Regional Multi-Modal Mobility Program
The RM3P’s mission is to leverage the collaborative use of real-time data by Virginia’s public and private sectors to improve travel safety, reliability, and mobility, and to give the public the tools to make more informed travel choices.
Program Overview
The RM3P is a collaborative program to improve safety, reliability, and mobility for travelers in the Northern Virginia (aka. Northern Tier) and Metropolitan Fredericksburg (aka. Southern Tier) region. Through the RM3P initiative, public and private sector transportation safety and service providers across the two tiers will adopt technologies to improve multi-modal travel conditions.
Funded under the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Innovative Technology and Transportation Fund (ITTF), the RM3P is led by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT).
In Summer 2020, VDOT was informed that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) intends to award the Commonwealth a grant under the Advanced Transportation & Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) program. The grant funding will support expansion of the RM3P footprint and functionality into the Metropolitan Fredericksburg region (including Stafford and Spotsylvania counties and the City of Fredericksburg), with the implementation of two sets of projects – expansion of Decision Support System capabilities and deployment of predictive parking availability information using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the I-95 corridor.
RM3P Program Area
Program Goals
Optimize transportation system performance by improving the efficiency of agency responses to travel disruptions.
Advanced prediction capabilities will forecast travel conditions some minutes into the future. Travel time estimates will be based on current and projected travel conditions, helping to improve the reliability of the information.
Enhance travel time reliability.
Support on-demand, multi-modal trip choices for travelers.
Program Benefits
Coordinated responses to travel disruptions
The RM3P will help local, regional, and state agencies work together to more quickly and effectively resolve disruptions that slow travelers down by using decision-support technology and improved coordination. For example, if a Metrorail train derails, a temporary system of shuttle buses (known as a “bus bridge”) can be deployed more quickly, and train signals can be retimed, reducing the length of delays.
Improved safety
The RM3P has the potential to better orchestrate multi-agency responses to safety-related incidents. By removing road hazards more quickly, agencies responsible for roadway operations can reduce the number of crashes. Predictive technology has been piloted to reduce crashes with a potential of nearly 20 percent.
Collaborative planning
The RM3P will provide transportation planners across the region access to better data and new analysis tools. This facilitates collaborative planning of their short-term operations and long-term planning to meet travelers’ needs. This is supported by FHWA’s ICM Findings Report, which states that collaborative operational decisions benefit the corridor as a whole.
More reliable commute
The RM3P will provide the region’s transportation network operators and private partners with real-time and predictive information about travel conditions (such as delays on roads and transit, and parking availability). This information, when shared with their customers, will help people make more informed choices about how and when to travel.
Enhanced connections
Travelers in our region have different transportation service needs when events impact the region (such as major Metrorail track maintenance or a forecasted snowstorm). The increased availability of travel data will enable public and private transportation service providers, such as local buses, rail, bikeshare, and ride-sharing companies, to collectively address changes in travelers’ needs.
Incentives for individual travelers
The RM3P will offer travelers incentives that vary based on current conditions, such as the encouraged use of routes or modes that maximize the efficiency of the transportation network. By making this choice, individual travelers help reduce congestion for all and allow everyone to get around more quickly and safely.
Program Background
The RM3P builds on previous VDOT-led studies, including a program called “Integrated Corridor Management” (ICM). ICM focuses on multi-modal travel and a reduction congestion to make travel in Virginia safer and more reliable. RM3P is consistent with the vision of Northern Virginia Transportation Authority’s (NVTA) long-range, regional transportation plan, TransAction. The vision of TransAction is to develop and sustain a multi-modal transportation system that enhances quality of life and supports economic growth, manage both demand and capacity, and employ the best technology. The Commonwealth of Virginia and NVTA mutually agreed to co-sponsor RM3P, as it addresses transportation needs and goal to keep the region moving.
ICM, under the right conditions, can result in “significant improvements in the efficient movement of people and goods through institutional collaboration and aggressive proactive integration of existing infrastructure along major corridors,” according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The RM3P builds on these concepts by:- Encouraging greater use of the state’s extensive public transit infrastructure and services.
- Working with key stakeholders to better understand and address the challenges they face in providing safe and reliable transportation services.
- Developing repeatable and efficient processes to capitalize on the existing transportation network capacity.
- Taking advantage of new and emerging technologies to foster a more efficient and sustainable transportation network.
- Establishing a model that can be replicated throughout the Commonwealth.
To achieve the program’s goals and benefits, key technologies, or “program elements,” will allow transportation providers and government agencies to more efficiently exchange information about past, present, and near-future conditions of the transportation system.
Program Elements
The RM3P will deploy five sets of technologies called program elements. These include mechanisms for the efficient exchange of information between stakeholder agencies, as well as tools that allow operators and service providers to address incidents and congestion more quickly and efficiently. The five program elements are identified and described below.
Data-Exchange Platform
The Data-Exchange Platform (DEP) will be a reliable, continuously updated, cloud-based data storage and exchange system. It will be used by regional partners and third-party providers to capture, process, and exchange information on real-time and historic multi-modal travel conditions. This platform will feed necessary data to other RM3P program elements and disseminate value-added and full-grown data produced by these elements.
AI-Based Decision Support System
The AI-Based Decision Support System (AI-DSS) will help predict the impact of disruptions to the transportation network and provide coordinated response options to agencies. The automated tool for operators will use travel data to monitor emerging conditions and recommend plans for coordinated, multi-agency responses to congestion, incidents, and events.
Commuter Parking Information Services
The Commuter Parking Information Services (CPIS) will entail a real-time, app-based parking availability information system that provides reliable information about parking space availability at lots serving bus, vanpool, and carpool commuters.
Multi-Modal Analytical Planner
The Multi-Modal Analytical Planner (MMAP) will be a collaboration tool for transportation service providers to pinpoint unmet needs in the transportation network. This highly interactive tool will enable mobility providers to study the impacts of “what-if” scenarios and better plan for travel demand by identifying underserved areas, especially during disruptive events.
Dynamic Incentivization
Dynamic Incentivization (DI) will be a data-driven system offering the public incentives to modify their travel choices and behaviors in response to real-time travel conditions. The incentives will be offered by regional agencies and third-party providers.
Program Timeline
Team
Executive Committee
Oversees strategic direction and investment. Cathy McGhee (Director of Research and Innovation, VDOT) is the Chair and Monica Backmon (Executive Director, NVTA) is the Vice-Chair of the Committee.
Program Management Support Group
Supports the Program Manager to plan and execute day-to-day tasks.
Program Element Guidance Teams
Provides guidance on scoping, research, and oversight of technology and solution development.
Technical Working Group
Addresses cross-cutting technical issues and makes recommendations on important topics to the Executive Committee.
Communications Working Group
Provides guidance on effective messaging and communications.
Contracts and Agreements Working Group
Provides guidance on the approval and procurement processes, and on contract vehicles relevant to RM3P’s deployment.
Independent Evaluation Working Group
Defines performance measures and oversees the evaluation of RM3P.
Stakeholder Advisory Group
Exchanges information and coordinates implementation among public agencies, localities, and community organizations.
While the RM3P initiative has three sponsor agencies (VDOT, NVTA, and DRPT), the success of the program requires partnership and participation by public and private sector stakeholders across the region. Stakeholders’ advice and guidance during the three-year process plays a critical role in planning and implementation of RM3P technologies. Stakeholders are involved in the various RM3P committees and working groups, each described at left.
