Oh, The Places You'll Go

Highway Trust Fund Battles

2011-01-11T12:58:00.003-05:00

Posting his most recent entry on the National Journal Transportation Expert blog, BPC’s Director of Transportation Policy, Emil Frankel took the opportunity to reinforce the strength and applicability of the NTPP performance-driven framework. The framework put forth by NTPP in 2009 is not only applicable in today’s discussions about how to most effectively and efficiently address national fiscal and economic challenges, but is a useful guide for how to both generate and clearly demonstrate maximum return on investment.

Emil highlights the importance, and in fact necessity, of tying transportation policy and funding decisions to the current domestic policy debates around budget deficits, national debt, and economic growth. Our nation faces huge fiscal challenges and, as Emil points out, the transportation sector will not, nor should it, be immune from having to grapple with these realities.

Emil answered the question ‘what’s the solution?’ posed by the blog moderator, emphasizing both austerity and investment going forward. He explicitly calls for more resources to be invested in transportation infrastructure, so long as these scarce public resources are invested wisely and efficiently. This is a statement that echoes similar sentiments expressed in the recently released joint statement between NTPP and the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission.

Thoughts on Investing in High-Speed Rail

2010-12-20T10:47:00.004-05:00

Emil Frankel, BPC’s Director of Transportation Policy recently weighed in on the National Journal expert blog discussion about whether investment in high-speed rail is beneficial for the economic growth of our country. In his latest blog entry, Mr. Frankel acknowledges that high-speed rail has become a contentious, partisan, and ideological issue, and warns that this type of discussion can distract us from a broader, critical consideration of how and where we should invest scarce federal resources.

Emil points out that NTPP’s 2009 Performance Driven report proposed a mode-neutral competitive "connectivity" grant program. Under such a program, intercity passenger rail projects would be eligible for federal support on the basis of projected performance toward a suite of national goals. This type of competitive grant program would help ensure that investments, including investments in high-speed rail, are made only if they are able to demonstrate and deliver greatest returns and benefits to the country compared to investments in other modes.

Check out the debate among transportation experts on this topic, as well as Emil’s full blog post here.

What Changes Will the New Congress Bring?

2010-11-15T16:14:00.002-05:00

Emil Frankel was recently invited to submit an entry on the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) official blog Talking Points discussing ‘What Changes Will the New Congress Bring?’

Given the new landscape on Capitol Hill, as a result of the recent mid-term elections, Emil suggests that debates over all domestic programs and initiatives are likely to be dominated by a push for fiscal constraint, expenditure freezes or caps, reductions in annual general fund deficits, and the ballooning national debt.

Transportation has typically been an issue that cuts across partisan and ideological lines, and in his blog Emil expresses hope that these conditions will continue in the new Congress. The likelihood of bipartisan support for passage of a surface transportation bill in 2011 rests on leaders of both parties recognizing that investment in transportation infrastructure is not only possible, but is essential, in a time of economic and fiscal constraint.

Check out Emil’s full blog entry, as well as that of other transportation experts here.

Transportation and Climate: A Path to Recovery and Economic Growth

2010-10-27T12:40:00.005-04:00

NTPP's Joshua Schank discussed Transportation and Climate: Economic Growth and Implications of the Midterm Elections on Future Policy at an event co-hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, as part of the Joint Center's ongoing series on Critical Issues in Climate Change.

The session was moderated by Carolyn Green, Founder and Managing Partner at EnerGreen Capital Management. Other panel participants included the Honorable Mayor William Euille from the City of Alexandria, Virginia, James Corless, Director at Transportation for America, and Jim Tymon, Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The discussion focused on the impact that federal transportation policy has on our economy, climate and on the well-being of communities. Panelists reiterated that reforming federal transportation policy can help ensure long-term, sustainable economic growth, energy security and environmental protection. During the discussion panelists considered the historical impacts of transportation investments and discussed policy options for ensuring that future investments take a more systematic approach.

Listen to a full recording of the panel discussion here.

After the Election, What If?

2010-10-21T13:11:00.004-04:00

This week's National Journal Transportation Expert Blog poses a question, assuming Republic gains in Congress next year and potential Republic control of the House, how would the debate around transportation change? What kind of attention would federal transportation legislation receive given this new Congressional reality?

Many experts who posted blog entries addressing this question concur that our future national reality, the context in which future transportation investments will be negotiated, is one of constrained resources; one in which the public seems to be calling for a narrowing of the federal scope. There is a corresponding call for defining what is truly in the national interest. This issue of a well defined national transportation system was a key discussion topic at NTPP’s workshop on transitioning to a performance-based federal surface transportation policy.

