001(a)(5) of the
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), Public Law
105-178, 112 Stat. 107, 419 (1998). Actual award of funds will be
subject to funding availability.
Federal ITS funding for 511 support assistance may be used to:
1. Develop materials to support, conduct, or participate in
meetings with potential participants in 511 service programs, including
researching available traveler information services, legal and
regulatory issues related to traveler information and telephone
services, and technical issues related to 511 deployment;
2. Prepare summary materials of 511 deployment plans;
3. System design; or
4. Providing that a statewide 511 deployment plan exists,
conversion of existing telephone number including software
modifications, necessary hardware changes, and system or acceptance
testing.
Matching Share/Cost Sharing
There is a 20 percent matching share that must be from non-
federally derived funding sources, as statutorily required, and must
consist of either cash, substantial equipment contributions that are
wholly utilized as an integral part of the project, or personnel
services dedicated full-time to the proposed integrated deployment for
a substantial period, as long as such personnel are not otherwise
supported with Federal funds. The non-federally derived funding may
come from State, local government, or private sector partners. Note
that funding identified to support continued operations, maintenance,
and management of the system will not be considered as part of the
partnership's cost-share contribution.
In an ITS partnership, as with other ITS-JPO cost-sharing programs,
it is inappropriate for a fee to be included in the proposed budget as
part of a partner's contribution to the project. This does not prohibit
appropriate fee payments to vendors or others that may provide goods or
services to the partnership. It also does not prohibit business
relationships with the private sector, which result in revenues from
the sale or provision of ITS products or services. The DOT regulations
(49 CFR 18.25) require program income to be deducted from expenditures
before billing. Given prior approval, program income can be used either
as match or cost share.
The ITS-JPO and the Comptroller General of the United States have
the right to access all documents pertaining to the use of Federal ITS
funds and non-Federal contributions. Non-Federal partners must maintain
sufficient documentation to substantiate these costs. Such items as
direct labor, fringe benefits, material costs, consultant costs, public
involvement costs, subcontractor costs, and travel costs should be
included in that documentation.
Instructions to Applicants
An application for 511 support assistance shall consist of two
parts: A proposed approach for coordinating the deployment of 511 and a
financial plan, that together describe the proposed activities to be
conducted with this funding. The complete application shall not exceed
10 pages in length, including the 511 Deployment Coordination Approach,
the Financial Plan, the title page, index, and tables. A page is
defined as one side of an 8\1/2\ by 11-inch paper, with a type font no
smaller than 12 point.
Applications shall be submitted in an electronic format compatible
with Microsoft Office 2000. The cover sheet or title page of the
application shall include the name, address, and phone number of an
individual to whom correspondence and questions about the application
may be directed. Any portion of the application or its contents that
may contain proprietary information shall be clearly indicated;
otherwise, the application and its contents shall be non-proprietary.
Selection Criteria
Applicants must submit an acceptable 511 Deployment Coordination
Approach and Financial Plan that together provide sound evidence that a
plan for deploying and/or converting 511 traveler information telephone
services can successfully be completed in a timely fashion.
Applications should be organized into the following two sections:
1. 511 Deployment Coordination Approach
The application should describe the proposed approach for
coordinating 511 deployment across a State or, as appropriate, across
multiple States. The following paragraphs illustrate the general
information that applicants should include in this section of the
application.
(a) The application should describe the region(s) that will be
included in the 511 deployment plan. This may include neighboring
States or other jurisdictions that will need to be included as 511
services are deployed, as well as metropolitan areas within the State.
At a minimum, the State should be considered as the total region to be
addressed for 511 deployment in the plan.
(b) The application should identify candidate agencies or
organizations that will be engaged in discussions about deploying 511
services. These organizations may include, but not limited to: Highway
and transit operating agencies, public safety agencies, sources of
traveler information, regulatory agencies, and telephone service
providers. It is expected that the slate of organizations, agencies,
and firms involved in deploying 511 will be adjusted as deployment
plans are developed.
(c) The application should discuss institutional or organizational
issues that will affect the deployment of 511 services, and what
candidate techniques or activities will be used to address these
issues. Prior activities that identified or addressed 511 deployment
issues may be described in this section to provide a complete portrayal
of the breadth of effort by the applicant to develop a plan for
regional deployment. If a 511 deployment plan is completed and the
requested funding will be used for converting existing telephone
numbers to 511, a copy of the 511 deployment plan should be included.
(d) The application should describe the expected product(s) of the
activities described in paragraph (c) of this section. It is expected
that reports, plans, presentations, or other discrete outputs would be
produced by these activities for use by the applicant. The applicant
should propose which of these products, in addition to the 511
deployment plan, may serve as deliverables to the ITS-JPO under any
resultant agreement from this request. The final deliverables will be
determined in negotiations between the ITS-JPO and the selected
locations.
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(e) The application should include a proposed schedule or timeline
depicting the development of the 511 deployment plan. The schedule
should include milestone events or targeted activities, especially
indicating any activities that require ITS-JPO actions or actions by
organizations typically not influenced by the applying agency. The
schedule should also indicate targets for delivery of any products or
outputs from development activities.
2. Financial Plan
The Financial Plan should demonstrate that sufficient funding is
available to successfully complete all aspects of the proposed
development of the 511 deployment plan as described in section 1. The
Financial Plan should also provide the financial information described
under the heading, Matching Share/Cost Sharing.
An acceptable Financial Plan should:
(a) Provide a clear identification of the proposed funding for
activities leading to the development of a comprehensive plan for
deploying 511 services, and a commitment that no more than 80 percent
of the total cost will be supported by these Federal ITS funds. As
appropriate, financial commitments from other public agencies and from
private firms should be documented in appropriate documents, such as
memorandums of understanding.
(b) Describe how the 511 deployment plan will be developed to
ensure its timely implementation and the continued, long-term
operations of the system.
(c) As appropriate, include corresponding public and/or private
investments that minimize the relative percentage and amount of Federal
ITS funds, and evidence of continuing fiscal capacity and commitment
from anticipated public and private sources.
Alternate Use of Funding
If a 511 deployment plan is developed and development activities do
not exhaust all funding allocated under agreements resulting from this
request, or if a 511 deployment plan exists, this funding may be used
to offset the capital costs associated with converting traveler
information telephone numbers to 511. Conversion activities that will
be considered appropriate include telephone call routing or other call
handling software modifications, necessary hardware changes, and system
or acceptance testing. In addition, upon completion of a 511 deployment
plan, this funding may also be used toward activities to develop 511
services. These activities may include development of basic traveler
information services if none exist or are inadequate for delivery by
511.
Financial records shall be maintained that detail the activities or
equipment provided by Federal funding, indicating appropriate total
matching requirements, as described under the heading, Matching Share/
Cost Sharing. As noted under that heading, the ITS-JPO and the
Comptroller General of the United States have the right to access all
documents pertaining to the use of Federal ITS funds and non-Federal
contributions.
Authority: sec. 5001(a)(5), Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, 420;
23 U.S.C. 315; and 49 CFR 1.48.
Issued on: July 12, 2001.
Christine M. Johnson,
Program Manager, Operations Director, ITS Joint Program Office.
[FR Doc. 01-18303 Filed 7-20-01; 8:45 am]
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