Federal Register, Volume 67 Issue 11 (Wednesday, January 16, 2002)

[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2274-2278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-1163]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration

Model Deployment of a Regional, Multi-Modal 511 Traveler
Information System; Request for Participation

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit
Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for participation.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal
Transit Administration (FTA) are seeking applications from public
agencies that are currently deploying, or operating, a telephone system
that delivers traveler information services so that those agencies may
enhance their system to provide a high quality 511 service. This effort
will provide for the enhancements to an existing telephone traveler
information service, which has converted to the nationally available
three-digit telephone number, 511, or will soon convert to 511. The
purpose of this model deployment is to establish and document an
innovative example of a 511 system that advances content quality and
user interfaces. Applicants in response to this notice are encouraged
to demonstrate their readiness to develop and implement a state-of-the-
art 511 traveler information service and to articulate the adequacy of
their proposed approach related to geographic areas, institutional
coordination, and information to be provided.

DATES: Applications must be received at the office designated below on
or before 4 p.m. on March 18, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Applications should be submitted to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program
Office (JPO), 511 Model Deployment, 400 Seventh St., SW., Room 3416,
HOIT-1, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical questions or concerns,
please contact Mr. Robert Rupert, FHWA Office of Travel Management
(HOTM-1), (202) 366-2194; Mr. Ron Boenau, FTA Advanced Public
Transportation Systems Division (TRI-11), (202) 366-4995; or Mr. James
Pol, FHWA Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office
(HOIT-1), (202) 366-4374. For legal questions or concerns please
contact Ms. Gloria Hardiman-Tobin, FHWA Office of Chief Counsel (HCC-
40), (202) 366-0780; or Ms. Linda Sorkin, FTA Office of Chief Counsel
(HCC-20), (202) 366-1936; Department of Transportation, 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. DOT's ITS home page at
http://www.its.dot.gov.

Background

On July 21, 2000, the Federal Communications Commission assigned
511 as the nationwide traveler information telephone number and granted
responsibility for it to government transportation agencies. The
nationwide three-digit number utilizes and significantly advances the
intelligent transportation infrastructure already in place to assist
some States and cities in providing traveler information. Data obtained
from 511 traveler information services will provide current 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 providing
information that will direct drivers away from congestion and hazardous
conditions, better access will be available for emergency vehicles
responding to incidents.
This model deployment seeks to demonstrate the potential of 511
services to bring together various and disparate data, and provide
useful information to travelers and potential travelers through a
state-of-the-art telephone interface. The selected application (or
applications) will demonstrate an understanding of the project
objectives and will describe an approach that can be realistically
accomplished within the schedule and funding constraints. The selected
application will represent a location that presents a rich environment
for generating a demand for traveler information. This environment will
include recurring traffic congestion, on-going roadway construction
impacting regional travel, variable weather conditions that impact
travel, the availability of multiple modes of travel, and coordination
with public safety agencies in a regional incident management program.
The timing of this model deployment has been planned by the U.S.
DOT to take advantage of several on-going efforts by both the American
Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the
U.S. DOT. These efforts are at various stages of completion at the time
of the release of this request for participation (RFP). It is the goal
of the U.S. DOT that this model deployment illustrates how the
innovative application of technologies can create a highly effective
511 service that sets a standard for high quality telephone traveler
information. Some on-going research activities are likely to yield

[[Page 2275]]

products that will aid in the advancement of the selected agency's 511
system. These on-going research efforts include the following
activities:
(a) 511 Early Adopters Evaluations--Six areas of the country have
been identified as early adopters of 511. These six areas are working
with an independent evaluation team contracted by the FHWA to glean
institutional and technical issues surrounding the redirection of
existing traveler information phone numbers to 511. This is an on-going
activity with reports available on the U.S. DOT 511 web page (http://www.its.dot.gov/511/511.htm). The six early adopters of 511 include
metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio (including Covington, Kentucky); San
Francisco, California; Arizona (Statewide); Minnesota (Statewide); Utah
(Statewide); and Detroit, Michigan.
(b) 511 Deployment Assistance and Coordination Program--The AASHTO
is leading the 511 Deployment Coalition to develop policy and technical
materials that will provide guidance to States and locations as they
implement 511. Guidelines for the information content, service
consistency, and quality of service will be available in the spring of
2002. More information on the guidelines can be obtained through http://www.itsa.org/511.html.
(c) Testing of XML conversion of the Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) Message
Sets--The FHWA is currently testing the eXtensible Mark-up Language
(XML) conversion of the SAE ATIS Message Sets through the
implementation of a multi-jurisdictional traveler information service.
The draft results of this test will be available by the end of 2001.\1\
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\1\ For more information, visit http://www.mitretek.org/its/TripInfo/atis.html
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(d) ATIS Data Fusion--The FHWA is beginning to develop guidelines
for combining, or fusing, data from a variety of sources to produce
traveler information. This effort focuses on examining the different
levels of quality that can be achieved according to a set of operating
scenarios. Draft data fusion guidelines will be available in early
2002, and will be retrievable through the U.S. DOT Web site at http://www.its.dot.gov.

