ITS: U.S. DOT releases ePrimer on ITS

The U.S. Department of Transportation will soon release a new, advanced, web-based textbook on intelligent transportation systems, the ITS ePrimer. This electronic resource will provide transportation professionals, educators, students and others with a series of up-to-date, web-based modules describing key ITS topics, with a multimodal perspective.

The ITS ePrimer will replace the Intelligent Transportation Primer first published in 2000 in collaboration with the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and ITS America. Public and private agencies and educational institutions widely used the primer to provide information to practicing professionals and students on ITS planning, design, deployment and operations. However, significant technological advances as well as innovations in educational technology and delivery led to a complete overhaul of the original primer. The new, Internet-based version offers an innovative way of delivering complex information, enabling interactive content via video and web links, easy access by the audience and timely updates and additions.

The ePrimer includes several chapters, or modules, exploring the various areas within ITS. Each chapter was written by authors actively engaged in the development and deployment of ITS, providing the primer with different and broad transportation perspectives. Topic areas include:

• Introduction to ITS;
• Systems Engineering;
• Transportation Management Systems;
• Traffic Operations;
• Personal Transportation;
• Freight, Intermodal and Commercial Vehicle Operations;
• Public Transportation;
• Electronic Toll Collection and Pricing;
• Supporting ITS Technologies;
• Rural and Regional ITS Applications;
• Sustainable Transportation;
• Institutional Issues;
• Connected Vehicles; and
• Emerging Issues.

For more information, visit www.pcb.its.dot.gov/ePrimer.aspx.