TCIP NEW MEMBERS INFORMATION
Revised: 2/10/04
Introduction
Transit Communications Interface Profiles (TCIP) is a component of the ITS National Architecture that standardizes transit data definitions, formats and exchange procedures between components employed in transit systems. The TCIP standards development effort commenced in 1996 under the auspices of the National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) organization. In late 2002, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) contracted the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to complete the development of TCIP standards for bus and paratransit systems and initiate deployment in the industry. APTA has subcontracted ARINC, Critical Link L.L.C., and Jas-TEC, to provide technical and program management support.
TCIP Overview
The primary components that make up the TCIP standards are data elements, messages, and dialogs. TCIP defines the data elements, messages, and data frames to be used for information exchanges among transit operating systems, either on a batch (file transfer) or real-time (message exchange) basis. For real-time interfaces, TCIP also defines the sequence of interactions between the interfaced systems in the form of dialogs. By standardizing, and modularizing these interfaces the intent is to minimize the cost of tailoring interfaces. Such costs occur as a result of vendor changes to interfaces for an individual agency, and to interfaces for compatibility with other supplier’s equipment. TCIP’s modular design enables an agency to choose the specific standard messages to be exchanged or the specific dialogs to be implemented to meet that agency’s specific business needs. The top 10 business areas listed below are currently being addressed by APTA’s TCIP development efforts and the last 3 areas are planned* for the future:
- TWG 1: Scheduling/Runcutting
- TWG 2: Passenger Information
- TWG 3: Incident Management
- TWG 4: Software Tools and Testing
- TWG 5: On-Board
- TWG 6: Control Centers
- TWG 7: Fare Collection
- TWG 8: Spatial Representation
- TWG 9: TCIP Framework & Harmonization (and CPT)
- TWG 10: Transit Signal Priority
- TWG 11: Safety and Security*
- TWG 12: Decision Support*
- TWG 13: Procurement Support*.
APTA will be developing TCIP software tools, including a simulator and specification development tool, for use in understanding, deployment, and acceptance of TCIP standards. The TCIP simulator will provide a PC-based software platform in which to implement and test message exchanges between simulated TCIP components. The specification wizard will aid agencies in determining what TCIP dialogs and options they need to specify in bid documents to obtain a particular functional capability.
APTA subcontractors have completed draft version 2.4 of the TCIP standards to date, which is ready for review by the appropriate Technical Working Groups (TWGs). This version includes message definitions and dialogs for Scheduling/Runcutting, Passenger Information, Incident Management, On-Board, Control Center, Fare Collection, Transit Signal Priority, and Common Public Transportation. Version 2.4 also publishes Extensible Markup Language (XML) schemas for all elements, frames, and messages. The Spatial Representation business area is currently planned for version 2.5 release.
Task Force Structure
The APTA TCIP Task Force is structured as illustrated in Figure 1-1. The TCIP Task Force will function under the direction of the TCIP Oversight Panel of the Bus & Paratransit CEO’s Committee, which has been charted to provide overall direction to APTA’s TCIP program. An APTA program manager will assist the Oversight Panel. The program manager will report directly to the FTA on the progress of the standards development and direct the TCIP subcontractors work effort with input from the Task Force. The TCIP Task Force will consist of TWGs as shown in Figure 1-1, organized along the business areas of TCIP, as necessary. Additionally, the TWGs will include a dedicated group to resolve issues pertaining to TCIP software tools and testing. The officers of the Task Force shall be a Chair (from a transit provider), secretary (TCIP subcontractor) and a staff advisor from APTA. Refer to Figure 1-2. The TCIP Oversight Panel Chair shall appoint the Task Force Chair. The Task Force shall consist of its officers, the TCIP project team, and all TWG Chairs. Participation in a TWG will be open to the general public including transit providers, suppliers, consultants, government, and public interest groups. It is not necessary to be a member of APTA to join the Task Force or TWGs. Each TWG shall consist of a Chair and a secretary.
Task Force Co-Chairs Role
The Task Force Co-Chairs, with APTA’s concurrence, shall appoint the Chair of each TWG and approve all other members based on their area of business interest. The Co-Chairs primary role shall be to support APTA in TCIP strategic planning activities including with the FTA and coordinate the overall review of TCIP standards by the TWGs in conjunction with APTA. The Co-Chairs shall help ensure consistency in the review process and that the ultimate goal of developing usable and maintainable simple-to-implement TCIP consensus standards that are cost effective is achieved within the allotted time by providing ongoing support to the TWG Chairs. APTA’s staff will assist the Co-Chairs in disseminating information, facilitating meetings, balloting standards, and other administrative tasks as required.