Objectives and Scope of the 511 Model Deployment

The objective of the 511 model deployment is to ``push the
envelope'' of traveler information quality production and
dissemination, along with an innovative user interface that promotes
ease of use without compromising the user's expectation for
personalized information. The resulting deployment is expected to
remain in operation following the end of the model deployment
evaluation. The period of performance of the 511 model deployment is
expected to be 12 months from the effective date of the partnership
agreement.
The scope of this model deployment includes addressing the
institutional coordination that is necessary to implement an effective,
sophisticated 511 service. The agency lead for the project team to
which this model deployment is awarded (hereafter referred to as ``lead
agency'') will assess the extent of integration that is currently
available among the key stakeholder agencies (highway agencies, transit
organizations and public safety agencies). The lead agency will secure
agreements from each stakeholder to provide their content to the 511
system, and forge agreements that enable the transmission of
information with the greatest frequency possible to provide current
information. The lead agency will ensure that all the information
elements that will be received from the stakeholders, including
frequency of transmission of information, are documented. The lead
agency will develop appropriate message sets to convey each of the
stakeholders' information to a consolidation point. The message sets
shall take full advantage of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
standard message sets for ATIS (standard SAE J2354).\2\ The lead agency
will also consider the XML translation of the SAE Message Sets to
simplify transmission via the Internet to any number of media outlets.
Other viable solutions for exchanging information among centers will be
considered.
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\2\ More information on the SAE ATIS Message Sets can be
obtained through http://www.its-standards.net/Documents/J2354.pdf
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The lead agency will describe the operational concept for the 511
service that articulates the roles and responsibilities for each of the
stakeholders in providing content for the innovative 511. This
operational concept will fully describe how the project team will seek
innovative methods to deliver telephone-based traveler information. The
lead agency will also distinguish how the information among its
stakeholders will be conveyed according to geographical context. The
purpose of developing an operational concept is to guide the lead
agency, the stakeholder agencies, and the project participants in an
understanding of what their levels of effort will be in sustaining the
innovative 511 system. In addition, the operational concept will aid in
the incorporation of new functionalities as technology and customer
demands evolve.
Two elements of the innovative 511 service should be highlighted:
(1) The project team to which this 511 model deployment is awarded
(hereafter referred to as ``project team'') will perform data fusion of
all stakeholder content. Effective data fusion will enable the 511
system to provide information to callers automatically on a route
segment or corridor basis, with no direct contact necessary between
callers and human operators. At a minimum, the content shall include:
current traffic conditions; major service disruptions for public
transportation properties; current information on active construction
and maintenance projects along route segments that may affect traffic
flow or restrict lanes; unplanned events, major incidents, or
congestion that shut down or significantly restrict traffic for an
extended period; transportation-related information associated with
significant special events (fairs, sporting events, etc.); and abnormal
weather or road surface conditions that could affect travel along the
route segment. The project team will describe, in the operational
concept, how the innovative 511 system will affect their existing
methods of data fusion.
(2) The design of the user interface must allow callers to locate
the content they desire quickly and efficiently. User interfaces must
be consistent in appearance, but may vary in content according to the
origin of the phone call, i.e., whether the caller is mobile or
landline based. The user interface must take advantage of proven voice-
recognition, voice response, and synthesized speech technologies.
``Natural speech'' techniques are desired. Keypad entry interfaces
alone will not be considered innovative technology for this 511 model
deployment. The user interface should provide the most convenient
method of information retrieval possible. Keypad entry interfaces rely
upon extensive information trees which extends the user's retrieval
time. The following top-level commands should be used when a system has
the relevant information available: ``Transit Information,'' ``Highway
Information,'' ``Airport Information,'' ``Rail Station Information,''
and ``Ferry Information.''
Upon the completion of the operational concept, the ITS Joint
Program Office (ITS JPO) shall have the opportunity to review the
progress of

