OCTOBER 2004 This newsletter is available online in an Adobe Acrobat Reader pdf file (321k). You can view it using the Reader plugin for your browser and/or download it for viewing offline. Free Reader software is available at the Adobe Systems Incorporated Website. ITS Canada Scholarship Award Presentation  ITS Canada Signs Contract with Transport Canada  ITS Canada Board of Directors Approves Membership Dues Fee Increase  ITS Canada News  ITS Canada Committee Reports  Regional Update  ISO/TC204 Targets Transit and Traffic Management    ITS CANADA SCHOLARSHIP AWARD PRESENTATION On September 24, 2004, ITS Canada presented its Michel Van Aerde Memorial Scholarship awards to two candidates who will share the award, receiving $5,000 each. Hoda Talaat and Jinwoo Lee, both of the University of Toronto, have been chosen as co-recipients of the 2004 award for the academic year 2004-2005. The Review Committee made the selections based on strong academic records, clearly stated goals, and strong letters of recommendation. As well: Jinwoo Lee has made important contributions through paper publications and a presentation at TRB. Jinwoo has real-world work experience in ITS through his transit priority and adaptive control work. Jinwoo is currently in the last year of his PhD program and is performing research work at the University of Toronto’s ITS Centre and Testbed.   Hoda Talaat has achieved an outstanding academic record throughout her undergraduate and graduate years. Before she was accepted for the PhD program at the University of Toronto’s ITS Centre and Testbed, she assisted in teaching undergraduate engineering courses. Hoda is currently in the second year of her PhD program, specializing in the challenging field of dynamic traffic assignment. Attendees at the informal get-together included the two award recipients, ITS Canada’s Board of Directors, ITS Canada staff, and invited guests that included recipients’ family members and Dr. Baher Abdulhai, Professor at the University of Toronto. Special guest Roger Van Aerde, brother of the late Michel Van Aerde, made the presentations. Chairman Joe Lam spoke briefly about the origin of the award. ITS Canada’s Michel Van Aerde Memorial Scholarship was established to commemorate the contribution that Professor Van Aerde made to the ITS industry. Professor Van Aerde was a leader in the academic field, with positions at the University of Waterloo and Queens University, where he played a leading role in the development of ITS-related curricula. He was also very active in research, and was one of the inaugural directors of ITS Canada. Left to right: Joseph Lam, Chair, ITS Canada; William Johnson, Chair, ITS Canada Education and Training Committee; Roger Van Aerde; Award recipients Hoda Talaat and Jinwoo Lee   ITS CANADA SIGNS CONTRACT WITH TRANSPORT CANADA By Colin Rayman, General Manager – ITS Canada Further to the announcement in ITS Canada’s May/June newsletter, agreement has been reached with Transport Canada for the provision of a variety of expert professional advisory and support services related to the promotion and development of intelligent transportation systems. This builds upon the previous partnership arrangement under Canada’s ITS Strategic Plan, En Route to Intelligent Mobility, and will continue to help ensure that it is supported by the availability of expert technical advice and other related professional services. ITS Canada supports Transport Canada’s goals of maximizing the use and efficiency of existing infrastructure, and meeting future mobility needs responsibly. ITS Canada is uniquely qualified to provide the multi-faceted services required by Transport Canada, as the Society positions itself to be fair and unbiased in the advice offered. The Society does not lobby or promote any specific commercial interest. ITS Canada is also recognized as the most knowledgeable source for ITS information and advice in Canada. The Society represents all sectors of the ITS community and, when conducting projects, draws on a diversified membership base to provide expertise. The profile of ITS Canada also extends beyond Canada’s national borders, with a prominent position in the international ITS community that provides access to the very best international ITS expertise and knowledge. The agreement enables the following tasks to be undertaken over the period of September 1, 2003, to March 31, 2006: Task 1 Provide independent reviews of ITS Deployment and R&D proposals and reports Task 2 Develop a technology database of new and emerging ITS products and services, including an annually updated website, as well as the production of the database on CD, as required Task 3 Develop and present workshops across Canada on Transport Canada priority ITS issues Task 4 Prepare promotional material on the benefits of ITS and other related topics Task 5 Provide representation at APEC ITS experts meetings Task 6 Provide professional services in the area of ITS standards development Task 7 Develop