And Cargo Traffic (NAPS)—U.S. airports are busier than ever, processing about 2 million passengers a day on 23,000 domestic and international flights. In addition, planes haul more than 20 billion-ton miles of freight and mail every year. With no letup in sight, airports are turning to intelligent trans- portation systems to make the flow of people and goods at airports more efficient and secure, accordingto the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America). “Airports need intelligent transportation systems to remain a significant economic force in the regions they serve,” says Thomas metro transport, and amenities. In the West, traveler informa- tion services in the Denver area link callers to information about Denver International Airport as Walker, commissioner of Chicago’s well as statewide road reports and real-time, route-specific ber of the ITS America Board of Directors. For example, in the Midwest, O’Hare is using smart card tech- roadways. In the Northeast, Boston plans to link the downtown area and terminals at Logan Airport with the city’s first direct transit sys- The system will automate transfer leg of the route is so centrally located that 20 percent of the Departmentof Aviation at O’Hare International Airport, and a mem- nologies to develop a secured, Internet-based cargo manifest. of comprehensive cargo data from one mode of transportation to another and across jurisdictions. It will speed the movement of freight into what has become a just-in-time economy. This program builds on an earlier effort that uses a fingerprint smart card system to speed up the transfer of cargo from trucksto airplanes and enhance security. In the Southwest, motorists at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport can use a single electronic tag at airport parking facilities, surround- ing toll roads and city parking garages, providing nonstop con- venience and improving traffic flow. More than 60,000 vehicles go through the airport per day during peaktravel times. information for the surrounding tem between these areas. A major city’s population live within half a mile of it. Transit-priority commu- nications systems at traffic signals will let the Global Positioning System-equipped buses get through. “The private sector is doing its share too,” Walker says. “For instance, companies are offering satellite-based car navigation sys- tems for rental car service available at airports. The in-car navigation system provides detailed, easy-to-follow, turn-by-turn driving directions.” ITS America is an educational and scientific public-private partnership of over 900 memberorga- nizations promoting the use of advanced technologies in surface In the East, John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4, transportation to save lives, time and money and improve the quality of life. For additional informa- departures, installed 20 interactive touchscreen public telephone units Department, ITS America, Suite handling overseas arrivals and that offer local and long distance calling, e-mail and in-depth electronic directories, in several lan- guages, of JFK airport facilities, tion on intelligent transportation systems, write: Communications 800, 400 Virginia Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20024-2730, or visit the ITS America Web site at http://www.itsa.org.
