Telus: this state-of-the-practice software is helping MPOs and DOTs improve their transportation planning

Public Roads, Nov-Dec, 2002 by John W. Epling

The team's expectation that the first national version of TELUS could be released within 3 months quickly fell by the wayside. The team members immediately began making major revisions and additions to the original TELUS. They also learned that some States were developing similar or much larger systems. Pignataro sent a letter to the head of each DOT urging that they explore the features of TELUS before spending large sums of limited State transportation dollars developing a comparable system. Efforts to interest the DOTs in TELUS complemented the team's extensive outreach program, which began in 1999.

Beta Testing TELUS National Version 1.0

By late spring 1999, the TELUS team had what it thought was a version that responded well to the issues raised by the focus group. A beta-test group was created and met in the fall of 1999, after completing 3 months of testing. The beta testers dug into the details of the features, such as changing existing field names and adding new fields to better meet their needs and preferences. In many cases, the beta testers themselves did not agree on the suggested changes. For instance, although the database needs to include the length of projects, the preferences for how that length should be expressed differed significantly (e.g., miles, mileposts, from/to intersections).

In addition to the needs and preferences issue, some of the beta testers had difficulty installing TELUS, and others had difficulty bringing up their GIS maps in the system. If the team had not realized it before, it certainly realized now that developing a system to meet the needs and preferences of a single MPO (NJTPA) was one thing; designing one to satisfy those of 340-plus MPOs nationwide and 50 State DOTs would be quite another.

Responding to Local Needs and Preferences

Unlike some software, TELUS is not a licensed program where the user purchases the basic program and pays for individual customization and continuing support. TELUS is license-free to all MPOs and DOTs, and there is no charge for technical assistance. Although it is possible for the TELUS programmers to make minor changes for an MPO or DOT, it is impossible for them to make a significant number of changes or major modifications for each MPO and State DOT. Clearly, a solution to the local needs and preferences issue was needed, and it came in the form of a customization module (see "Customization").

TELUS National Version 1.0 (V1.0) was released, finally, in the spring of 2000. Installation disks and user manuals were sent free-of-charge to every MPO and DOT in the Nation. To keep track of which MPOs and DOTs were potential users, the team established a Web site (www.telusnational.org) for users to register at no cost and receive the numerical code that would enable them to install the system.

"TELUS has really improved my MPO's TIP data-management capabilities, which was my primary goal when I started using the system," wrote Paul Jaeger, transportation director with the Stark County Area Transportation Study in Ohio. "The customization module was a great improvement, and many of us in Ohio are now looking forward to the Web-enabled version."