an evaluation framework for ITS deployment reports Task 8 Provide advice and information on special issues as they arise. Prior to proceeding with any of the above tasks, Transport Canada will issue a "Terms of Reference". ITS Canada will then submit a detailed response, negotiate with Transport Canada, and the process will conclude with Transport Canada issuing a work order to undertake the work. Work orders have been issued for Tasks 1, 3 and 5. Since ITS Canada’s incorporation in 1997, the Society has worked closely with Transport Canada. This successful collaboration has promoted the development and implementation of intelligent transportation systems in Canada, and has also resulted in international success for many ITS systems developed in Canada. ITS Canada would like to thank Transport Canada for the opportunity to provide expertise in support of their ITS objectives. We look forward to working together for the benefit of the ITS industry in Canada.   ITS CANADA BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVES MEMBERSHIP DUES FEE INCREASE On September 24, 2004, at the recommendation of ITS Canada’s Member Services Committee, ITS Canada’s Board of Directors approved the following membership dues fee increases: Effective April 1, 2005 – Corporate $375 – Individual $75   Effective April 1, 2006 – Corporate $500 – Individual $100 ITS Canada is recognized as the most knowledgeable source for information and advice on intelligent transportation systems in Canada. These fee increases will help defray increasing administrative costs and allow the Society to continue to provide and improve member services. Intangible benefits associated with membership include investing in the industry, and supporting the intellectual infrastructure of a Society that promotes leading-edge technology and embraces new approaches. The return on member investment is a better functioning ITS industry in Canada. The Board of Directors and the staff at ITS Canada are grateful for continuing member support, and we pledge our commitment to continue to provide members with valuable services.   ITS CANADA NEWS Transit Workshop The agenda has been published for ITS Canada’s Transit Workshop, being held in Montreal, Quebec, on November 11, 2004. An informative mix of speakers will present regarding ITS initiatives in the area of transit, including: Standards and the ITS Architecture for Canada, and their applications in transit ITS strategic planning for transit The benefits of investing in ITS for transit RFPs Deployment successes Lessons learned. Break-out discussions will also be held to review industry requirements. The full agenda is available on ITS Canada’s website at www.itscanada.ca/english/transit.htm. ITS Canada Annual Conference Join us next year in Quebec City for ITS Canada’s Annual Conference and General Meeting, being held May 15 to 17, 2005, at the Loews Le Concorde Hotel. Board of Directors Meeting – September 24, 2004 ITS Canada held a meeting of the Board in Toronto on September 24, which was very well attended. The high level participation in Board meetings ensures that ITS Canada initiatives continue to move forward. The Board is beginning to prepare for the next election, which will be held early in 2005. At the meeting, committee chairs presented their reports, which are summarized on the following pages. The audit report, membership, as well as the budget and year-to-date actuals were also reviewed. The status of ITS Canada’s 511 project and the ITS Design Guide were presented.   ITS CANADA COMMITTEE REPORTS (covering the period May to September 2004) Education and Training Committee By William Johnson, Chair The call for applications was issued in early April for ITS Canada’s 2004 Michel Van Aerde Memorial Scholarship, with a closing date of May 31, 2004. The Review Committee recommended two excellent candidates to share the award. The awards were presented at a ceremony during the afternoon break at the Board meeting on September 24 in Toronto. For full details, see Page 1. William Johnson represented ITS Canada at the TAC Education Council meetings on June 10, 2004 (via teleconference), September 7, 2004 (via teleconference), and September 18 in Quebec City. The Council work priorities are to: Establish a Peer Exchange Program involving teams of six to eight members visiting another jurisdiction to review and comment on program activities Establish a session for student papers at the TAC Annual Conference Prepare a Succession Planning Primer. The Education Foundation (created by TAC) is soliciting contributions to fund scholarship awards, and is taking over administration of existing TAC awards. Results from the ITS Transit Standards Workshop, held May 18, 2004, have been posted, with permission of the authors, on ITS Canada’s website, as educational and training information for all members. More information is included on Page 9. Upcoming initiatives include: Architecture training sessions in 2004 in Quebec – planning