Evaluating Wireless Broadband and System At California Safety Roadside Rest Areas

To meet the demand for Internet access by the traveling public, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) launched a field operational test of wireless Internet access (WiFi) at two Safety Roadside Rest Areas (SRRAs), Phillip S. Raine and Enoch Christoffersen, along State Route (SR) 99 in July 2007. In this report, researchers evaluate the potential of WiFi at California’s SRRAs in order to make recommendations for future public agency participation in SRRA WiFi partnerships. A number of methods were used to gain insight into the potential of WiFi at SRRAs including (1) expert interviews with public agency representatives and private WiFi service providers to identify the range of possible business models and lessons learned to date; (2) focus groups conducted throughout California to understand the traveling public’s need for WiFi services at SRRAs; (3) analysis of data that recorded the actual use of WiFi service at the pilot demonstration; and (4) a survey of the users of the WiFi pilot demonstration.