4.0 Conclusion
This report has presented many of the findings on the benefits and costs of ITS accumulated in the ITS Benefits and Costs Databases. New in this 2005 report is the inclusion of summaries of lessons learned during ITS planning, deployment, and evaluation. Significant amounts of information are available for many ITS services, but many gaps in knowledge also exist. Refer to Appendix B for additional detail on available benefits and cost data. In general, ITS services have shown positive benefit, but the authors have identified a number of areas with mixed results, not enough information, or negligible impacts. While reported negative impacts are usually outweighed by other positive impacts, a few evaluations have identified opportunities for improvement in future deployments. The reader should note that reported results are highly sensitive to the deployment environment.
Interested readers are encouraged to submit additional evaluation reports discussing system impacts, costs, or lessons learned, via the online databases. Documented cost data for implemented ITS applications are also welcome, and will help keep the unit and systems cost data up to date. The reader is reminded to check online for the most current information on benefits, costs, and lessons learned at www.benefitcost.its.dot.gov.
The level of ITS deployment in the United States and worldwide continues to increase (see www.itsdeployment.its.dot.gov). As experience with additional applications increases, additional impacts will become apparent, and further information on the costs of ITS implementation will become available. Implementing agencies will also learn valuable lessons regarding appropriate implementation and operational strategies. The ITS JPO will continue to make this information available via the JPO website at www.its.dot.gov, the ITS Benefits and Costs Databases at www.benefitcost.its.dot.gov, the forthcoming ITS Lessons Learned Database (available in the summer of 2005), and other publications.