SOLICITATION NOTICE
A -- A Framework for Improving Travel Time Reliability
- Notice Date
- 3/9/2010
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- The National Academies, Transportation Research Board, SHRP2, 500 Fifth Street NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20001
- Solicitation Number
- SHRP2_L17
- Archive Date
- 5/5/2010
- Point of Contact
- David Plazak, Phone: 202-334-1834, Linda Mason, Phone: 202-334-3241
- E-Mail Address
-
dplazak@nas.edu, lmason@nas.edu
(dplazak@nas.edu, lmason@nas.edu)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- SHRP 2 Request for Proposals Focus Area: Reliability Project Number: L17 Project Title: A Framework for Improving Travel Time Reliability Date Posted: March 9, 2010 SHRP 2 Background To address the challenges of moving people and goods efficiently and safely on the nation's highways, Congress has created the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2). SHRP 2 is a targeted, short-term research program carried out through competitively awarded contracts to qualified researchers in the academic, private, and public sectors. SHRP 2 addresses four strategic focus areas: the role of human behavior in highway safety (Safety); rapid highway renewal (Renewal); improved travel time reliability through congestion reduction (Reliability); and transportation planning that better integrates community, economic, and environmental considerations into new highway capacity (Capacity). Under current legislative provisions, SHRP 2 will receive approximately $150 million with total program duration of 7 years. Additional information about SHRP 2 can be found on the program's Web site at www.trb.org/shrp2. Reliability Focus Area The major objective of SHRP 2 Reliability research is to greatly improve the reliability of highway travel times by reducing the frequency and effects of events that cause travel times to fluctuate in an unpredictable manner. The results of the research program should help local, state, and national agencies reduce travel time variability for travelers and shippers. The Reliability research plan addresses both recurring and nonrecurring congestion with an emphasis on nonrecurring congestion. The following seven potential sources of unreliable travel times (i.e., events that cause variable travel times) were identified: traffic incidents, work zones, demand fluctuations, special events, traffic control devices, weather, and inadequate base capacity. The Reliability focus area targets travel time variation-that frustrating characteristic of the transportation system that means you must allow an hour to make a trip that normally takes 30 minutes. Not only is reliability an important component for travelers and shippers, it is also an area of the congestion problem in which transportation agencies can make significant gains even as travel demand grows. The seven sources of unreliability account for approximately half of the total delay. Reducing reliability-related delay will also result in fewer crashes, reduced vehicle emissions and fuel use, and other benefits. These benefits can be realized through a mix of leading-edge research into a better understanding of strategies and their consequences, new technology and practices, and reducing institutional barriers so that our existing knowledge can be more fully exploited. The goals of the Reliability focus area are built around the first five of the seven sources mentioned above. Work on weather-related issues will be coordinated with the Road Weather Management R&D program under way at the Federal Highway Administration. Related research on inadequate base capacity being undertaken in the SHRP 2 Capacity focus area and elsewhere will be closely coordinated by SHRP 2 staff. Project Background Roughly half of all highway congestion is caused by events such as traffic incidents, special events, construction and maintenance activities, and weather. This is called "nonrecurring congestion." Such events lead to variations in travel times that can be both costly and frustrating. The SHRP 2 Reliability focus area has commissioned or is in the final stages of commissioning almost 20 research projects costing $20 million; together these projects were designed to lay the foundation for understanding and improving travel time reliability. (See Special Note C) Reliability research products are starting to be completed and now need to be moved into practice. The "Framework for Improving Travel Time Reliability" was recently added to the SHRP 2 Reliability program to serve as a capstone and to integrate the many dimensions of the research. Travel time reliability is an emerging and complex topic. As yet, there is no travel time reliability community or discipline, nor is there is a single definition of travel time reliability. The meaning of travel time reliability in the context of highway travel depends on who is talking about it. The term means different things for highway system users ("customers") and highway agencies ("owners" or "operators"). For instance, commuters view reliable highway travel in simple terms such as getting to work on time most workdays. Freight shippers similarly view reliability as achieving delivery