It is clear that given a constrained resource environment and numerous competing demands on the federal budget the transportation sector, like many other sectors, must look long and hard at the various options for funding the system. It is beginning to be recognized by transportation policy experts that the days of an ever-expanding federal-aid transportation program may have come to an end.

Emil’s entry on the National Journal Blog this week presents the case that in an environment of severely limited resources it is essential to apply outcome-based, performance-driven, accountability principles to policy. These principles are part of the driving force behind NTPP’s Performance Driven report. It is clear that wiser investment decisions are needed; carefully thought through in terms of return on investment.

Check out Emil’s full blog entry, as well as the entries and opinions of other leading transportation policy stakeholders, here.

NTPP Co-Chair Dennis Archer Briefs President Obama

2010-10-11T22:11:00.003-04:00

Today, NTPP Co-Chair, BPC board member and former Mayor of Detroit Dennis Archer joined mayors, governors and current and former transportation secretaries for a discussion with President Obama on how best to advance a national infrastructure investment plan. Mayor Archer stressed, as NTPP recommends, that going forward all transportation investments need to be held accountable for demonstrating results toward five national goals: economic growth, national connectivity, metropolitan accessibility, energy security and environmental protection, and safety. This approach would ensure the most “bang for the buck”.

This meeting was complimented by the release of a report from the Treasury Department, An Economic Analysis of Infrastructure Investment concluding that now is the optimal time to invest in public works projects. NTPP’s recommendations concur with the motivations behind this report, such as the need to strengthen America’s global competitiveness, the desire to consolidate transportation programs, the need to reform outdated formula programs, and the desire to focus more on competition, innovation and on the economic benefits of infrastructure investments.

NTPP will continue to be actively engaged in these conversations; given our bipartisan, consensus-driven approach we are a valuable resource to the debate, especially, in what is likely to be, a Republican majority Congress convening in January. The recommendations issued in our 2009 Performance Driven report are highly relevant today, as such we will continue working to ensure that these recommended reforms are incorporated into future legislation.

NTPP Event: How Fair is Road Pricing?

2010-10-01T09:44:00.001-04:00

NTPP with Co-Hosts Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Congressman David Reichert (R-WA) hosted a policy briefing on the Hill to release our latest research paper How Fair is Road Pricing? Evaluating Equity in Transportation Pricing and Finance. The paper was written by Dr. Brian Taylor, Professor and Chair of the Urban Planning Department at UCLA. This report was initially commissioned prior to the release of NTPP’s 2009 Performance Driven report, in order to inform the recommendations for federal surface transportation policy reform put forth in that report.

Dr. Taylor’s research paper examines the equity implications of road pricing. It systematically considers the various ways that a road pricing system might raise equity concerns. Using case studies of how equity issues have been addressed in current applications of road pricing, the paper makes recommendations for how to address equity concerns in road pricing projects. Dr. Taylor points out through his research that equity is truly in the eye of the beholder.

In his opening remarks Congressman Blumenauer assured the audience that the debate highlighted by this NTPP report will be critical to developing the next authorization bill. He commended the BPC for bringing this crucial topic to the Hill. Congressman Reichert echoed a similar appreciation of BPC’s work in his remarks. Congressman Reichert stressed the importance of coming together in a bipartisan way to take a look at how to finance efforts to unclog transportation across the nation.

Dr. Martin Wachs, Director of Transportation, Space, and Technology at the RAND Corporation applauded Dr. Taylor on his research, and more specifically on his ability to explain the subtleties and the complexities associated with equity in road pricing. Dr. Wachs pointed out during his remarks that often in politically charged debates we tend to focus on the distributional aspects of the problem. We don’t often take into account, as we should, the efficiencies or effectiveness of a particular decision. Dr. Wachs noted that in most cases projects in fact proved to be much more equitable in practice than they were initially anticipated to be.

Anita Hairston, Senior Associate with PolicyLink lauded Dr. Taylor’s paper for putting the issues of equity out front. Ms. Hairston called for those involved in transportation investment decisions to use the framework presented in Dr. Taylor’s paper as a practical evaluation tool to truly understand the equity impacts of the various options for financing the transportation system.

Check out full video coverage of the event here.

Performance-Driven at the 2010 Oregon Transportation Summit

2010-09-20T14:53:00.003-04:00

Joshua Schank kicked-off the 2010 Oregon Transportation Summit on September 10^th with an opening plenary address on transportation performance management. This conference brought together both academic and practicing transportation professionals to accelerate research into practice. Dr. Schank’s opening remarks helped bring the audience up-to-date on the ongoing transportation policy reform discussions taking shape in Washington, D.C. Reviewing the recommendations of NTPP's Performance Driven report Dr. Schank offered some insight into the possible implications, at the state, regional and local levels, of transportation policy reform.