is underway Articles on ITS for municipalities, to be published in ITS Canada’s newsletter – further details are included in the Member Services Committee report. Export Development Committee By Robert Bruce, Committee Chair As part of ITS Canada’s Annual Conference held in Calgary last May, ITS Canada welcomed a delegation from the United Kingdom. The group visited both Calgary and Vancouver. Jennie Martin, Secretary General for ITS UK, indicated, "ITS Canada’s event enabled the UK delegation to network efficiently with the whole of the Canadian ITS community. A very worthwhile and enjoyable few days." During the period of June 18 to 24, 2004, the French development and export agency, UBIFRANCE, organized a visit to France by a delegation from ITS Canada. The trip, which followed a similar visit by French officials to Canada during the fall of 2003, is part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between ITS professionals in the two countries, to foster an exchange of thinking and best practices, and to encourage partnerships between commercial organizations. A full report is included in ITS Canada’s July 2004 newsletter. ITS Canada, in conjunction with Industry Canada and Ontario Exports, hosted an incoming mission from the eThekwini Municipality (formerly Durban Metropolitan Council), South Africa, to the Greater Toronto Area on July 19, 2004. The mission was led by Victor Baloyi, CEO of the eThekwini Transport Authority, and included the Deputy Head of Public Transportation, Erik Moller, and Councillor Velile Lutyeku. The mission’s primary purpose was to learn about public transport services and capabilities in Canada, and specifically, in Toronto and Vancouver. A full report is included in ITS Canada’s July 2004 newsletter. ITS Canada hosted two incoming delegations from China in September. On September 15, Robert Bruce, Chair of ITS Canada’s Export Development Committee, represented ITS Canada at the Foundation for International Training (FIT) in Markham to meet an 11-member delegation from the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), a not-for-profit organization. On September 16, Mr. Bruce again represented ITS Canada at an event hosting an incoming delegation, led by Mr. Li Deqi, Director General of Hunan Provincial Highway Administration Bureau. The delegation consisted of eight senior provincial transportation officials and experts, who visited Canada to study Canadian experiences in transportation planning and management. "Hunan Province and Canada share similar transportation issues," says Rob Bruce, "making the province an interesting market for ITS Canada members’ goods and services. The delegation expressed an interest in a future ITS Canada mission to Hunan Province." The delegation also explored opportunities for business collaboration with the Canadian transportation business sector during their trip. The study mission was part of the World Bank financed transportation project, with the purpose of studying technologies available in the west in transportation planning and development. ITS Canada members who also participated to provide briefings included Henry Ng of IBI Group and John Fung of International Road Dynamics, as well as Phil Wong from Ontario Exports. Robert Bruce made a presentation to the delegation to showcase Canadian expertise in ITS. On an ongoing basis, the Secretariat informs members, via e-mail and through the newsletter, of international opportunities as they arise. Upcoming events include a mission to the 11th World Congress on ITS in Nagoya, Japan, in October 2004. ITS Canada is planning a low-key but effective approach. Activities will include: a hospitality event (cocktail party and dinner), by invitation to selected individuals from around the world, with emphasis on European and Asian clients speeches by ITS Canada’s Chairman on Canadian technologies distribution of an ITS Canada brochure describing services provided by our members – expected distribution is 200 copies. For more information on any of these initiatives, or to suggest other possible target countries for outgoing missions, contact Rob Bruce at Tel (416) 785-9248. Member Services Committee By Keenan Kitasaka, Committee Chair The Member Services Committee is very active, meeting regularly to move forward on issues relevant to the Society, with a dedicated group of participants who take action on assigned items between meetings to ensure progress. Following the preparation of an action plan and associated budget for the current fiscal year, the Member Services Committee has struggled with the fact that sufficient funds are not available to proceed on all initiatives. The Member Services Committee has acted on work items that have no funding requirement, and has brainstormed for ideas to progress those items that need funds. Activities and accomplishments over the past few months include: 1. The Committee has developed a Website Strategies document to clearly define decisions made. Specific