TWG Chair’s Role
The TWG Chairs’ primary role is to lead the group by directing technical discussions on the functional requirements of TCIP and the ability of the standards produced to capture the information exchanges that are necessary to implement the functionality required by the operating authorities. The TWG Chairs should encourage participation of all group members and solicit comments from other industry experts as required to enhance the effectiveness of the group. Additionally, the TWG Chairs should support the Task Force Co-Chairs in strategic planning activities. The TCIP Software Tools TWG Chair shall develop guidelines for proposing new software tools. The TWG Chairs will be supported by APTA’s staff, which will assist the Chairs in disseminating information, coordinating meetings, balloting standards, maintaining membership rosters, and other administrative tasks as required.
TWG Members Role
As described above, there are presently 10 TWGs, one for each business area that standards are being developed for and one for TCIP software tools. Three additional TWGs are also planned. The basic function of the TWG members is to assist in the development of functional requirements and conduct a technical review of draft standards in production. Members shall comment on draft standards and provide recommend solutions to technical problems associated with the final release of the standards in their respective business area. The TCIP Software Tools TWG members shall identify software tools that will aid in the understanding, acceptance and deployment of the TCIP standard, for development by APTA subcontractors. It shall be the responsibility of each member to submit written comments in accordance with APTA’s guidance for reviewers by the required deadline(s).
Standards Development Process
Refer to Figure 2-1. Draft standards will be produced by the TCIP subcontractors (Phase 1) and submitted to the respective TWG for technical review, comments, discussion, and recommendations. Comments will be submitted using a form similar to Figure 2-2 and their disposition decided by the TWG prior to the balloting process. Anyone in the industry with an interest in TCIP will have an opportunity to participate in the development of the standards through participation in one of the TWGs. Following resolution of comments at the TWG level, and Task Force approval (Phase 2), documents will be posted to the TCIP website for the NTCIP Joint Committee and public review (Phase 3). Subsequent to the NTCIP and public review, and resolution of any additional comments, the proposed TCIP standard will be submitted to the TWG Chairs Committee for final approval (Phase 4). The TWG Chairs Committee will review the final draft primarily for compatibility with other new TCIP standards.
Balloting Process and Consensus
The TCIP balloting structure is shown in Figure 3-1. Each TWG shall ballot standards for its business area from a technical perspective. Typically APTA allows 30 calendar days for this process to be completed. Only one vote per entity (transit provider, supplier, etc.) shall be cast (see example ballot in Figure 3-2). An entity may have multiple representatives but only one vote shall be cast. Voting may take place via an open meeting, conference call, mailed ballot, email, or the TCIP website. Consensus is defined as concurrence of the majority (75%) of a representative sample of the TWG. After the TWG agree that the standards are ready for acceptance by the Task Force (i.e., all technical comments have been resolved and documented) the Task Force Chair shall distribute the final drafts to the TWG Chairs Committee who will review the standards for overall compatibility. Once the TWG Chairs Committee has approved the final draft of the standards, the Task Force Chair will submit the documents to the TCIP Oversight Panel for final approval to release the standards. Final approved documents will be made available on the TCIP website for access by the general public free of charge.