Check out photos of the Summit here!

Commending the President’s Call for Transportation Reform

2010-09-09T14:05:00.002-04:00

Our National Transportation Policy Project issued a statement in response to President Obama’s Infrastructure Plan announcement on Labor Day.

Check out our statement.

Paying for the Nation’s Transportation Infrastructure through Program Reform and User-Pay Mechanisms

2010-08-31T16:09:00.002-04:00

When asked whether transportation funding is raised and spent in a way that reflects how we actually use the highway system Emil Frankel points out, in his latest National Journal blog entry, that the federal gasoline tax no longer provides a sustainable and adequate source of revenue for investment, nor does it serve as an adequate proxy for use.

Mr. Frankel points out that America's transportation system is currently under priced and over utilized. We need to consider certain costs and benefits that we don’t currently take into account when devising funding options. Improving user-pay funding mechanisms, accurately related to the full cost of providing transportation services and of maintaining and restoring the transportation infrastructure, is necessary.

Check out Emil’s full blog entry, as well as the entries and opinions of other leading transportation policy stakeholders, here.

FREIGHT Act of 2010

2010-08-17T09:26:00.001-04:00

The topic for this week’s National Journal blog was whether the Focusing Resources, Economic Investment, and Guidance to Help Transportation (FREIGHT) Act of 2010 will enhance the nation’s freight system.

Emil Frankel, Director of Policy for the NTPP, argues in his latest entry that the problems facing freight transportation are dealt with most efficiently when a broad, programmatic approach to transportation investment is employed. Through this lens, the NTPP views the issues plaguing freight transportation (i.e. increasing congestion, unreliable delivery times) as problems that reach beyond the freight mode and need to instead be dealt with across modal and agency lines.

Mr. Frankel argues that the FREIGHT Act could be strengthened by including, along with goals for economic growth, NTPP’s goals of accountability toward increasing national connectivity and metropolitan accessibility of investments. These goals would make any freight investment benefit the national transportation system as a whole rather than a particular region or state. Furthermore, the FREIGHT Act should include a mode-neutral freight fee in order to further tie funding to investments, enabling performance benchmarks to be met.

Read Emil’s blog post here.

JayEtta Hecker WMATA Appointment

2010-08-04T09:51:00.001-04:00

JayEtta Hecker, NTPP’s Director of Transportation Advocacy was recently appointed to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Governance Review Task Force. The task force is being convened to recommend improvements to WMATA’s governance structure. Along with other transportation experts, JayEtta will be serving on the task force with business leaders as well as former elected and appointed officials.

JayEtta’s appointment is featured in the Eno Foundation’s monthly newsletter, which can be found here. Ms. Hecker also serves as a member of the Eno Foundation Board of Advisors.

Transportation Equity

2010-08-03T16:37:00.001-04:00

Joshua Schank, Director of Transportation Research for the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP), was recently a member of a transportation equity panel on HITN’s show Destination Casa Blanca.

The panel, which included Deron Lovaas from the NRDC and Geoff Anderson, President and CEO of Smart Growth America, discussed how previous transportation investments have benefit the wealthier segments of the population while lower-income and minority communities have not reaped the rewards of transportation investments.

The NTPP advocates for transportation investments to be a “bottom-up” process. Instead of investing in particular projects and delivered mainly in the form of federal earmarks, federal investments should be held accountable to achieve distinct national goals, thereby creating a national transportation system that meets the needs of all citizens, regardless of whether they have access to a car.

Check out the highlights of the show here.

Transportation Earmarks Rescinded

2010-07-27T17:22:00.003-04:00

A bill authored by Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO) that calls for the elimination and redirection of $700 million in unspent transportation earmarks towards reducing the federal deficit overwhelmingly passed the House 394-23 today.

Pushing for “common-sense spending cuts,” Rep. Markey’s bill is supported by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).

The bill comes at a time when Rep. Markey, a vulnerable Democrat in this year’s midterm elections, could be attempting to curry favor with voters unhappy with the increasing federal deficit. Still, Rep. Markey urges her fellow lawmakers to exercise a sense of fiscal responsibility and “especially with regards to transportation funding.”

A new transportation funding bill will be debated in the House later in the week.
Read the story here.

