Issue Date: 2016-10
Overview: PUBLIC ROADS: Big Data
American spirit, ingenuity, and success are evident in the Nation’s canals, railways, highways, airports, and seaports. In 2009, this multimodal transportation system logged more than 392 billion person trips. In 2013, it moved the shipment of more than 20.1 billion tons (18.2 billion metric tons) of goods worth near $18 trillion, according to a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Capturing data like these helps with understanding not only how the U.S. transportation system is functioning, but also with determining how transportation professionals can improve it.
In the last 20 years, increases in the amount and availability of data--driven primarily by the near ubiquity of the Internet and wireless devices--have enabled the transportation community to understand issues in a timelier manner at both the micro and macro levels. This increase in data is both a challenge and an opportunity for the transportation community. It enables a more indepth understanding of highway safety issues, travel behavior, and mobility, but it also demands significant technological resources and human capital investment to maintain.
The Federal Highway Administration is undertaking a wide range of initiatives to adopt, use, and lead data-driven and fact-based decision making and management. These initiatives cover subjects like financial management, program administration, and transportation planning and operations, as well as advanced research activities. Here’s some background on “big data” and a review of FHWA’s information collection goals and initiatives.
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-16-006
Source Organization Location: Washington, DC
Authors: Tianjia Tang, Gene McHale