Deployment Statistics

• What are the Deployment Statistics?

  The Deployment Tracking Statistics are a set of data collected from a series of nationwide surveys conducted by the US Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) ITS Joint Program Office over the past twenty years.

  The ITS Deployment Tracking Survey has been conducted on an ongoing basis since 1999 to measure ITS deployment progress. Across large and medium-sized metropolitan areas, surveys are administered to Freeway, Arterial, and Transit agencies that serve populations of 50,000 or higher.  The survey instruments are tailored to each agency type, with a subset of questions that are common to all three surveys.

  Connected Vehicle and Automated Vehicle (CV/AV) Survey was administered in 2019 as part of an ongoing effort by the ITS JPO to track the deployment of ITS.  The 2019 CV/AV Survey is the first in a new series of surveys that focuses only on CV and AV technologies, providing an in-depth look at CV and AV deployment status, readiness levels, and deployment challenges, among other topics.

  Special Topic Deployment Surveys involving specialized populations and/or specialized topics are conducted as needed.  A recent special topic survey includes the Small Urban and Rural Transit Survey.

  Additional special topic survey results are available on these topics:

  • Electronic Toll Collection
  • Incident Management/Public Safety
  • Metropolitan Planning Organizations
  • Statewide ITS Systems
  • Traffic Management Systems
• What is the purpose of the ITS Deployment Tracking Surveys?

  The ITS Deployment Tracking Surveys (DTS) were initiated to track progress toward a US Department of Transportation (DOT) goal (first set forth by the Secretary of Transportation in 1996) of achieving an integrated ITS infrastructure within the 75 largest metropolitan areas in ten years.  Following the goal period, the DTS continues to serve as a critical tool in measuring the extent of ITS deployment.   Selected questions are repeated so trends can be assessed, and new questions are added, based on input from USDOT Subject Matter Experts, to capture new ITS technologies and concepts.  Overall, the USDOT uses the results of the DTS to respond strategically to ITS deployment gaps and execute technical transfer activities that help states and local agencies plan and execute ITS deployments.

• Who are the respondents of the Deployment Tracking Surveys?

  Data collection during the first few years of the ITS Deployment Tracking Surveys (DTS) centered on 78 of the Nation’s largest Metropolitan areas that serve populations of 50,000 or more. State, Regional, and Local transportation agencies owning and operating highway, arterial, and transit transportation infrastructure in the subject metropolitan areas were identified and surveyed using information provided by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). In 2002, the survey population expanded to include 30 medium-sized metropolitan areas experiencing high congestion. Over time there have been updates to the number of MSAs surveyed, due to changes resulting from the 2000 Census and the 2010 Census (e.g., a city in a surveyed MSA split off to become its own MSA; but this only resulted in changes to their census designation and not in the agencies being surveyed). The 2020 Deployment Tracking Survey represents 114 metropolitan areas.

  Three types of agency surveys are included in the overall DTS: Freeway Management, Arterial Management, and Transit Management. The survey population for each is described below:

  • Freeway Management: State DOTs (including Regional and District Offices), Toll Authorities (e.g., Turnpike Commissions), and Interstate Agencies that manage the freeways.
  • Arterial Management:  State, county, or local agencies that manage transportation assets, including ITS, at the local level (e.g., State DOT District Office, county agency, City DOT or Department of Public Works).
  • Transit Management: State, regional or city transit agencies that serve the surveyed metropolitan areas.

  For each agency in the survey population, the staff person with knowledge about ITS assets (typically an ITS Engineer) is asked to complete the survey, and to reach out to other staff, as needed, for assistance in providing a complete set of responses.  Prior to each survey effort, the ITS JPO contacts all respondents from the previous survey to confirm that they were still the appropriate contact and to obtain a replacement if needed.

• How are the ITS Deployment Tracking Survey results organized?

  The website includes the following Deployment Tracking Survey (DTS) files:

  2020 DTS Files - Includes the following from the 2020 DTS:

  • Survey Instruments: Questionnaires given to Arterial, Freeway, and Transit Management agencies to collect deployment data.
  • Deployment Data: Data files associated with the responses from the Arterial, Freeway, and Transit surveys. Each data file contains three worksheets: Data, Data Dictionary, and Variable Summary Statistics.
  • Final Reports: Reports summarizing the findings from each survey, as well as a key findings report. 
  • Infographics: Visual representations of key insights from the three surveys.

  1999-2016 Survey Instruments

  1999-2016 Deployment Data

  1999-2016 Final Reports 

  1999-2016 Common Survey Questions – Three files (one for each survey type – Freeway, Arterial and Transit) that group common questions across the surveys conducted from 1999 to 2016. The questions are organized by key topic areas (e.g., in the Arterial file, a user can view all questions on adaptive signal control and how they were asked across the survey years).

  In addition to the DTS files, two other categories of surveys on the website include:

  • Connected Vehicle and Automated Vehicle Survey: The 2019 CV/AV Survey is the first in a new series of surveys that focuses only on CV and AV technologies.

  • Special Topic Deployment Surveys: These are a collection of surveys that comprise either a specialized survey population or a specialized topic. 

  More information on the DTS is available in the DTS User Guide.

• How often is the Deployment Tracking Survey conducted?

  The ITS Deployment Tracking Surveys (DTS) were conducted in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2020.  Initially the surveys were conducted approximately annually. After 2007, they were conducted roughly every three years.

   Special Topic Deployment Surveys are conducted based on ITS JPO needs.

• What is the Connected Vehicle and Automated Vehicle (CV/AV) Survey?

  In 2019, the ITS JPO sponsored the Connected Vehicle and Automated Vehicle (CV/AV) Survey, the first in a new series of CV/AV surveys that will be administered periodically. The CV/AV Survey addresses the following key questions:

  • What are current levels of CV and AV testing/deployment?
  • What are agencies' level of readiness with respect to CV and AV?
  • What are the key challenges and barriers to CV and AV deployment?
  • What assistance/resources are needed to overcome challenges and barriers

  The online survey was administered October 7^th to December 31, 2019 to freeway management, arterial management, and transit management agencies in large and medium-sized metropolitan areas (i.e., the DTS survey population). The data collection resulted in 475 completed surveys (66 freeway management, 301 arterial management, and 108 transit management).

• What is the Rural Transit Survey?

  The Rural Transit Survey (RTS), was conducted in 2019 to assess the extent to which small urban and rural transit providers were utilizing ITS, as well as to get a better understanding of the benefits and challenges they faced in deployment, including the utilization of existing USDOT resources. The ITS JPO administered the Small Urban and Rural Transit Survey between September 9, 2019, and October 28, 2019, collecting 244 responses from transit providers (107 small urban and 137 rural) across the country.

• How can I learn more about the Deployment Tracking Statistics?

  The USDOT has developed a user guide with comprehensive information about the Deployment Tracking Statistics including methodology and guidance for using the data repository. User Guide.

  If your questions are not addressed by the User Guide, please contact DTSHelp@dot.gov.