accomplishments related to the website include: Individual passwords have been implemented to control access to members-only areas of the website, especially when members do not renew their membership. The online searchable Members Directory has been moved into the protected area for privacy reasons. Recent issues of the newsletter have been restricted to member access only. French translation is being implemented as the text is received from the translator. A "Frequently Asked Questions" page has been added, with an opportunity for users to submit a question if it has not been included. A liability disclaimer has been added. An annual review of the website will be completed by the General Manager to identify and remove any outdated information and materials. Minutes of Member Services Committee meetings are now posted on the website (member access only). The website is continuously reviewed for any possible opportunities to improve services. 2. With regard to the upcoming election, it was noted that Students are "Associates", not "members" and therefore will not vote. 3. Regarding ITS Canada’s photo library, the procedure currently being followed by the Secretariat to manage photos has been documented. Upcoming activities include: The Executive Committee has agreed to allow photos in ITS Canada’s photo library to be used by members. This will be done by providing a low-resolution "thumbnail" of each image on a web page accessible to members only. Members who would like to use an image will ask the Secretariat for the owner’s contact information, and will be required to obtain permission for use directly from the owner. The new web page will be implemented within the next month. A downloadable PDF containing a Corporate and Sustaining Corporate Members Directory has been created, and will be presented to the Executive Committee for approval to load to the website, to make it available for members to download and use at events. Individual members may consider upgrading to be included in this listing. The Committee has discussed options to drive revenue to the Society through advertising on the website, and will prepare a recommendation for the Executive Committee’s review. The glossary is being reviewed and will be overhauled completely to provide a more relevant and up-to-date glossary, along with an acronyms and abbreviations list. To support a targeted recruitment campaign for municipalities, the Executive Committee has approved three articles to be published through the newsletter. The subjects will likely include an overview of ITS, a review of transit applications, and cost/benefits (or perhaps traffic management), and will use materials from discussion papers from ATLANTIC as well as other sources. The target is to complete all three by the end of the year. The Committee is pursuing options for increasing the profile of various levels of membership, and how new services could be packaged (such as charging an additional fee to add a logo or a longer profile). The Member Services Committee will prepare a recommendation for the Executive Committee’s review. The Committee has presented a recommendation to the Executive Committee regarding posting RFPs and employment opportunities that are currently sent out via e-mail, as well as information from individuals who are searching for work in the industry, on a web page that is accessible to all site visitors. It was felt that no revenue could likely be generated but this could be provided as a new service to members only. The Committee has presented a recommendation to the Executive Committee regarding adding a new web page that lists all members, in alphabetical order, with a link to their website. This page would be accessible to all visitors to the website (in contrast to the searchable Members Directory, which is in the protected area). The activities considered and accomplished by the Member Services Committee take a great deal of time and effort, and would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of the Committee members. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Committee for their contribution to the Society: Paul Frigon of PSR Group, Doug McKay of Durham Region, Tim Schnarr of Delcan and William Johnson. Standards Committee By Luc Lefevre, Commitee Chair This Committee oversees the development and implementation activities in Canada related to ITS standards, both national and international, using the ITS Architecture for Canada as a base reference. The Committee is working to identify the services needed to support implementation of ITS standards in Canada. The Committee sustains participation by technical and policy experts from the public and private sectors in development and implementation activities in cooperation with U.S. and international partners. The development of ITS standards is the responsibility of Standards Development Organizations (SDO). Canada is a member of the International Organization for Standards (ISO) through the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), and participates as a voting member of ISO/Technical Committee 204 for ITS. Canadians also participate in U.S.