of their goods within a specified time window. On the other hand, highway agencies view reliability more mechanically: reliability is something to be addressed through things such as data collection, measurement, analysis, and assessment; through actions such as investments in facilities and information technology; and through services such as incident response and management. All these views are correct, but they are also very different. Lack of common language makes progress toward improving travel time reliability more difficult. Another barrier to making progress in dealing with the causes of traffic congestion and decreases in travel time reliability is an overabundance of technical jargon in the field. Talking about statistical distributions of travel times, while critical for research and measurement purposes, doesn't fully communicate to professionals, managers, the general public, or decision makers that travel time reliability has value and is an important issue to address. The term "reliability" may not resonate sufficiently with either transportation professionals or laymen. Operational strategies such as incident response and improved work zone management are what produce improvements in travel time reliability Another barrier to improving travel time reliability on the nation's highways has been a lack of basic analytical tools and guidance in the traffic operations area. Unlike highway design where well-tested analytic tools and design manuals are in place and widely used, there has been nothing equivalent in the traffic operations and reliability area. For example, there is nothing like the Highway Capacity Manual or the Policy on the Geometric Design of Highways. The SHRP 2 research will begin to fill this need. Additionally, few university courses address reliability-related issues, so future transportation technical professionals are receiving little training to understand or address travel time reliability. Recognition of the barriers outlined above led to the concept of the "Framework for Improving Travel Time Reliability." The SHRP 2 Reliability Technical Coordinating Committee envisions the framework as a suite of products. Chief among these is an on-line information portal designed to transfer knowledge about travel time reliability to a set of target audiences. This on-line portal is referred to as "the travel time reliability knowledge transfer system" below. Target Audiences There could be many potential audiences for the Framework for Improving Travel Time Reliability. These range all the way from commuters to traffic incident responders; from traffic management center staff to freight shippers; from transportation planners to politicians. In order to not spread the available resources too thin, it is important to segment the market for the Framework. For the purposes of this project, the key target audiences are defined as follows: •State highway agency practitioners/professionals. (For the purposes of this project, "practitioners/professionals" means technical staff and middle-level managers in traffic engineering, transportation planning, budgeting and project programming, district administration, and operations. Both direct employees of agencies and contractors are included in this target group.) •Local highway agency and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) practitioners/professionals. This may include traffic operations center staff. •University faculty/educators in civil engineering, transportation planning, and logistics/supply chain management who train future practitioners/professionals). This includes centers for transportation studies and research and university transportation centers. •Others, including traffic incident responders, who may be users of SHRP 2 Reliability and other closely related research products. Motorists and other highway users will be indirect beneficiaries of this project and are not intended to be a direct target audience. Neither are senior transportation agency managers, agency chief executive officers, or politicians, who may play the role of enablers of progress on travel time reliability-related issues. The target audiences will need to be able to convince senior managers and CEOs that travel time reliability is an important thing for transportation agencies to address. The products of the Framework should provide tools to help them to do this. Project Objectives •Provide a means to move the SHRP 2 Reliability research findings and products into mainstream practice among transportation professionals. •Develop a simple, easily understood way to articulate "travel time reliability" for the use of the selected target audiences. •Explain the value and importance of focusing on reliability and operations to the primary audiences at both a high level (the "elevator speech" on why focusing on travel time reliability is important) and at a more detailed level (e.g. what are the benefits and costs of addressing reliability with various strategies and tactics?) •Provide an accessible synthesis of what we know about reliability, including the results of the SHRP 2 Reliability research program. What are the dimensions of reliability? How can reliability be