Transportation funding in Pennsylvania

2010-07-20T12:03:00.001-04:00

A stalwart of infrastructure development, Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) on Monday called for the Pennsylvania legislature to reach a consensus on a state transportation funding plan before the midterm elections in November. Gov. Rendell, who is serving the final months of his second and final term in office, said that a new funding plan for infrastructure would allow for needed maintenance and immediately create badly needed jobs in Pennsylvania.

Gov. Rendell’s effort to invest more money into his state’s crumbling infrastructure re-emphasizes the fact that more money needs to be spent towards infrastructure development, even in a time of grave fiscal constraints because of needed maintenance and the ability of transportation investments to quickly create well-paying jobs.

Read the story here.

High-Speed Rail as a Business Engine

2010-07-09T12:23:00.000-04:00

Emil Frankel, Director of National Transportation Policy posted his latest entry on the National Journal’s transportation expert blog.

This week’s topic concerns the benefits of high-speed rail, which were extolled recently in a report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The report focused on four cities: New York, Chicago, Miami, and Albany finding that implementing high-speed rail in each of the cities made business travel more efficient, encouraged mixed-use development, and helped expand markets.

Has the uncertainty surrounding the utility of high-speed rail as a business engine been settled?

We should be careful to not blindly embrace or prioritize any one mode as the solution to our economic woes. Emil makes the point that high-speed rail, or improved intercity passenger service needs to be evaluated in the context of broad strategic transportation plans or programs that strive toward a set of clearly defined national goals. Putting in place broad strategic goals and programs can help demonstrate that there is no single solution to improving a particular region. Check out Emil’s entry here.

Raising the Gas Tax for Deficit Reduction

2010-07-08T17:14:00.001-04:00

Few issues incite more controversy and clamor than the national “gas tax”. With the national deficit surpassing $13 trillion, some have eyed raising the national gas tax as a strategy for deficit reduction.

Throughout history the gas tax has been utilized as a deficit reduction mechanism. When the gas tax was first conceived in 1932, for example, President Hoover used the tax revenues as a temporary means to balance the Depression-stricken economy, although the tax was made permanent under President Roosevelt. In 1990 and 1993, Presidents Bush and Clinton also increased the national gas tax in part to reduce the national deficit. So are we at that point again today of raising the gas tax as a means to balance the budget?

Comparing 1990 and 1993 deficit levels with our current fiscal condition is revealing. In 1990, the national debt was 55.9% of GDP, while in 1993, the debt level was 66.1% of GDP. As of June 2010, our national debt is a staggering 90% of our GDP. Therefore, comparatively speaking, raising the gas tax today for deficit reduction purposes would seem economically reasonable given how our deficit situation is far more pronounced than it was in either 1990 or 1993. On the other hand, a small increase would have much less of an impact on deficit reduction because of the size of the deficit.

While current economic conditions would not make the decision to raise the gas tax as a means to lower the deficit unusual, a lack of political will prevents such an increase. Congressmen on both sides of the aisle have refused to even consider raising the tax in the face of the 2010 midterm elections, and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has stated publicly that the Obama administration is not considering raising the gas tax. Other factors, like the perceived high ($2.75/gallon nationally) though historically low price of gas, inequity faced by rural and poorer families if the tax was increased, and the anti-tax movement have prevented any momentum for an increase from materializing. Unless there is a shift in administration policy and a real push on their part, these factors are unlikely to be overcome.

Therefore, while we might be far past-due for an increase in the gas tax in order to reduce current deficit levels, and maybe even fund a transportation bill, the political environment coupled with the chilly public opinion towards an increase is likely to prevent it from occurring in the near future even in the face of cries to lower the deficit.

Wendell Cox on High-Speed Rail

2010-07-01T17:38:00.001-04:00

Transportation policy expert Wendell Cox recently argued that high-speed rail is not the “silver bullet” to all of the nation’s transportation problems. In fact, he said that high-speed rail is, “greatly overstated in terms of its potential,” expensive, will not achieve the environmental benefits its proponents tout, and ultimately will not reduce traffic congestion. Adopting the plan to simply build as many high-speed rail lines as possible would be exceedingly expensive, Mr. Cox argues, and would actually harm the transportation system because it would force passenger trains on to freight tracks, which would then slow rail transport and increase trucking traffic on the highways.

Mr. Cox’s arguments highlight why a NTPP approach to transportation policy is best. Rather than having a “blind” devotion to one mode like high-speed rail, a mode-neutral approach to transportation would allow MPOs and individual states to develop strategies to achieve desired outcomes in the most cost-effective manner. In this way, while the construction of high-speed rail might be the most cost-effective strategy to achieve a particular outcome in one metropolitan region, elevating one mode of transport over another wastes already-scarce federal funds in a time of grave fiscal constraint.

