ATIS -- Alternative Revenue Approaches

As part of a continuing research on Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS), this report presents an institutional analysis of alternative approaches to sustaining publicly supported ATIS. The fifteen largest metropolitan regions in the US and the private sector efforts were investigated through a literature review and in-person and telephone interviews. The study goals were to investigate alternative revenue approaches to achieve a self sustaining ATIS, identify institutional barriers to achieving self-sustainability, and develop a framework of assumptions. Two public sector approaches are; publicly centered with ATIS principally serving public transportation management goals and ATIS market growth with an emphasis on building a self-sustaining ATIS based on products that will sell, using existing, tested technology. The private sector initiatives are dependent on commercialization: investments to set up regional ATIS functions and investment on a national infrastructure. Institutional barriers impeding sustainability include: need for continuity of leadership, inter-jurisdictirional disputes, retaining technical expertise, maintaining public-private partnerships, and deploying interoperability standards. Keywords: Advanced Traveler Information Systems, institutional barriers, revenue models