A Priority System for Multimodal and Intermodal Transportation Planning

Prioritization is an increasingly important concept for transportation system planning and programming. The resources for capital improvements to state and regional transportation systems are stagnant or declining. AT the same time, population growth, urban development patterns, and travel behaviors are increasing the demands placed on transportation systems. The number and range of interest groups, each with separate sets of transportation objectives, make it increasingly difficult to pinpoint the “public good.” ISTEA mandates consideration of multiple modes, but it is difficult to compare the relative benefits of projects across modes. Public trust in the ability of government agencies t make resource allocation decisions can be intense. Given all these factors, planners need to prioritize. They need to make hard choices about which projects to select for funding, and which to scale back, postpone or not fund at all. Formal priority systems can help planners identify and justify the choices that achieve the greatest benefit in this complex environment. This paper describes an innovative application of formal prioritization principles to intermodal planning. A priority system was constructed as part of the development of Oregon Department of Transportation Intermodal Management System. It is designed to help identify transportation system needs based on quantitative, facility type-specific performance measures; to rank the needs; and to prioritize projects for meeting the needs. In addition, the system provides an opportunity for sensitivity analysis to distinguish which assumptions or uncertainties significantly affect priorities from those that do not. This information can point the way to data collection efforts that are most effective in improving the allocation of investment resources. This work produced a practical and logically defensible system for supporting the ODOT planning process, and generated concepts and models of potential use for other aspects of transportation planning and programming. The priority system was tested through an application to 25 actual intermodal system needs and proposed projects. For example, the application compared projects to improve truck access to a railway yard, widen a roadway segment, build a railroad overcrossing, and add information kiosks at a passenger terminal. Following the system logic, needs were ranked based on the benefit that would result from eliminating those needs, and projects were ranked based on benefit-to-cost ratio. Topics addressed in the paper include principles of prioritization, methods of quantifying benefit, models for estimating performance for ten types of intermodal transportation facilities (connector and mainline roadways, bus station, rail passenger stations, air passenger terminals, marine terminals, rail truck facilities, grain, reload facilities, petroleum terminals, truck terminals, and air cargo facilities), ranking methodologies, and software implementation. Prioritization is an increasingly important concept in transportation system planning. The resources for capital improvements to state and regional transportation systems are stagnant or declining. At the same time, population growth, urban development patterns, and travel behaviors are increasing the demands placed on transportation systems. The number and range of interest groups, each with separate sets of transportation objectives, make it increasingly difficult to pinpoint the “public good.” The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) mandates consideration of multiple modes, but it is difficult to compare the relative benefits of