New NTPP Report Released

2010-06-23T17:42:00.000-04:00

This afternoon NTPP released its latest report, Transitioning to a Performance-Based Federal Surface Transportation Policy.

Drawn from the conversations of a workshop that convened leaders in the transportation field, the report identifies a number of actions that should be taken immediately to effectively transition to a performance-based transportation framework. The next step actions include: conducting baseline inventory and assessment of current data collection capacities, investing in systems that help establish performance metrics and data collection techniques, developing performance measures in areas of safety and asset management, and applying national goals and performance measures to existing transportation programs. The report explores the importance of federal performance measures, the need to incentivize performance, and the need for collaboration across federal, state and local agencies moving legislative action forward.

Check out this and other NTPP reports here.

Considering Freight Transportation...

2010-06-21T17:40:00.002-04:00

Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center posted a blog entry on the National Journal’s Expert Transportation blog.

The topic of the blog discussion was the debate about the role of truck transportation in moving freight. Secretary Ray LaHood was recently accused of wanting to take trucks off the road. This week’s blog question asked specifically, “what is in trucking’s future?”

Check out Emil’s entry and other responses here. Emil makes the point that the debate should not be about preferring one mode over another, but rather achieving a balanced intermodal freight transportation system where investment of limited resources lead to the most cost-effective solutions.

High Speed Rail

2010-06-21T09:37:00.000-04:00

In New York, State Senator Malcolm Smith is pushing for a high speed rail between Albany and New York City. He argues that a high speed rail project would create jobs, improve the environment, and “bring the state together.” But what sort of planning and project evaluation did this project undergo? Would high speed rail foster economic growth over other modes? What are going to be the sources of revenue? What goals does high speed rail help attain other than “bringing the state together?”

These are the types of questions that the NTPP believes should be contemplated and answered in the planning stage. Rather than simply working towards constructing a high speed line, NTPP proposes that metropolitan regions should analyze what transportation projects would help them attain distinct goals like increased economic capacity, metropolitan accessibility, and national connectivity. So while the idea of high speed rail in New York sounds great, would the huge sums of money necessary to build and maintain that line be better spent on infrastructure improvements or driver education programs?

Susan Demas Op-Ed Article

2010-06-10T17:13:00.002-04:00

On June 3, the Mackinac Policy Conference forum was held in Detroit and featured seven gubernatorial candidates. Transportation issues, specifically the gas tax and the Detroit-Windsor bridge (DRIC), took center stage at the forum and were debated by the candidates. In an op-ed this week by Susan Demas of the Michigan Information & Research Service, Ms. Demas argues that all seven of the candidates demonstrated a clear lack of understanding of Michigan’s transportation systems and were unwilling to raise the gas tax for maintenance revenues.

This lack of understanding on behalf of the gubernatorial candidates is a major impediment to achieve NTPP’s vision of a national transportation policy that is performance driven and achieves certain goals like stimulating economic growth, making transportation safer, and providing access to jobs, labor, and other activities. Therefore, until state leaders grasp the ideas espoused by NTPP that a transportation policy goes far beyond getting people from “A” to “B”, we will again be stuck with an inefficient and wasteful federal transportation policy.

Emil Frankel in the Financial Times

2010-06-09T15:02:00.002-04:00

Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy for the National Transportation Policy Project, was recently quoted in a Financial Times article “US deals with the politics of recovery”. In the article, Mr. Frankel argues that a greater emphasis should be placed on how federal funds “perform” as evidenced by how well the funds generate economic activity.

This emphasis on performance is at the core of NTPP’s vision for federal transportation policy reform. Implementing federal transportation policy that aims to foster economic growth, among other national goals, will ensure wasteful or unnecessary projects are replaced with investments that encourage long-term, sustainable economic growth across the nation.

What Do You Think of USDOT’s Draft Strategic Plan?

2010-06-02T13:46:00.002-04:00

Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center posted his latest blog entry on the National Journal’s Expert Transportation blog.

The topic of the blog discussion was the recently released U.S. Department of Transportation Draft Strategic Plan, Transportation for a New Generation .

Blog expert respondents were asked, “What Do You Think of DOT’s Draft Strategic Plan?” Check out Emil’s entry and other responses here.