-based SDOs engaged in ITS standards development activities. The Committee is working to identify the services needed to support implementation of ITS standards in Canada. An ITS standards framework is in development. Most of the current work is devoted to raising awareness of ITS standards: NTCIP: The National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) is a joint standardization project of AASHTO, ITE and NEMA, with funding from the FHWA. ISO/TC 204: Standardization of information, communication, and control systems in the field of urban and rural surface transportation, including intermodal and multimodal aspects thereof, traveller information, traffic management, public transport, commercial transport, emergency services and commercial services in the intelligent transport systems (ITS) field. TAC: ITS – Winter Maintenance Subcommittee. Recent activities of the Standards Committee include hosting the ISO/TC 204 meeting in Vancouver, from May 17 to 21, 2004. The ITS Transit Standards Workshop also took place on May 18, 2004, and presentations are posted on ITS Canada’s website. More information is included on Page 9. The CAC participated in four ballots over the summer, including issues related to Traffic and Travel Information, Automatic Vehicle Identification, Lane Departure, and Communication Networking Protocols. The next TC 204 plenary meeting is in Beijing, China, on October 15, 2004. Representatives from the Standards Committee also participated in the International Forum on Urban Mobility and Advanced Transportation, held in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, in September 2004. Luc Lefebvre presented on "Development of standards and integration of Canadian and U.S. markets". Participation at this event presented a good opportunity to reach policy and technical experts, and to raise awareness of ITS standards. Many participants come from municipalities and transit areas. Current activities include: AQTR: Standards subcommittee of ITS Committee – On-going activities related to ITS and telecommunications standards. TAC: The Chief Engineers Council (CEC) recognized the ITS – Winter Maintenance working group as a subcommittee under the Maintenance and Construction Standing Committee (MCSC) in March 2003. ITS Canada has one representative on the subcommittee. The most recent meeting was on September 18 at the TAC Annual Conference, where proposal of a action plan for 2004 to 2006 was discussed. Traffic Operations Management and Safety Committee By Milt Harmelink, Committee Chair ITS Canada’s TOMSC is represented on two committees of TAC: the Traffic Operations and Management Standing Committee (TAC TOMSC) and the Road Safety Standing Committee (RSSC). TAC TOMSC. At the spring meeting of TOMSC, the proposal for the joint ITSC-TAC project to develop an ITS Design Guide for Traffic Management was approved. The proposed base budget was $200,000, plus TAC administration costs and translation costs. Terms of reference for the project were prepared and reviewed, in anticipation of the project being put out for consultant proposals. TAC and ITS Canada have each polled their members to determine potential levels of funding contribution. As reported at the Chief Engineers Council, TAC had secured about $47,000 of funding commitment. Polling of ITS Canada members for funding contributions is continuing. Funding offers so far are considerably below the anticipated budget requirements and, if more funding commitments are not obtained, it may mean a significant change to the scope of the project. Over the next few months, as more funding is sought, the project committee will refine the terms of reference and explore ways of drawing from other information sources so as to reduce project cost without compromising project integrity. TAC RSSC. No specific ITS-related proposals have as yet been proposed by ITS Canada to the RSSC. Suggestions from members are welcome. Please contact Milt Harmelink, Chair of the Committee, tel. (905) 274-6257 or e-mail mdharmel@pathcom.com.   REGIONAL UPDATE British Columbia By Ed Miska, B.C. Ministry of Transportation British Columbia is taking substantial steps forward in the area of traveller information. The province has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Alberta and Parks Canada to work collaboratively toward a coordinated and strategic approach to providing highway traveller information to the travelling public. Highway information will be shared amongst the three jurisdictions. A multi-agency Coordinating Committee has been established, and is working to implement the MOU. Initial steps in the implementation plan include providing tighter linkages between the respective traveller information web sites. Customer surveys indicate road condition information is one of the most important government