The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) will join in a partnership with the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) to enhance and expand its Peer-to-Peer (P2P) program for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The ITS P2P program, which offers free, short-term assistance to public agencies, will leverage ITS America's sizable network of ITS industry experts and public agencies to expand the reach and resources of the current program.

"We are pleased to partner with ITS America on this important industry initiative," said U.S. DOT ITS Professional Capacity Building Program Manager Ron Giguere. "Our joint efforts will provide an invaluable resource to public agencies involved in planning, evaluating, making decisions, or operating an ITS system."

The addition of knowledgeable and energetic volunteers within ITS America's network of industry experts will serve to effectively expand the coverage of the ITS P2P program. Furthermore, ITS America's membership and network of regional and state chapters will help to promote the program and ensure that public agencies are aware of the potential assistance they can receive.

P2P program experts can help with a variety of ITS programs, such as:

• Amber alert;
• Electronic payment options;
• Emergency management services;
• Fleet operations and maintenance;
• In-vehicle technology for passenger and heavy vehicles;
• ITS standards;
• Modeling and simulation;
• Procurement, resources and financial issues;
• Public safety and security;
• System design, architecture and integration;
• Traffic signal control systems;
• Training;
• Transit management systems;
• Travel information services; and
• Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII).

Depending on the nature of the issue, peers can make in-person agency visits, consult with agencies by e-mail or telephone or recommend technical references and publications. Based on the agency's need, an ITS P2P program coordinator will provide a recommended list of experts to choose from--or the requesting agency can recommend an expert of their own choosing.

Since the P2P program strives to cover travel, communication and other associated expenses needed for an expert consultation, public agencies will incur little or no direct costs. To access ITS P2P program services for your agency or to receive information on becoming a peer, contact ITS America at peers@itsa.org or 800/374-8472, ext. 4228 and http://www.itsa.org/peers.html. All peers are selected and approved by the U.S. DOT based on the extent of their expertise and experience with specific ITS technologies and applications.