National Transportation Policy Project Advances Call for Federal Surface Transportation Policy Reform

2010-01-29T14:06:00.002-05:00

The National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP) held its fourth public forum in conjunction with New York University’s Rudin Center in New York City on January 25th. This forum, similar to three previous forums in Seattle, Detroit, and Minneapolis, convened some of the region’s highest ranked transportation leaders as well as some of the nation’s policy thought leaders. The forum served to present a regional dialogue among representatives from the three states in the region: New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Stakeholders from around the region convened along with an audience of nearly 200 attendees to discuss the future of federal surface transportation policy and funding. Using the recommendations and framework put forth by the NTPP report, Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy as a guide for the discussion about the challenges and opportunities that lie in front of our nation, speakers and attendees were consistent in their call for needed reform in transportation policy and their belief that the NTPP report could serve as a model in this regard.

Former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), one of four co-chairmen of the National Transportation Policy Project hosted the forum event at the New York University Kimmel Center. A few of the featured speakers included: U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler, highest ranking Northeastern member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Gregory G. Nadeau, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie; New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan; and Elliot Sander, Chief Executive of Global Transportation for AECOM.

The existing federal surface transportation law in this country (SAFETEA-LU) expired at the end of September 2009 and has since that time been operating under a series of short-term extensions with the most recent to expire at the end of February 2010. This means there is now an important, timely opportunity for reform. Unfortunately, it remains to be seen whether there is the political momentum and resolve to pull off the reform necessary to improve investments and economic conditions in this country. As was highlighted by the New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan during the NTPP forum, the transportation sector is in a long queue of national issues needing to be addressed. Christopher Boylan, Deputy Executive Director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), echoed Commissioner Sadik-Khan’s concerns, but cited the NTPP report as one of the more balanced and realistic approaches to the transportation policy and funding problems facing our nation. Gregory G. Nadeau, Deputy Administrator of FHWA congratulated the BPC and NTPP members on their contribution to the transportation policy debate during this historic, transformative time in transportation. These are critical times for our nation, our economy, and our transportation system.

Commissioner Sadik-Khan highlighted connections between many of the themes and recommendations put forth by NTPP and those contained in Chairman Oberstar’s Surface Transportation Authorization Act: safety, reduction of metropolitan and freight congestion, increased transportation choice, and reducing greenhouse gases. This overlap is promising in the sense that it indicates there is some Congressional muscle behind these ideas, but it is still unclear how those ideas will ultimately manifest themselves in moving legislation. Some of the best and brightest in the country are coming to consensus that the NTPP strategy is the type of approach we need to move forward, providing states and metropolitan regions maximum flexibility to spend federal transportation dollars in a way that advances agreed upon national goals.

The NTPP makes clear in its report the connections between addressing our nation’s transportation challenges and our economic competitiveness. Robert Yaro, President of the Regional Plan Association, articulated this connection during the NYC NTPP forum when he said that the United States needs to be carefully watching and considering Asian and European countries that are making major transportation and infrastructure investments. Many countries have reformed their governance systems to move ahead with similar recommendations to those included in the NTPP report. Yaro argued that if we really care about the future of this country, sustaining our standard of living, sustaining our place in the world, we have an obligation to move ahead with increased investment in the transportation system.

Convincing the American people that restructured and increased investment in transportation and infrastructure is fundamental to the success of the country is a major challenge, but is a major part of what needs to happen next. The NTPP forums, now having been held in four major metropolitan regions around the country, are helping lead this educational, advocacy charge. If the reforms outlined by NTPP are implemented, as Mr. Yaro noted, it would begin the process of convincing the American people that every nickel of federal investment is going to be accounted for and well spent.

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Transportation Policy Project is one of many groups calling for new competitive programs with broad investment goals to be established through which federal transportation resources could be allocated. The New Starts program, administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), is essentially the only discretionary transportation program that offers a history of this type of programmatic design and implementation. At the New York City NTPP forum the Project released a research paper written by Donald J. Emerson and Jeffrey D. Ensor, consultants with Parsons Brinckerhoff, New Starts: Lessons Learned for Discretionary Federal Transportation Funding Programs. This research paper analyzed the New Starts program to identify lessons learned and to highlight components that might be relevant for newly established competitive programs. The intention of this research commissioned by NTPP was not to learn how to improve the New Starts program, but rather how to take lessons learned through analysis of the programmatic features of this program to be able to develop discretionary federal funding programs that are merit based, avoid earmarks, and can obtain Congressional support.

Check out full video coverage of the New York City NTPP forum or visit the National Transportation Policy Project to learn more about our ongoing work on federal transportation policy reform.

NTPP’s Call for Federal Surface Transportation Policy Reform Continues in Minneapolis

2009-12-03T14:39:00.003-05:00

We held our third public forum in Minneapolis on November 23rd at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute. With an engaged audience of over 150 attendees, we discussed our blueprint for surface transportation policy reform Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy. The forum, featured as part of the Martin Olav Sabo Lecture Series, held in partnership with the University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, attracted prominent local and state transportation policymakers, academics, business leaders and other key transportation stakeholders, as well as the interested public. Speakers grappled with both challenges and opportunities of implementing the recommendations of our report in a region like the Twin Cities. Sponsorship for the event was provided in part by The McKnight Foundation.