understood, measured, and improved? •Develop a comprehensive, yet easy-to-navigate and use on-line knowledge transfer system about travel time reliability and improvement measures aimed at transportation professionals and a few other selected audiences. What is known about travel time reliability and what can be done to improve it? •Develop a plan to market the on-line knowledge transfer system in creative ways to make sure it is known to and is used by the target audiences. Tasks Task descriptions are intended to provide a framework for conducting the research. SHRP 2 is seeking the insights of proposers on how best to achieve the research objectives for this project. Proposers are expected to describe research plans that can realistically be accomplished within the constraints of available funds and contract time. Proposals must present the proposers' current thinking in sufficient detail to demonstrate their understanding of the issues and the soundness of their approach to meeting the research objectives. Tasks for this project are not necessarily sequential; some tasks can and should be done in parallel. Proposers should provide a detailed project plan that shows how they intend to sequence tasks. Task 1: Integrate and synthesize travel time reliability research. Consult and coordinate with the project teams for all completed and ongoing SHRP 2 Reliability projects and relevant SHRP 2 Capacity and Renewal Projects as well as with project teams for closely related projects, particularly the NCHRP Project 03-94/AASHTO Operations Guide and the SHRP 2 Capacity TCAPP on-line highway capacity project knowledge base, and Federal Highway Administration activities, research, and products related to operations. ( See Special Note C ) Prepare a synthesis of what these projects have produced and package those results for use by practitioners. The synthesis should distill what is now known about travel time reliability and improving travel time reliability. Incorporate international travel time reliability experiences and knowledge as appropriate; however, the major focus of the synthesis should be kept on North American knowledge and experiences. The synthesis will be the basis for the knowledge transfer system that will be the main product this project. ( See Task 6 ) Task 2: Prepare a task report on the language and branding of travel time reliability. This report should discuss what is meant by "travel time reliability" for different audiences based on the SHRP 2 research and other relevant work and consider how meaning can be conveyed to these audiences. The report should assess the strengths and weaknesses of each definition considered. It should assess whether "reliability" is the correct term to use when communicating with various relevant audiences, including the target audiences and more general audiences. It should consider whether reliability is a "word that works" for communications and marketing. Finally, the task report should consider and suggest an overall project bundling and branding strategy for travel time reliability along the lines of "Superpave" from the original Strategic Highway Research Program. (See this website and final report for background: http://www.asphaltwa.com/wapa_web/modules/02_pavement_types/02_what_is_superpave.htm and http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sp/superpave.pdf). Provide for an opportunity for review by the L17 Technical Expert Task Group (T-ETG) and the SHRP 2 Reliability Technical Coordinating Committee (Reliability TCC). Task 3: Develop the business case for improved travel time reliability. The business case for improved travel time reliability needs to be clearly articulated and prepared for use by the target audiences identified above. Describe the benefits of addressing travel time reliability overall and why an agency would want to make it a priority. Compile travel time reliability and operations benefit and cost information from existing sources. The business case should be designed to work both at both a high level ("the elevator speech") and at some level of detail, e.g. provide the business case for improved incident management. Produce a primer to communicate the business case as well as other outreach and educational materials appropriate for use by the target audiences. Task 4: Conduct a short-term knowledge transfer gap analysis. Review the SHRP 2 Reliability products completed or yet to be completed and recommend general strategies for transfer to practice. Based on this review, identify missing products needed to facilitate the smooth transfer of research results to practice. Prepare a gap analysis of the SHRP 2 Reliability projects and products from the perspective of the target audiences. Determine which projects lack required, useable tools for practitioners (e.g. a step-by-step "how to implement" list or a detailed guide). Propose a set of products to fill in the identified gaps. Identify any gaps that can be filled within the scope and time frame of the L17 project by the L17 project team. Provide brief project scopes and preliminary budget estimates for those gaps that would require significant additional time and budget to fill; such projects would need to be completed