Drivers, transit riders, and pedestrians in downtown Tampa may soon experience a safer, smoother trip as the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) brings innovative connected vehicle technology to the city’s central business district.THEA was awarded a contract with U.S. Department of Transportation’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program to test connected vehicle technology in real world conditions. Tampa is one of only three sites in the nation to test connected vehicle technology under this program. Tampa is also one of the first cities in the nation to deploy connected vehicle technology on real city streets. Tampa’s vision for connected vehicles encompasses cars, buses, streetcars and pedestrians. In fact, Tampa is the only one of the three sites to include individually owned automobiles.

By mid-2018, THEA will equip approximately 10 buses, 10 streetcars and 1,600 participants’ automobiles with wireless communication devices that can exchange traffic and safety information with other vehicles and with roadway infrastructure.Connected vehicle technology has the potential to transform the experience of the drivers, transit riders and pedestrians who traverse the city every day – preventing collisions, enhancing traffic flow, improving transit trip times,and even shrinking the Tampa Bay area’s carbon footprint by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. This technology has the potential to make downtown Tampa a safer, smarter place to walk, ride and drive.

We’re excited to be partnered with an implementation team selected by the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority that includes HNTB, Siemens,Brandmotion, the University of South Florida Center for Urban Transportation Research and Global-5 Communications. Other key partners include the Florida Department of Transportation,the City of Tampa, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART), the TECO Line Streetcar System and Hillsborough Community College.Together, we are working toward shaping the future of transportation.

Siemens is developing 40 roadside units that will be installed in conjunction with traffic signals and other roadway infrastructure.These units will communicate with connected vehicles and the City of Tampa’s Transportation Management Center via dedicated short range communications (DSRC). Brandmotion is supplying the on board units that will be installed in participants’ vehicles. Each driver will have an enhanced rear-view mirror that will be permanently installed in their cars that will display safety messages. The rear-view mirrors will function as the primary interface between drivers and the connected vehicle environment.

If you live or work in the pilot deployment area, we encourage you to become a participant in the Tampa Connected Vehicle Pilot Program. If you know someone who would be interested in participating, we invite you to share the program with them. Please visit TampaCVpilot.com for more information.

Drivers, transit riders, and pedestrians in downtown Tampa may soon experience a safer, smoother trip as the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) brings innovative connected vehicle technology to the city’s central business district.

The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) is excited to announce the launch of the recruitment phase of the Tampa Connected Vehicle Pilot Program. THEA was awarded a contract with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program to test Connected Vehicle Technology in real world conditions. Tampa is one of only three sites in the nation to test connected vehicle technology under this program.

By mid-2018, THEA will equip approximately 10 buses, 10 streetcars and 1,600 participants’ automobiles with wireless communication devices that can exchange traffic and safety information with other vehicles and with roadway infrastructure.Connected vehicle technology has the potential to transform the experience of the drivers, transit riders and pedestrians who traverse the city every day — preventing collisions, enhancing traffic flow, improving transit trip times, and even shrinking the Tampa Bay area’s carbon footprint by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. This technology has the potential to make downtown Tampa a safer, smarter place to walk, ride and drive.

The Tampa Connected Vehicle Pilot Program will address use cases including morning backups on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway; wrong-way drivers on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway; pedestrian safety on East Twiggs Street; transit signal priority on North Marion Street, East Kennedy Boulevard, and East Jackson Street; streetcar conflicts on Channelside Drive; and traffic progression on Meridian Avenue, North Nebraska Avenue,and Florida Avenue.

The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Program will test and deploy a variety of technologies aimed at improving safety, mobility and the environment in downtown Tampa’s Central Business District. Using innovative vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technology, drivers, transit riders and pedestrians will experience benefits in many ways.

Walk. Ride. Drive. Smarter.

The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Program will test and deploy a variety of technologies aimed at improving safety, mobility and the environment in downtown Tampa’s Central Business District. Drivers, transit riders and pedestrians will experience these benefits in many ways.

Familiar automotive safety features such as airbags and antilock brakes are designed to help people survive crashes, but connected vehicle technologies can prevent many crashes from happening in the first place. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, these technologies have the potential to prevent or reduce the impact of millions of crashes every year.

Connected vehicles will make downtown a safer place to drive by communicating wirelessly with each other and with elements of the roadway such as traffic lights and crosswalks. This real-time communication will enable connected vehicles to warn their drivers of a variety of safety hazards. For example, as morning commuters approach downtown on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway Reversible Express Lanes, they will receive a warning when cars on the road ahead have suddenly slowed down or come to a stop. Drivers of connected vehicles in certain locations will even receive an alert when a pedestrian they may not have noticed is crossing the street ahead of them.