Overall a resounding sense of urgency flavored conversations through the event. There was consensus among forum speakers and audience participants that now is the time for reform. Policy and revenue discussions, necessary for strengthening the next authorization bill, have the potential of going on for months, if not years. It was made clear by speakers during the event that the American people and our national economy cannot afford to wait. Now is the time to act on authorizing a national transportation bill that, among other things, puts mechanisms in place that prioritize program funding and project spending in line with well-defined national goals.

Panelists who spoke at the event generally agreed that real reform has to come from Washington. States and localities are exhausted and operating under severe budget constraints, leaving less time and energy for innovation. As the NTPP report argues, this situation is likely a result of historically misguided policies and funding mechanisms. By offering increased flexibility and rewarding innovation federal funding could help invigorate local transportation planning and investment. Some attendees remained skeptical of these conclusions, stating that program design and data collection methods left up to individual jurisdictions leaves room for wasted time, inferior methods, and error, and that a top down approach might in fact be superior. This highlights the foundations of the proposed NTPP framework, that states and localities have grown accustomed to doing things a certain way, as dictated by the federal government. The U.S. transportation system would be more functional, efficient, and cost controlled if states and local jurisdictions were rewarded for demonstrating performance of each dollar invested.

The event also marked the release of an NTPP research paper, Performance Metrics for the Evaluation of Transportation Programs authored by Richard Mudge, Vice President, Delcan Corporation and Keith Jasper, Senior Associate, Delcan Corporation. This paper highlights the fact that transportation investments have a profound ability to stimulate national productivity and economic growth, and though increased investment is necessary to maintain national transportation infrastructure in this country, it is essential that any future investment be made wiser and held accountable for demonstrating beneficial results.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, NTPP member, the former director of the Congressional Budget Office and Senior Policy Advisor to John McCain’s presidential campaign gave a keynote speech during lunch of this event. Dr. Holtz-Eakin talked about how understanding near term economic events and likely future economic outcomes, such as the housing finance crisis that occurred in this country and the larger financial market crisis triggering the most severe economic downturn experienced in the United States since the 1930s, are critically important for thinking about our nation’s transportation policy.

Other featured speakers during the Minneapolis event included:
• Former U.S. Congressman and NTPP Co-Chair Martin Sabo;
• Minnesota State Senator and Chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures' Transportation Committee D. Scott Dibble;
• Minnesota State Representative Mary Liz Holberg;
• Peter Bell, Chair of the Metropolitan Council;
• Peter McLaughlin, Commissioner of Hennepin County;
• Tom Sorel, Commissioner of Minnesota Department of Transportation;
• Mike Erlandson, Vice President - Government Affairs of SUPERVALU, INC. and NTPP member;
• Charlie Zelle, President of Jefferson Lines;
• Laurie McGinnis, Acting Director of University of Minnesota's Center for Transportation Studies;
• Humphrey Institute Dean J. Brian Atwood; and
• Lee Munnich, Director of the State and Local Policy Program at the Humphrey Institute.

A full video recording of the event can be viewed here.

A number of news pieces ran in the days following the forum:

Retooling transportation policy,
Fleet Owner by Sean Kilcarr

Oberstar waiting for green light as U conference urges reform of nation's obsolete transportation system,
MinnPost.com by Steve Berg

U of M forum takes aim at transportation funding issues,
Minnesota Public Radio by Dan Olson

The next NTPP forum will take place in New York City on Monday, January 25th at the Kimmel Center at New York University (NYU).

Strengthening the Detroit Metro Region through a Call for Federal Transportation Policy Reform

2009-10-01T13:08:00.002-04:00

The nation’s existing surface transportation law SAFETEA-LU expired yesterday, and while Congressional action on reauthorization remains muddled and misguided NTPP is continuing to engage key transportation decision makers across the country in discussions about future policies necessary to shape our nation’s transportation system.

We most recently held a public forum in Detroit on September 21^st to discuss our blueprint for reform entitled, Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy, and the impact of our recommendations on the Detroit metro region. This forum was the second to be held in a series of events that we are holding across the country. It attracted leading local, state and national transportation policymakers, academics, and other key transportation stakeholders, as well as the interested public.