[[Page 2276]]

the project and determine the likelihood of a successful completion of
the 511 model deployment. Upon completion of the review, the ITS JPO
will determine if funding will be made available to the selected model
deployment location for the completion of the innovative 511 service.
The project team will implement the 511 multi-modal, regional
system and demonstrate that the system functions as described in the
operational concept and as designed. The project team will ensure
monitoring of the operational status of the 511 system, and that
necessary adjustments are made. The project team will demonstrate that
the 511 system has the stability criteria developed jointly between the
U.S. DOT and the project team during the development of the operational
concept. The project team will operate the stable 511 system in support
of an evaluation for a period of time as jointly developed and agreed
to during the development of the operational concept. The project team
will provide an appropriate level of ongoing support to achieve
completion of all deployment and testing tasks as described in the
operational concept.
The project team will synthesize and present evaluation findings as
they relate to the objectives of the model deployment. The project team
will document the 511 system design, and synthesize the technical and
institutional issues documented in previous tasks. The project team
will submit a final report to the ITS JPO that includes the above
information and describes the project and its findings.

Funding

The total amount of Federal funding available for this effort is
estimated at $1,100,000. The instrument to provide funding, on a cost
reimbursable basis, will be an ITS partnership agreement between the
FHWA and a public organization. Multiple partnership agreements are
anticipated. Federal funding authority is derived from Sec. 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.

Matching Share

There is a statutorily required (refer to Sec. 5001(b) and
Sec. 5207(d) of TEA-21) minimum twenty percent matching share that must
be from non-federally derived funding sources, 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 511 model 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.
Offerors are encouraged to consider additional matching share above
and beyond the required minimum match described above. Those offerors
willing to propose additional match may include the value of federally-
supported projects directly associated with the 511 model deployment.
Offerors that do propose additional matching share above and beyond the
required minimum match may receive additional consideration in the
proposal evaluation.
The U.S. DOT 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. Grantees and subgrantees are
responsible for obtaining audits in accordance with the Single Audit
Act Amendments of 1996 (31 U.S.C. 7501-7507) and revised OMB Circular
A-133, ``Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit
Organizations.'' The audits shall be made by an independent auditor in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards
covering financial audits (refer to 49 CFR 18.26).

National Evaluation

Evaluation is the reasoned consideration of how well project goals
and objectives are being achieved. The primary purpose of evaluation is
to cause changes in the project so that it eventually meets or exceeds
its goals and objectives. Formal, in-depth, independently conducted
evaluations are funded by the ITS JPO.
The partnerships selected to participate in this 511 model
deployment are expected to cooperate with the ITS JPO and its national
evaluation team. The independent national evaluator is selected and
provided by the ITS JPO.
This cooperation that is expected by the awarded partnership
includes:
(a) Providing all relevant project information such as cost data
(deployment, operations, and maintenance), project goals and
objectives, contractual documents, project documentation, existing or
archived data, benefits data, and other project related information;
(b) Ensuring that the relevant project information is provided to
the independent national evaluator in a timely fashion;
(c) Identifying an evaluation point(s) of contact to represent the
participating agencies in coordinating with the independent national
evaluator;
(d) Making accommodations (where appropriate) for the independent
national evaluator to be present at coordination or partnership
meetings;
(e) Ensuring that any self-evaluation activities being conducted by
the project participants are coordinated with and reviewed by the
national evaluation effort; and
(f) Providing review of relevant reports, presentations, etc.,
prepared by the independent national evaluator.

