Abstract
New data collection and information systems technologies are fundamentally changing the type, quantity, and quality of data available for planning, managing, and operating transportation systems. The challenge is to integrate information technologies to create synergistic effects so that the individual parts are made more useful by contributing to the whole. The infrastructure life cycle management concept illustrates the importance of a shared spatial data base. The combination of planning, management, and operations requirements dictates that geographic information systems function in real time.