beyond the scope and schedule of Project L17. Proposers should take care to reserve a sufficient amount of time and budget to address this key task. Task 5: Prepare an interim project report. Prepare an Interim Report for the project that consolidates the results of Tasks 1 through 4. The report should also clearly identify barriers to successful implementation of the SHRP 2 Reliability research program that have been identified through the conduct of Tasks 1 through 4. This task should provide a means for the project L17 T-ETG to review the interim project report and to inform the Reliability TCC regarding implementation barriers and steps. It is suggested that this Task be completed by the end of month six of the project. Task 6: Design and build a travel time reliability knowledge transfer system. Develop a range of generalized options for an electronic knowledge transfer system that contains knowledge about travel time reliability and associated technical tools that the target audiences need and will likely use in their practice. Provide for input from the target audiences regarding what the web-based knowledge system should contain, how it should function, and what it should look like. Consider naming and branding of the web-based knowledge transfer system based on the results from Task 2. Develop specifications for the knowledge transfer system. Submit the specifications for ETG review. Build a prototype web-based knowledge transfer system. Add content to the system based on the work done in Tasks 1 through 4. The contractor team will be expected to add value as the knowledge transfer system is built. It will not be sufficient for the system to link to reports from other projects; material will need to be digested and adapted for the target audiences. Beta test the prototype system with a set of potential users from the target audiences. Revise the system based on beta test results. Prepare a task report. Provide for T-ETG and TCC review. As with Task 4, it will be important for proposers to reserve a significant portion of the total budget for this task. It is suggested that this task be completed by the end of the 13th month of the project. Task 7: Develop system documentation. Documentation should be prepared for both system users (e.g. the target audiences) and for system owners. Task 8: Develop an implementation issues white paper for the knowledge transfer system. This paper should consider and make recommendations regarding long-term issues for the knowledge transfer system such as ownership, maintenance, linking to other Internet-based resources, and the need for updates. Task 9: Develop communications strategies. The goal of the L17 project is to move the results of the SHRP 2 Reliability focus area program into practice. How should the target audiences be engaged so they become aware of the reliability knowledge transfer system and use it? Communications strategies developed in Task 9 should be creative in their use of tactics and channels of communication. Bidders should be aware that there will be an overall SHRP 2 Implementation Program for what happens to all SHRP 2 projects and products beyond the life of the program. Task 10: Prepare a draft final research report for review. As a part of this task, the project team should be prepared to revisit and update the barriers to implementation considered in Task 5 as new information is discovered. There should be provisions in this task for review by the L17 T-ETG and a discussion of implementation planning by the Reliability TCC. Task 11: Make revisions and prepare a final research report. Deliverables 1. The Task 1 synthesis report. 2. The Task 2 report on travel time reliability definitions, shared language, communications, and branding. 3. The Task 3 primer and outreach materials on "Making the Case for Improving Travel Time Reliability" suited for use by the target audiences. 4. The Task 4 short-term knowledge gap analysis. 5. The Task 5 interim report summarizing the results of Tasks 1 through 4, including an early discussion of program implementation barriers and planning. 6. The Task 6 report presenting design options for the travel time reliability on-line knowledge transfer system and the proposed technical specifications for the system. 7. The completed travel time reliability on-line knowledge transfer system. 8. User and owner documentation for the knowledge transfer system. 9. An implementation issues white paper. 10. Communications strategies for the on-line knowledge transfer system 11. A draft final research report, including a revised implementation planning discussion. 