| The Long View
by Larry Yermack
“My introduction to ITS
was accidental… nearly
40 years ago. Back then,
it was just called traffic
management”
describe the next three revolutions in
transportation technology.
They may not come as quickly as some
predict and may not come together as easily
as we might hope, but they are coming with
early adoption already underway. When
I mentioned this last column to my wife,
she said that I should talk about my new
Tesla. I surely don’t share it but it’s electric
and a slew of level 2 automation. It’s very
cool, it’s quicker than my Porsche and a way
better and safer driver than I am.
So what can I offer in my last few words?
It’s my sincere advice to my friends in
government. Your relation to technology
has been completely transformed but your
responsibilities have not diminished one
iota. You will need to figure out how to
assert control of the infrastructure in
cooperation with your new partners in
business and in their cars.
Larry Yermack is strategic advisor to Cubic Transportation
Systems. He can be reached at lyermack@gmail.com
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com 061
We’ve come a long
way with ITS but
government’s role is
unchanged
This is my last column
for Traffic Technology
International (TTI). I have
enjoyed the privilege of being able to muse
in public about the ITS business. It has
allowed me to assess where the industry is
each month. It’s even occasionally forced
me to look backwards. I guess I’ll do some
of that this last time.
My introduction to ITS was accidental
and occurred nearly 40 years ago. Back
then, it was just called traffic management.
I was newly appointed first deputy
commissioner of the New York City DOT
from a City Hall staff position. I knew the
metrics: cross town speed, traffic tickets
issued, miles of roadway resurfaced but not
much about how they operated. And I was
pretty young for the job, barely 35.
The department to its credit was very
forward thinking with highway monitoring
cameras on several arterials and a project to
‘computerize’ Manhattan’s traffic lights. At
that early stage of technology, we were the
masters of the roadways with the only other
source of information, Chopper 88 from
WCBS Radio. Companies, that we called
vendors came to us to sell their technology.
They signed wildly uneven contracts and
struggled to make a profit. Oh have things
changed since then. Personal computers,
internet, Moore’s Law, cellular connectivity,
smartphones and apps. A virtual second
American Revolution, both in technology
and business.
The revolution was that the control and
use of information has been democratized.
At first, government was moving towards
system hegemony with faster computers,
better telecom and the internet. But then
the iPhone arrived. I doubt even Steve Jobs
knew how far ranging its impact would be.
Just think about an unanticipated ancillary
use: police oversight.
In traffic, we went from cameras and
probe vehicles with toll tags to probe
vehicles with cellphones and internet.
Government went from giving out contracts
to taking in information. Today, we’re on
the precipice of even more change. Shared,
automated and electric are the words to
September/October 2019 Traffic Technology International
DSRC processing and
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