services. B.C. Road Reports is one of the most frequently visited government websites. The province is installing an additional seven web cameras to provide travellers with snapshot images of the road conditions in areas of the province that are subject to rapid changes in weather. These cameras will be installed by November 1, and will bring the total number of web cameras on the provincial highway network to 16 (including the border cameras). They can be viewed at www.th.gov.bc.ca/bchighwaycam/index.htm. Cross-border operations are also an area of focus for the province. Currently, at the Highway 15 border crossing from B.C. to Washington State, the Ministry of Transportation is constructing a FAST/NEXUS lane. FAST, an acronym for Free and Secure Trade, is a system that allows commercial shipments to clear customs faster at the border. NEXUS is a similar program for travellers. Trucks that are enrolled in FAST now have a dedicated lane straight to the border, extending from the intersection of Highway 15 and 4th Avenue southbound. The lane accommodates both NEXUS and FAST vehicles until 2nd Avenue, after which each has its own lane. The overall lane length is approximately one kilometre, and allows vehicles to sort themselves with respect to their enrolled programs. The Province has also installed an Advanced Traveller Information System at the Highway 99 and Hightway 15 border crossings. This system can be viewed at www.th.gov.bc.ca/ATIS/index.htm.   ISO/TC204 TARGETS TRANSIT AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT By William Johnson, Chair, CAC for ISO/TC204, Standards Council Canada The ISO Technical Committee 204 develops ITS standards for the international market in ITS products and services. For example, there are work items related to dedicated short range communications, data bases for mobile maps (in-vehicle systems) and traffic and travel information systems. It also has work items underway that relate to ITS standards for traffic management and for public transit. Work Group 9 is developing ITS standards for Integrated Transport Information and Control (i.e., traffic management services). The members of the Work Group represent Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The current head of the Work Group is Ted Vincent from VIC Roads in Australia. The Canadian expert on Work Group 9 is Mara Bullock of IBI Group, Toronto. The scope of this Work Group is to define the systems that will operate to provide end users with integrated transport infomation and control, and the data flows between end-user systems. Work Group 9 has completed development of a draft standard for centre-to-centre message definition requirements and DATEX-ASN communications that is ready for balloting. It is now working on a work item for data exchanges involving centre-to-roadside messages, and on a work item for the quality of input data. Not all the work of Work Group 9 will lead to international ITS standards. It is also engaged in sharing experience among nations, leading to a better understanding of the issues and challenges involved in setting standards for traffic management. Work Group 8 is developing ITS standards for Public Transport and Emergency Services. The members of this Work Group represent Canada, France, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The U.S. is the lead country for this Work Group, with Alan Kiepper, former Head of the NYC Transit Authority. The Canadian members are Luc Lefebvre and Bill Johnson. The scope of this Work Group includes systems to operate the vehicles and control systems for public transport and emergency services. Work Group 8 is engaged in transferring the U.S.-developed Public Transport Communication Interface Profiles (TCIP) from the domestic to the international level. It is also working on a standard bus stop numbering system, a pre-emption and prioritization signal system for emergency and public transport vehicles, and cabling systems for public transport vehicles. A significant effort is also underway to share information and knowledge on fare management systems (i.e., smart cards) with the intention of eventually making recommendations for international standardization in this area. Work Group 8 co-organized a workshop on ITS Standards for Transit with TransLink in Vancouver on May 18, 2004. The workshop presentations are an excellent learning tool for those who wish to know more about ITS standards in general, and applications to transit in particular. These presentations can be found posted on ITS Canada’s website at www.itscanada.ca/standardscommittee/newsandevents.htm. The Canadian Advisory Committee (CAC) for ISO/TC 204 welcomes new members to assist with the review and voting on balloted work items. If you would like further information about ISO/TC 204 or Work Groups 8 and 9, please contact: William Johnson Tel. (613) 797-1489 or johnswf@attglobal.net. Newsletter published by ITS Canada. Submissions or comments can be emailed to itscanada@itscanada.ca.