12. The final research report Special Notes Special Note A: Because of the interaction between projects, parallel timing of some projects, and tight schedule, it is necessary for SHRP 2 researchers to coordinate with each other and with the SHRP 2 staff. The research team should allow resources for at least two meetings in Washington, D.C. In addition, a SHRP 2 staff officer may request a briefing once or twice during the project at the researcher's offices. Successful bidders may be requested to make presentations on progress to the SHRP 2 Reliability Technical Coordinating Committee. Special Note B: The research team should be prepared to monitor and integrate travel time reliability research and programmatic efforts that are underway at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), AASHTO, and TRB. In particular, NCHRP project 03-94 (The AASHTO Operations Guide project) must be coordinated with and integrated, but not duplicated. Consult the following web sites for more information: http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/ http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Weather/ http://144.171.11.40/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=2488 Special Note C: The results of all other SHRP 2 Reliability projects will help to inform this project. Consult the following web site for more details: http://www.trb.org/StrategicHighwayResearchProgram2SHRP2/Public/Pages/Reliability_Projects_302.aspx In addition, the results selected projects from the SHRP 2 Capacity and Renewal focus areas will be important to integrate since they address travel time reliability either directly or indirectly. These projects include: •C01: A Framework for Collaborative Decision Making on Additions to Highway Capacity (See the TCAPP web site for more details: http://transportationforcommunities.com/) •C02: Systems-Based Performance Measurement Framework for Highway Capacity Decision Making (See http://shrp2webtool.camsys.com/) •C04: Improving Our Understanding of How Highway Congestion and Pricing Affect Travel Demand •C05: Understanding the Contribution of Operations, Technology, and Design to Meeting Highway Capacity Needs •C10: Partnership to Develop an Integrated Advanced Travel Demand Model and a Fine-Grained, Time-Sensitive Network •R10: Innovative Project Management for Large, Complex Projects •R11: Strategic Approaches at the Corridor and Network Level to Minimize Disruption from the Renewal Process See the following web sites for additional details about the Capacity and Renewal programs: http://www.trb.org/StrategicHighwayResearchProgram2SHRP2/Public/Pages/Capacity_Projects_301.aspx http://www.trb.org/StrategicHighwayResearchProgram2SHRP2/Public/Pages/Renewal_Projects_303.aspx Proposers must be prepared to coordinate with many other research teams involved in SHRP 2 research. Proposers should provide in their management plan for the project a section on how they intend to coordinate with other SHRP 2 research teams as this coordination will be critical to the success of SHRP 2 Reliability project L17. Special Note D: In addition to the standard criteria described in the general notes, in evaluating the proposals for this project, the SHRP 2 staff and ETG will look carefully for a multidisciplinary approach to the problem. The ideal team will include expertise in travel time reliability, communications and marketing, and knowledge transfer systems and their design and development. The L17 project is very much about communication and transfer of a complex body of technical knowledge to practitioners. Team familiarity with the needs of the identified target audiences is important. Evaluators will require clear communications in the products of this project. A proposal that reads like a theoretical research document will likely be discounted. Special Note E: The design and development of the Knowledge Transfer System (Task 6) is a core task of the L17 project. In the proposal, please provide examples of such systems that are already in place both within and outside transportation that the team considers examples of good design practice. Special Note F: All products of the research conducted through the L17 process, including the Knowledge Transfer System, will be the property of the National Academies. All information technology design and procurement decisions must be made with this in mind. Special Note G: Since the L17 project is multidisciplinary and will likely have a complex team, proposers should provide a detailed management plan for the project, indicating which staff will be assigned to tasks and how the team will be managed. The management plan should also address quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) processes and the team's proposed knowledge transfer system/web development process in some detail. Special Note H: The SHRP 2 Reliability Focus Area will, through projects L13, L13a and L16, be developing an archive of travel time reliability data from many of the SHRP 2 Reliability projects. The research team should be prepared to supply any products of the L17 project in formats that are appropriate for this data archive. A working prototype of the archive is now available and the final archive will be built and populated in parallel with project L17. Special Note I: Rijkswaterstaat, The Ministry of Transport, Water Management and Public Works for the Netherlands, will be collaborating with SHRP 2 on this project and has agreed to provide European perspectives and examples of practice in return for access to the deliverables/products of Project L17. Funds Available: Entire Project: $1,800,000 Contract Time: 18 months Responsible Staff: David Plazak, dplazak@nas.edu, 202-334-1834 Authorization to Begin Work: September 1, 2010, anticipated Proposal Due Date: April 20, 2010 