Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
itinerary or the delay for his connecting train. It is worth noting that, from a
terminological point of view, traveler information is more closely related to the
world of public transportation, whereas in English-speaking literature the term
traveler information
is dedicated to information for road users and essentially
concerns road traffic and guidance. The term ATIS (
advanced traveler information
systems
) is more generic and is currently eliciting numerous scientific publications,
both in engineering sciences and social sciences [LYO 07].
In this chapter, we will present the different aspects of traveler information and
show its complexity, depending on the receivers, places and diffusion media. We
will then define the multimodal information system enabling a database that
classifies all the information relative to the offer of mobility to be constructed, such
as train, bus and tram times, the subway train frequency, etc., enabling the traveler
to plan his journey and guide him when he carries it out. The viatic research
concept, the aim of which is to try to bring added value to the only information
linked to mobility by agreement services during the journey and by simplified
payment, will be described. We will then present PREDIT (the national program for
experimentation and innovation research in terrestrial transport; see
www.predit.prd.fr) research projects linked to traveler information. In terms of
viewpoints, information becomes increasingly personalized and thus requires highly
refined human-machine interfaces.
1.2. A complexity that must be mastered
Like the transport networks that it must enable the use of, traveler information
requires a complex domain that is due in particular to the diversity and multiplicity
of different
items
:
- the situation of the travelers involved: the regular users or commuters (who
make the same journey daily), the occasional users (who do not know the network)
and the non-residents (tourists, for example);
- the information producers (the transport system operator and the transport
organizing authority
1
, which is the public body that finances the transport system,
not applicable for countries with privatized transport system, such as Network Rail
in the UK);
1 Since 1982, a law on the organization of transport within France has provided a guide for
regulation. The role of a transport organizing authority is to finance and organize transport
under its jurisdiction. For example, in France, four institutional levels coexist: 1) the State is
in charge
of national transport services; 2) the region for regional rail and road transport; 3)
the county for non urban public transport and school transport services; and 4) the commune
or group of communes, for urban public transport services in a given territory.
