MoDOT to test tracking program
MoDOT will only pay Delcan Corporation if the testing phase is successful.
Published Sept. 28, 2007
With a new program being implemented through the Missouri Department of Transportation, drivers could be able to plan their driving routes with more up-to-date information.
Delcan Corporation, an international firm that works with transportation technology, teamed up with MoDOT in late 2005 to begin a project that would anonymously collect the cell phone signals of drivers along Missouri highways.
"The ultimate goal is to have real-time traffic information for 5,500 miles of roads," MoDOT spokesman Jeff Briggs said.
A similar program was proposed in 2005, through a partnership with the National Engineering Technology Corporation.
According to MoDOT's Web site, "traffic probe data will be collected from various mobile sources, including anonymous cellular probe data, GPS fleet data, delivery firm data and taxi fleets."
The Web site also said the data received will give information about drivers' speeds. The system will then send the data to MoDOT, which will allow the department to predict transportation times.
To track speed data, the mechanism utilizes cell phone signals that constantly shoot back and forth between towers.
Then, the program would be able to monitor the speed of a car as it travels from tower to tower.
The program's original inception was delayed because the original cell phone service provider,
AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless, dropped out. A new cell phone provider is now on board with the project.
As of now, the project workers have moved on to a testing phase in portions of Kansas City and St. Louis. MoDOT hopes to see results of the testing phase within the next few weeks.
"We're not seeing data yet, but we're optimistic," Briggs said.
If testing is successful, implementing the program would cost MoDOT $6.2 million for two years of data. The money would only be disbursed after full approval from MoDOT, Briggs said.
"Until we're satisfied with what we see, we're not paying for it," he said. "Traffic information collected from these cell phone signals would be available to the public in different ways. If the testing phase is successful, they will eventually launch a Web site to show a map of major roads. There, one would be able to se traffic flow based on the average speed of traveling cars."
MoDOT would also utilize electronic changeable message boards that would give information, such as delays, depending on the varying situations.
Briggs said privacy was a big concern for the workers, but they have taken steps to ensure privacy for cell phone owners.
Raw numbers on how quickly things are going would be available as data to MoDOT.
"We insisted we receive no information," Briggs said. "All we will see are thousands and thousands of bits of data."
In a previous interview with The Maneater, Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center said that he didn't know how the state could use cell phone signals to monitor traffic without also picking up personal information.
"I don't see how they can collect the information without the permission of the customer," Rotenberg said. "It's about the permission of the consumer, not the company."