Proposals (20 single-bound copies) are due at the address below by 4:30 p.m. on April 20, 2010. This is a firm deadline, and extensions are not granted. To be considered, all 20 copies of the agency's proposal accompanied by the executed, unmodified Liability Statement must be in our offices not later than the deadline shown, or they will be rejected. Delivery Address: PROPOSAL-SHRP 2 ATTN: Neil F. Hawks Director, Strategic Highway Research Program 2 Transportation Research Board 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington DC 20001 Phone: 202-334-1340 Liability Statement The signature of an authorized representative of the proposing agency is required on the unaltered statement in order for SHRP 2 to accept the agency's proposal for consideration. Proposals submitted without this executed and unaltered statement by the proposal deadline will be rejected. An executed, unaltered statement indicates the agency's intent and ability to execute a contract that includes the provisions in the statement. Here is a printable version of the Liability Statement (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/shrp2/LiabilityStatement.pdf). A free copy of the Adobe Acrobat PDF reader is available at http://www.adobe.com. The Liability Statement is included as Figure 1 in the Manual for Conducting Research and Preparing Proposals for SHRP 2 (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/shrp2/PreparingSHRP2Reports.pdf) referred to in General Note 4. General Notes 1. Proposals will be evaluated by SHRP 2 staff and Expert Task Groups (ETGs) consisting of individuals collectively very knowledgeable in the problem area. Selection of an agency is made by the SHRP 2 Oversight Committee, based on the recommendation from SHRP 2 staff and the ETG. The following factors are considered: (1) the proposer's demonstrated understanding of the problem; (2) the merit of the proposed research approach and experimental design-the approach to validating the handbook is a key consideration; (3) the experience, qualifications, and objectivity of the research team in the same or closely related problem area; (4) the proposer's plan for participation by disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs)-small firms owned and controlled by minorities or women; and (5) the adequacy of facilities. TRB and the SHRP 2 Oversight Committee strongly encourage the significant participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in SHRP 2 research contracts. Although no quota is specified nor is DBE participation mandated, the proposer's plan for involvement of DBEs is a factor in selection of the research contractor, and the contractor's adherence to its DBE plan will be monitored during the contract period. Contractors are required to submit periodic reports comparing actual with proposed payments to DBEs. The "Research Team Builder" section of the SHRP 2 web site (http://www.trb.org/StrategicHighwayResearchProgram2SHRP2/Public/Pages/Research_Team_Builder_177.aspx) is a resource for proposers interested in participating on research teams. 2. Any clarifications regarding this RFP will be posted on the SHRP 2 Web site (www.TRB.org/SHRP2). Announcements of such clarifications will be posted on the front page and, when possible, will be noted in the TRB e-newsletter. Proposers are advised to check the Web site frequently until April 9, 2010 when no further comments will be posted. 3. According to the provisions of Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 21, which relates to nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs, all parties are hereby notified that the contract entered into pursuant to this announcement will be awarded without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability. 4. The essential features required in a proposal for research are detailed in the Manual for Conducting Research and Preparing Proposals for SHRP 2 (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/shrp2/PreparingSHRP2Reports.pdf). Proposals must be prepared according to this document, and attention is directed specifically to Section IV for mandatory requirements. Proposals that do not conform to these requirements will be rejected. 5. The total funds available are made known in the project statement, and line items of the budget are examined to determine the reasonableness of the allocation of funds to the various tasks. If the proposed total cost exceeds the funds available, the proposal is rejected. 6. All proposals become the property of the Transportation Research Board. Final disposition will be made according to the policies thereof, including the right to reject all proposals. IMPORTANT NOTICE Potential proposers should understand that the research project described herein is tentative. The final content of the program depends on the level of funding made available. Nevertheless, to be prepared to execute research contracts as soon as possible after sponsors' approvals, the second Strategic Highway Research Program is assuming that the tentative program will become official in its entirety and is proceeding with requests for proposals and selections of research agencies.
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