American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
Remarks to the NCSL Transportation Committee
Seattle, Washington
August 17, 2005
by Susan Perry
Aren't we all happy and relieved that after 12 extensions, the highway/transit bill is finally done! I was beginning to think we'd be here at this meeting, talking about the future, without a new bill that was almost two years overdue. But, it got done. You heard this morning about the money authorized in this bill--$190 plus billion for highways, $45.36 billion for transit and $6.2 billion for safety. So, we can move on, knowing that is behind us.
For the time being and the next 15-20 years, it appears that fuel taxes will remain a viable funding source of highways and transit (although these probably should be increased and indexed). At the same time, we've had couple of other ideas to offer that APTA and others have been thinking about.
The first is the need to manage all transportation modes as one transportation system. This system includes highways, transit, rail (both passenger and freight), aviation—all of it as one system because at some point, everybody will use all of these parts of the whole. This is not a new idea; transportation system management has been talked about for awhile. Mobility management - the need to focus more on coordination of overall mobility services and less on management of individual assets - is the way Bill Millar, APTA President, recently described this on the occasion of the release of the Hudson Institute's new book: "2010 & Beyond: A vision of America's Transportation Future."
What is new and critical to make it happen is I.T.: information technology. It has to start in the states with policy that does not limit technology options, but encourages them. We have the basics, the beginnings, and if we develop them, we can offer real time information to customers and travelers. People need to get used to the concept; many have begun to, and are not even aware of it. For example, I bet most of you have one of these, a cell phone, and a lot of you have a PDA, Blackberry—some kind of hand-held, portable, personal computer. Right? Information is available right now on one or all of these telling you how to make your trip. You can dial 511 for travelers' information. Do you drive? Is there parking available at the rapid transit or train station or airport? What about traffic? Any accidents? Detours? Traffic information is even available on XM radio in more than 20 cities. People already are paying to get that useful information; in here in Seattle, it is on Channel 220 on XM radio.
Here's another example: my D.C. Smart Card for the transit system (bus & rail) and my D.C. Driver's license. They're already the same size… Why can't they be one card? Technology's available, but specifics and details have to be worked out. D.C. as well as a few states have begun to work on this development. Just think about it: one card with all your driver data, that you can use at parking meters, in parking lots, to pay tolls (HOT (high occupancy toll) lanes and other toll roads), to buy train tickets, use on all transit (local and in other cities), etc, etc. Fees for all that can be programmed into that chip and could fund the capital and operations of this one integrated transportation system.
We need to manage this whole system better than we are managing individual systems now. We probably are not going to be building lots of urban freeways or new interstate highway lanes. HOT lanes are coming—Why not build transit onto them? We need to increase capacity and combining the modes would help to do this. The BRT (bus rapid transit) system in San Diego goes both on and off the HOT lanes and busways—thereby maintaining flexibility— while expanding capacity on all of the roads, going wherever it needs to go.
HOT lanes generate additional revenue which, among other things should be used for BRT and whatever else increases the capacity of a particular corridor. We need to use technology to achieve optimal safety, security and operational benefits; and to move people and goods expeditiously through a properly integrated and well-managed system. We have just begun to develop ideas of how to do this. Here's the most exciting part for you who are state legislators: you have the power in your state to make rules and new policies that will work themselves out as the technology develops. But you need to step out front and be bold. You have the ability to try different ideas until we see what works. This all is just beginning and you are in a great spot to let your imaginations go and help to develop it. It is an exciting time and a good challenge.
We will be right there, helping as much as we can, but you need to take it and run.
 Transportation Committee 2005 Annual Meeting Presentations
|