/TCIP New Members Info1
FIGURE 1-1
APTA TRANSIT COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE PROFILES (TCIP)
TASK FORCE STRUCTURE
FIGURE 1-2
APTA TRANSIT COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE PROFILES (TCIP)
TASK FORCE AND TWG OFFICERS
FIGURE 2-1
APTA TRANSIT COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE PROFILES (TCIP)
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
FIGURE 2-2
TCIP COMMENTS SUBMITTAL FORM
FIGURE 3-1
APTA TRANSIT COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE PROFILES (TCIP)
BALLOTING STRUCTURE
Revised: 1/16/04
FIGURE 3-2
VOTE TRACKING EXAMPLE
Membership Updated January 25, 2002Task Force Organization / Task Force Member / Miami / VIM-001 / VIM-002 / VIM-003 / VIM-004 / VIM-005 / VIM-006 / RGC-001
Atten-dance / 3rd Rail / Panto-graph / Air Supply / HVAC / Doors / Couplers / Grade Crossings
1 / Bi-State Development Agency / Melvin Clark –
314-982-1400 ext. 2830 / A / AB / A / A / A / A / A / A
2 / California Public Utilities Commission / Gary Rosenthal –
415-703-1094
3 / Charlotte Area Transit System / Ronald Tober –
704-336-7902
4 / Chicago Transit Authority / Fred Schein –
847-692-7271 / A / A / A / A / A / A / A / R
5 / Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) / Jeanetta Britt Davis –
214-749-2959 / P / AB / A / A / A / A / A / A
6 / Federal Transit Administration / Rhonda Crawley –
202-366-4035
Laura Mizner –
202-366-8970
Harry Saporta –
202-366-2896
James Wang –
202-366-1642
7 / Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority / Michael York –
216-566-5101 / P / A / A / A / A / A / A / AR
8 / Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority / A.R. (Ralph) de la Cruz -
213-922-4322 / P / RM / RM / RM / AR / AR / AR / RM
9 / Maryland Transit Administration / Virginia White –
410-767-3943
10 / Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) / Michael Mulhern –
617-222-3106 / P / R / A / A / AR / AR / A / AB
11 / Memphis Area Transit Authority / William Hudson, Jr. –
901-722-7111
12 / Metro Transit – Minneapolis / John Byrd –
612-349-7513
13 / Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) / Robert Spadafora –
404-848-3310
14 / Miami-Dade Transit Agency / Hannie Woodson –
305-884-7596 or
305-375-2950 / A / A / A / A / A / A / A / A
15 / MTA New York City Transit / Jay Shah –
718-927-7822 / A / AR / AB / AR / AR / AR / AR / AB
John Gaito –
718-243-4174
Maurice Lewis –
718-433-1001
Keith Falk –
718-694-4485
16 / New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ TRANSIT) / Charles Dickerson –
973-491-8480 / A / AB / A / A / A / A / A / A
17 / Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority / Ben Antonio, Jr. –
716-842-3502 / A / A / A / A / A / A / A / AB
18 / PB Transit & Rail Systems, Inc. / Joseph Silien –
973-565-4801 / A / AR / AR / AR / AR / AR / AR / AR
19 / Port Authority of Allegheny County / Stephen Banta –
412-851-4741 / P / A / A / A / A / A / A / A
20 / Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation / Dhiren Chakraborty –
201-216-6615 / A / A / A / A / A / A / A / AB
21 / Port Authority Transit Corporation / C. R. Guenther –
856-772-6928 / P / A / AB / A / A / A / A / AB
22 / Regional Transit Authority - New Orleans / Dwight Ferrell –
504-248-3830 / A / AB / AB / A / A / A / AB / A
23 / Regional Transportation District - Denver / Lloyd Mack –
303-299-3420 / P / A / A / A / A / A / A / A
24 / Sacramento Regional Transit District / Pilka Robinson –
916-321-2989 / P / AB / A / A / A / A / A / A
25 / San Diego Trolley, Inc. / Peter Tereschuck –
619-595-4902 / P / AB / A / AB / A / A / A / AR
26 / San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) / Paul Oversier –
510-464-6710 / P / A / AB / A / A / A / A / AB
27 / San Francisco Municipal Railway / Harvey Becker –
415-554-6869 / P / AB / A / A / A / A / A / A
28 / Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority / Frank Martin –
408-321-7004 / P / A / A / A / A / A / A / A
29 / Sound Transit / Joan Earl –
206-398-5450 / A / A / A / A / A / A / A / A
30 / Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) / David Casper –
215-580-8040 / P / A / A / A / A / A / A / A
31 / Toronto Transit Commission / Rick Cornacchia –
416-393-4356 / P / A / AB / A / RM / A / A / AB
32 / Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon / Robert Nelson –
503-962-4955 / P / A / A / A / A / A / A / A
33 / Utah Transit Authority / Paul O'Brien –
801-262-5626 ext. 6831 / P / A / A / A / A / A / A / R
34 / Wabtec Corporation / Paul Jamieson –
864-433-6451 / A / A / A / A / A / A / A / A
35 / Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) / James Gallagher –
202-962-1500 / A / A / A / A / A / A / A / AB
PROXY VOTE - P / 16
PERSONAL ATTENDANCE - A / 12
60% VOTES NEEDED FOR QUORUM = 21.0 / 28
ACCEPT - A / 17 / 21 / 24 / 23 / 24 / 24 / 14
ACCEPT WITH REVISIONS - AR / 2 / 1 / 2 / 4 / 4 / 3 / 3
REJECT WITH REVISIONS - RM / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1
ABSTAIN - AB / 7 / 5 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 8
REJECT - R / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2
TOTAL VOTES CAST / 28 / 28 / 28 / 28 / 28 / 28 / 28