Eligibility

To be eligible for participation in the 511 model deployment
program, applications must:
(a) Demonstrate that they either have an operational 511 traveler
information telephone system, or have a telephone system for traveler
information that is prepared to convert to using 511;
(b) Demonstrate that the proposed location for the 511 model
deployment experiences recurring congestion, has roadway construction
that will significantly impact regional travel for the period of the
model deployment, is likely to experience weather conditions that will
impact regional travel during the period of the model deployment
(snowstorms, hurricanes, etc.), offers multiple mode choices for
regional travel, and has some form of regional incident management
program that is coordinated with public safety agencies;
(c) Demonstrate that the transportation data and information
generated from the federal funds applied to this model deployment, as
well as all public sector matching funds, will be made available
equally and freely (apart from the costs of the physical connection to
retrieve such data) to all parties who express interest in such data or
information;
(d) Demonstrate that sufficient funding is available to
successfully complete all aspects of implementing the 511 model
deployment;
(e) Contain a technical plan, a management and staffing plan, and a
financial plan. 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; and
(f) Demonstrate a commitment to a 12 month schedule that will
produce

[[Page 2277]]

results within the expected period of performance.

Instructions to Applicants

An application to participate in the 511 model deployment shall
consist of three parts: (1) A technical plan describing the proposed
project team and the approach for implementing 511 services in
accordance with the objectives and scope; (2) a management and staffing
plan that provides the names of all key personnel and the positions
they will occupy as related to this project; and (3) a financial plan,
that describes the proposed activities to be conducted with this
funding. The complete application shall not exceed 35 pages in length,
exclusive of appendices, resumes, and Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)
or other documents indicating cooperation among proposing parties. 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. Applicants must submit seven (7) copies
plus an unbound reproducible copy. The cover sheet or front page of the
application should include the name, address, e-mail address, fax
number and phone number of an individual to whom correspondence and
questions about the application may be directed.
The technical, management and staffing, and financial plans
together shall describe the existing inter-agency, inter-
jurisdictional, and public/private cooperation and partnership
arrangements, working relationships, and information sharing that will
be integral to the 511 model deployment. All inter-agency, inter-
jurisdictional, and public/private cooperation and partnerships
necessary to support the 511 model deployment shall be documented with
signed MOUs, or alternate appropriate documents, that clearly define
financial and programmatic responsibilities and relationships among the
partners. Similarly, the application should document business
relationships with the private sector to support the 511 model
deployment, for example, as telecommunications providers or as
providers of traveler information services or products. The MOUs, or
alternate appropriate documents, must clearly describe and document the
role of the private sector, and the financial and institutional
arrangement(s) under which they are integrated into the 511 model
deployment. Applicants should include copies of the MOUs or other
indications of cooperation. Applicants are strongly encouraged to seek
participation from certified disadvantaged business enterprises (see 49
CFR part 26), historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic
serving institutions, and other minority colleges.
Applications shall be organized in the following three sections:

1. Technical Plan

Applications should describe the partnership or project team
arrangements, which include providing the information described in the
preceding paragraph. Applications should describe the methodology for
advancing their existing, or soon-to-be-available, 511 system to
provide a sophisticated user interface with high quality content. This
technical approach, at a minimum, should:
(a) Describe the methodology to collocate and ultimately to fuse
relevant data elements to provide 511 users with comprehensive,
current, multi-modal traveler information, including a description of
the current sources of information along with the sources of
information that will be included for the innovative 511;
(b) Describe the provision of any personalized and/or
geographically specific content to the 511 user (applicants must
demonstrate an acknowledgement and understanding of the ITS Fair
Information and Privacy Principles crafted by the Intelligent
Transportation Society of America\3\);
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\3\ This document can be obtained through http://www.itsa.org/privacy.html
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(c) Describe a generalized migration plan that describes how and
when the existing, or soon-to-be-deployed, 511 service will be migrated
to the proposed innovative services;
(d) Describe how the enhanced 511 service will differ from the
service already provided to the user in terms of sophistication of the
user interface and the reliability and quality of the information
provided; and
(e) Describe how the 511 service may be accessible for the rural
and inter-city travelers.

2. Project Management and Staffing Plan

The application should include a management and staffing plan that
provides a clear description of the lines of responsibility, authority,
and communication among the participants in the 511 model deployment.
The management and staffing plan shall include the names of all key
personnel and the positions they will occupy as related to the 511
model deployment. Provide the estimated staffing in terms of length of
employment for each staff member and categorized by the types of staff
required. The management and staffing plan should demonstrate that the
project manager is capable, available, and able to commit to a level of
involvement that ensures project success. Also include brief
biographical summaries of key technical and other personnel. Applicants
should provide the schedule of all key activities, including
contingency for possible difficulties.

