A recent survey of state departments of transportation purchasing practices for major management information systems is discussed inthis paper. The study is based on responses from 26 states to a questionnaire covering four large information systems. State dots spentan average of $13.2 Million on four systems (computer aided drafting and design (cadd), geographic information systems (gis), roadway data, and capital project management); another $5.75 Million is currently planned for spending in the next three years. Although total costs per access point range from $7, 400 for capital project management to $113, 000 for cadd, they are expected to fall by 50%. System diffusion has been slow for some systems--more than 40 years--and fairly rapid for others--18 to 22 years--for cadd and gis. The projected dates for complete system diffusion is similarly wide-ranging: 1995 for gis, but 2005 for roadway data and 2010 for capital project management systems. These differences result primarily from the large gap between leading and lagging states. Leading states, such as texas, pennsylvania, wisconsin, and ashington, are installing informationsystems an average of 13 years ahead of lagging states. The gap between states is primarily because of the leading states' larger relative investment in hardware and software, and greater relative numberof skilled computer personnel per employee. Several suggestions aremade on how lagging states can catch up, including investing in computer infrastructure, setting clear priorities, networking with other states, and supporting professional organizations' efforts to modernize systems. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1271, Transportation data and information systems: current applications and needs 1990.
Abstract