Mass Transit - 21

A VIDEO still from the Tampa
CV Pilot showing a connected
vehicle being notified of a
pedestrian in the crosswalk.
Photos by Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority

vehicles with onboard units as
well as 10 buses, nine trolleys
and 46 roadside signal systems
to 'communicate' with each other
and elements of the transportation infrastructure.
The project aims to transform
the experience of drivers, transit
riders and pedestrians in downtown Tampa by preventing crashes, enhancing traffic flow, improving transit trip times and reducing
emissions of greenhouse gases.
"As an independent local toll
authority, we've always been interested in innovation and what
is the next step in technology that
we can use to make our system
safer and more efficient," noted
Robert Frey, THEA director of
planning and innovation.
The most recent example was
adapting all-electronic tolling,
"which has helped dramatically in
terms of being able to use our existing system to its full capacity and
providing safer trips for people by
avoiding the toll booths," he said.
"We need to use what's available now and get it on the road
so we're saving lives today. It's inevitable that there will always be
better technology on the horizon.
We will never get to the point of
realizing the value and the benefits in terms of safety, operations

and providing people with a more
efficient way to move around if we
continue to wait."
While it's up to vehicle manufacturers to incorporate connectivity technology in transportation
products, where public agencies
come into play is the ability to
work with data from its public
transportation vehicles, transit vehicles, pedestrian signal and traffic signals to improve the vehicles'
infrastructure system in an effort
to solve contemporary transportation challenges, said Frey.
In 2016, USDOT authorized
THEA and its partner organizations to proceed with design,
testing and deployment. In 2018,
the final phase of the $21 million

AN IN-VEHICLE
warning of a
streetcar moving
ahead.

THE CV Pilot
incorporated
the technology
among transit
vehicles, such
as the TECO
streetcar.

project ushered in a full-scale
operation of CV technology
throughout downtown Tampa.
Bus and streetcar operators receive information on a dedicated
display, while individual drivers
get safety alerts in their vehicle's
rearview mirror.
In choosing private vehicles
for the private project, the toll
agency targeted those using the
toll system. "We knew we could
get the frequency of them using
it day in and day out to generate
useful data," Frey said.
Through an agreement with
Hillsborough Community College's automotive engineering
program, qualified vehicles' mirrors were replaced with a connected mirror to communicate with
the system.
CV applications include an:
* Emergency electronic brake
light warning to alert drivers to
hard braking ahead;
* End of ramp deceleration warning drivers to slow down to a recommended speed as the vehicle
approaches the end of a queue;
* Forward collision warning of an
imminent forward collision;
* Intelligent Signal System optimizing traffic signal timing
based on connected vehicle data;
* Intersection Movement Assist
warning the driver when it is
not safe to enter an intersection;
* Pedestrian Collision Warning
alerting the driver when a pedestrian is using a crosswalk in
the vehicle's projected path;
* Pedestrian in a Crosswalk
Vehicle Warning identifying
potential conflicts between
pedestrians in a crosswalk and
approaching vehicles;
* Probe Data Enabled Traffic
Monitoring, which gathers traffic data from connected vehicles to optimize transportation
management;

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit |

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