About RTAMS
Overview
The Regional Transportation Asset Management System (RTAMS) is a transportation information retrieval system which has been developed by the RTA. The system’s goal is to improve access to the region's enormous transportation data resources being gathered by the RTA, its service boards and other regional transportation and planning agencies.
The System is comprised of (1) data stored in a database, (2) mapping software for displaying geographic data, and (3) a website for user access to all information and maps. The RTA uses the following software for the RTAMS: an Oracle database, ESRI ArcIMS internet mapping software, and the ESRI ArcSDE spatial database engine.
The current system contains a large amount of geographic and non-geographic data, including aerial photos, land use, legislative district boundaries, expressways, roads, tollways, toll plazas, rail stations and bus routes, RTA and Tollway Capital Programs, RTA sales tax revenues, a rolling stock inventory, planning studies, tollway traffic volumes and transit ridership data. For more information on data, click here.
The RTAMS has been in use by RTA staff since the summer of 2001. It was deployed to staff at CTA, Metra, and Pace in the fall of 2002. Access by other transportation and planning agencies followed in early 2003. The RTA started providing access to municipal officials and staff in the fall of 2003. Access by the general public was provided in summer 2005.
RTAMS - Past, Present and Future
The RTAMS has followed an evolutionary development path since the initial pilot project proposal was presented to the RTA Board in August 2000. After successful completion of the pilot in 2001, incremental improvements to the system have been deployed each year. Each increment added new content, enhanced usability and improved functionality. Improvements have been driven by user feedback and the addition of content partners.
Developmental highlights include: site redesign and external access in 2002, transformation from an interactive mapping application to a full Web site in 2003, addition of planning studies and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority as a content partner in 2004, performance and capacity improvements were deployed in 2005 and the website was opened to the general public.
The next set of site enhancements will include more detailed information on bus systems, integration with other Intelligent Transportation System initiatives, and data on regional travel patterns.
RTAMS Project Team
The RTAMS was created and is maintained by RTA staff, with the assistance of the University of Illinois-Chicago Department of Computer Science. The current RTAMS team consists of staff from the RTA Planning Department and the UIC Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. The project is managed by RTA Planning Department.