Panelists who spoke at the Detroit event agreed that reforming federal transportation policy is critical, not only for maintaining necessary infrastructure in the State of Michigan, but for stabilizing the region and the nation's economy. During the event NTPP Co-Chairman and former Mayor of Detroit Dennis Archer stated that “the current structure of federal transportation programs does not recognize the key role that transportation investment plays in economic growth and access to jobs. Detroit would benefit from a program and funding framework that is based on economic performance and outcomes.”

Our recommendations call for U.S. transportation policy to be more performance-driven, more directly linked to a set of clearly articulated goals, and more accountable for results. One of the goals of our framework is that transportation investment be measured and held accountable for generating economic growth. Speakers at the forum urged local citizens, as well as Congress, to push for these recommendations in the next transportation bill.

This event was held in downtown Detroit, in partnership with the Detroit Regional Chamber. It attracted transportation experts from across the state including: State Representative and Chair of the House Transportation Committee Pam Byrnes; Gregory Johnson, Chief Operations Officer for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT); Paul Tait, Executive Director of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments; John Woodrooffe, Head of the Transportation Safety Analysis Division at the University of Michigan; Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano; Richard Wallace, Senior Project Manager at the Center of Automotive Research; and Tim Johnson, Strategic Opportunity Manager for the Sprint Nextel Corporation.

A full video recording of the event can be viewed here.

A number of news pieces ran in the days preceding and following the Detroit NTPP forum:

Map a new course for U.S. transportation funds,
Detroit Free Press by Dennis Archer

Federal policies ignore transportation’s role in economic growth, ex-mayor says,
Crain’s Detroit Business by Bill Shea

State help sought to reform U.S. transportation funding,
Detroit Free Press by Matt Helms

The next NTPP forum will take place in Minneapolis on Monday, November 23^rd at the University of Minnesota.

NTPP Advocates for Federal Transportation Policy Reform at Seattle Forum

2009-09-11T09:50:00.005-04:00

With less than a month to go before the nation’s surface transportation law is due to expire, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP) is hard at work facilitating debate and engaging key transportation decision makers across the country in discussions about the future of our nation’s transportation system.

The NTPP held a public forum in Seattle, Washington on August 27^th to discuss its blueprint for reform entitled, “Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy,” and the implications for the Puget Sound region. The forum, the first of many to be held around the country, attracted leading local and national transportation policymakers, academics, and other key transportation stakeholders.

Panelists who spoke at the Seattle event agreed that federal transportation policy, which hasn’t been overhauled in decades, needs immediate reform. NTPP Co-Chair and Former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton urged local citizens, as well as Congress, to push for such reform.

The Seattle forum discussion focused on the importance of greater flexibility in local and regional spending based on performance, as well as highlighted the need for innovative solutions to increase the capacity and performance of the transportation system. A research paper by Thomas A. Horan, Ph.D. on “The Critical Role of Information Technology in Improving Surface Transportation Performance” was released at the forum, calling for an acceleration of ITS innovation in the context of a performance-based federal transportation system.

Held at the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle, the forum attracted transportation experts from across the state, including State Senator Mary Margaret Haugen; Charlie Howard, Transportation Planning Director for the Puget Sound Regional Council; Dan O’Neal, Commissioner, Washington State Transportation Commission; Steve Marshall, Senior Fellow, Cascadia Center for Regional Development; Joni Earl, Chief Executive Officer, Sound Transit; and J. Tayloe Washburn, Foster Pepper PLLC and Chair of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

A full video recording of the event can be viewed here, as well as a selection of photographs here.

NTPP Co-Chair former Senator Slade Gorton was interviewed following the August 27 event by Jeremy Grater on Seattle’s KOMO Newsradio.

As a result of the Seattle forum a number of news articles and blogs that ran, including:

Transportation dollars should be allocated to maximize larger society goals,

The Seattle Times by Slade Gorton

A Call for Federal Transportation Reform,

Business Improvement Area Blog

New Direction and Goals Unveiled at National Transportation Forum,

Cascadia Prospectus by Mike Wussow

Forget Pork. When It Comes to Transportation Spending, Think Sugar, What’s Wrong with Transportation Policy and How to Get it Right,

The Daily Green by Jim DiPeso

Slade Gorton: Federal transpo dollars should follow clearly stated national objectives,

The Bellingham Herald (Traffic Talk Blog) by Jared Paben

The next NTPP forum will take place in Detroit on Monday, September 21st at the offices of the Detroit Regional Chamber. Invited speakers include: Dennis Archer, NTPP Co-Chair and Former Mayor of Detroit, Jack Basso, NTPP Member and Director of Program Finance and Management at AASHTO, Michigan State Representative Pam Byrnes, among others.