3. Financial Plan

The application should provide a description of the cost of
achieving the objectives of the model deployment, and the partnership's
plans for ensuring the matching funds required by this solicitation.
The application should provide a statement of commitment from the
proposed 511 model deployment partners that affirms that the proposed
funding is secure. The application should include all financial
commitments, from both the public and private sector.

Selection Criteria

Applicants must submit acceptable technical, management and
staffing, and financial plans together that provide sound evidence that
the proposed partnership can successfully meet the objectives of the
511 model deployment. The ITS JPO will use the following criteria, in
order of importance, in selecting locations for participation in the
511 model deployment.

1. Technical Plan

The technical plan must contain an operational concept and
technical approach that demonstrates how the 511 model deployment will
operate when fully implemented, as well as during any incremental
implementation steps leading to full deployment. The technical plan
must define the operational roles and responsibilities of the partners
during operations (and key operator responsibilities). Applicants must
describe the changes to existing systems and additional elements.
The technical plan will be evaluated on its adequacy and
reasonableness to achieve the objectives of the 511 model deployment,
as previously described under Objectives and Scope of the 511 Model
Deployment. In particular, the technical plan will be evaluated for the
overall concept and the extent to which it addresses the scope
described for the 511 model deployment, including the content and user
interface of the 511 system. Specifically, the following sub-criteria
will be used to evaluate the technical proposal (these criteria are
listed in order of importance):

[[Page 2278]]

(a) The ability to provide frequently updated information from a
variety of sources including traffic management, transit management,
roadway weather information services, construction and road closure
information, parking management, and emergency services;
(b) How well the applicant demonstrates the capacity to provide
sophisticated, innovative solutions in content creation, fusion, and
dissemination;
(c) How well the applicant demonstrates the capacity to provide
sophisticated, innovative solutions in designing and implementing the
user interface;
(d) The design of an implementation strategy including a timeline
for rollout of the enhanced 511 service;
(e) The application of ITS Standards for information exchange and
delivery; and
(f) The demonstrated ability to bring together State, metropolitan,
and local partners to create a seamless, regional traveler information
system.

2. Management and Staffing Plan

The management and staffing plan must demonstrate a reasonable
estimate that reflects the level of effort and skills needed to
successfully complete the 511 model deployment, along with the
identification of the organizations that will supply the staff needed,
lines of reporting, and responsibilities. The management and staffing
plan must include the names and qualifications of key staff.
The management and staffing plan will demonstrate a commitment to
hire or assign a project manager and provide adequate full-time staff
to ensure timely implementation of the 511 model deployment. Proposed
staff should have demonstrated skills for effective operations and
management, or the commitment to acquiring the necessary skills in
relevant technical areas, such as systems engineering and integration;
telecommunications; and information management.
The selection will be based on the adequacy, thoroughness, and
appropriateness of the management and staffing plan, including
organization of the project team, staffing allocation, and the schedule
for completing the proposed work. Some of the specific items that will
be evaluated in the management and staffing plan are:
(a) The availability of key personnel among the participating
agencies to attend periodic 511 coordination meetings;
(b) The key personnel that are focused on the systems engineering
aspects for incorporating the enhancements to the existing, or soon-to-
be-deployed, 511 service; and
(c) A staffing chart that demonstrates the relationships among the
participating organizations, including the names of the key personnel
from each of the organizations.

3. Financial Plan

The ITS JPO will evaluate the applications based on the total cost
of the 511 model deployment, as well as the individual staffing costs.
The financial plan must demonstrate that sufficient funding is
available to successfully complete all aspects of the 511 model
deployment as described in the technical plan. The financial plan must
provide the financial information described previously under
Instructions to Applicants. The financial plan must include a clear
identification of the proposed funding for the 511 model deployment,
including an identification of the required minimum 20% matching funds.
The financial plan must include a sound financial approach to
ensure the timely deployment and the continued, long-term operations
and management of the 511 system. The financial plan must include
documented evidence of continuing fiscal capacity and commitment from
anticipated public and private sources.

Authority: Sec. 5001(a)(5), sec. 5001(b), sec. 5207(d), Pub. L.
105-178, 112 Stat. 107, 420; 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48; and 49 CFR
18.26.

Issued on: January 9, 2002.
Mary E. Peters,
Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
Jennifer L. Dorn,
Administrator, Federal Transit Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-1163 Filed 1-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P