Cooperative and Automated Transportation (CAT) Program
The Cooperative and Automated Transportation (CAT) program is an initiative established by TxDOT to integrate Connected Vehicles (CV), Automated Vehicles (AV) and related emerging transportation technologies into the state’s transportation system. CAT offers numerous potential benefits and improvements for safety and to accommodate rapidly growing transportation demands by using technology to maximize the transportation infrastructure’s performance.
CAT Strategic Plan
The CAT Strategic Plan offers an opportunity to articulate the goals of TxDOT’s CAT program and identify strategies in the current landscape that support achievements of those goals. The plan is intended to serve as the foundation for statewide policy and procedural decisions related to CAT. It includes critical steps TxDOT should take to make thoughtful, strategic investments that prepare the emergence of CAT technology, maximize the potential benefits of CAT, and position the agency as a leader in emerging technologies and innovation.
Safety: Support the implementation of CAT technology to improve safety for the traveling public and help achieve TxDOT's Road to Zero goal for zero roadway fatalities by 2050
Mobility: Emphasize CAT technologies that improve mobility and accessibility, allowing TxDOT's transportation system to reach its full potential
Reliability: Harness CAT technology to improve overall system dependability for both people and freight
Agility: Support the ability to proactively and quickly respond to CAT technology
Vitaility: Provide economic benefit to the State of Texas and opportunities for leadership and innovation
TxDOT initiated the development of the CAT Strategic and CAT Program Plan in May 2019, setting in motion the agency’s CAT Program for coordinating CAT efforts across all TxDOT Divisions and Districts. The CAT Strategic Plan establishes TxDOT’s CAT vision, mission, and goals, and identifies thirty-five strategies, across eight organizational focus areas, aimed to advance those goals.
Maximize the safe, reliable, and efficient movement of people, goods, and data within Texas's multimodal transportation network.
Deliver forward-thinking transportation solutions, by implementing emerging technologies, to enhance quality of life for all Texans.
CAT Program Plan
While the CAT Strategic Plan focuses on high-level, forward-looking priorities, the CAT Program Plan provides a work plan with specific operational initiatives recommended to achieve the goals of the CAT program. Together, these plans intend to serve as the foundation for decisions and investments that align with the agency’s mission, vision, and goals for the use of CAT technology.
The purpose of this Program Plan is to:
- Identify specific initiatives and sequencing recommended to achieve each CAT strategy
- Guide the evaluation of potential CAT projects
- Provide performance metrics that may be used to measure progress and growth of TxDOT’s CAT Program
TxDOT will use this Program Plan to pursue the integration of CAT into the agency’s project lifecycle, from planning and design through operations and maintenance, as well as to inform the development of near-term CAT projects.
Who will use this plan?
TxDOT, technology providers, agency partners, and other stakeholders will use the plan to develop, deploy, implement, and promote CAT statewide.