This report documents work performed under FTA's Advance Public Transportation Systems (APTS) Program, a program structured to undertake research and development of innovative applications of advanced navigation, information, and communication technologies that most benefit public transportation. This report presents the results of an analysis conducted by the Volpe Center, for the FTA, to provide an "order-of-magnitude" estimate of the expected benefits to the transit industry with the application of APTS technologies. Specifically, the study identified and quantified the major benefits derived from current applications of APTS technologies within the transit industry and projected current APTS benefits to a national level based on forecasts and reasonable assumptions on the potential future applications of such technologies within the transit industry

The 17 chapters in this book, which evolved from a conference on measuring the contributions of ITS sponsored by the California Department of Transportation in February 2002, examine the costs and benefits of ITS in an economic and business policy context. Section 1 examines the broad theme of how and what ITS contributes to the economy and how one makes a business case for ITS. Section 2 includes three chapters on ITS applications in mass transit. Section 3 explores ITS applications in the automobile/highway system. Section 4 considers integrative issues including how ITS is perceived and how it can be positioned to improve surface transportation. This volume will be especially useful to researchers and policy makers working in transportation, transportation engineering, and the economic analysis of transportation systems.