Intelligent Transportation Society of America

Intelligent Transportation Society of America
Name	Intelligent Transportation Society of America
Founded	1991
Headquarters	United States
Type	Nonprofit membership organization
Focus	Intelligent transportation systems, connected vehicles, traffic management

Contents

Intelligent Transportation Society of America

History

Founded in 1991 during the rapid expansion of digital communications, the Society emerged alongside early deployments by agencies influenced by events such as the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and forums including the ITS World Congress and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe dialogues. Early members included experts from Federal Transit Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and technology companies like Bellcore and Motorola. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the organization tracked advances tied to projects like California PATH program, Advanced Traveler Information Systems, and international efforts such as European Telecommunications Standards Institute work on cooperative systems. Influential initiatives and conferences involving stakeholders from Department of Transportation (United States) and international partners from Transport for London and Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism shaped its evolution.

The Society's mission emphasizes accelerating deployment of intelligent transportation systems and improving safety, mobility, and sustainability across corridors managed by agencies like Texas Transportation Institute and metropolitan authorities such as Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Objectives include promoting interoperable vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies championed by research centers including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, supporting standards development with organizations like Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Society of Automotive Engineers, and educating practitioners via partnerships with universities such as Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University.

The Society is governed by a board featuring executives from entities such as AASHTO, American Public Transportation Association, and corporations including Ford Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corporation. Membership tiers span local agencies like Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, state DOTs such as Florida Department of Transportation, metropolitan planning organizations like Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, suppliers including HERE Technologies and TomTom, and research organizations like RAND Corporation. Committees parallel working groups from Transportation Research Board panels and liaise with standard bodies like International Organization for Standardization.

Programs address deployment readiness, workforce training, and pilot demonstrations linked to projects such as Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program and research collaborations with National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. Initiatives include regional testbeds comparable to Smart Columbus, corridor management efforts akin to I-95 Corridor Coalition, and outreach campaigns similar to those by AARP on aging-driver safety. The Society runs webinars and certification courses, often co-hosted with institutions like University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and Purdue University.

Strategic partnerships include federal agencies such as Federal Highway Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, metropolitan agencies like Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York), and international partners including European Commission directorates and Japan ITS Association. Industry collaborators span suppliers and OEMs—Delphi Technologies, Continental AG, NVIDIA—and software firms such as Microsoft and Alphabet Inc. subsidiaries. Academic collaborations involve University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and consortia like Consortium for ITS Research.

The Society engages in policy advocacy before bodies including United States Congress committees on transportation law and consults with regulatory agencies like National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on automated driving policy and rulemaking. It provides technical comments on standards development with Institute of Transportation Engineers, SAE International, and participates in international standardization through International Telecommunication Union and ISO/TC 204. Advocacy includes safety campaigns aligned with National Safety Council and support for legislation similar to the FAST Act to fund ITS research and deployment.

The Society has influenced deployments across metropolitan regions including projects in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Austin, Texas and contributed to pilot programs like the DOT Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program in New York City and Wyoming. It has helped shape best practices used by agencies such as Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York), Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and state DOTs including Minnesota Department of Transportation. Notable collaborations with research labs—Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory—and universities such as University of California, Berkeley led to influential guidance documents and technical resources adopted by entities like I-95 Corridor Coalition and international partners including Transport for London.

Category:Transportation organizations in the United States