Jerry B. Schneider - Comments

January 26,2010. I have an idea that I’d like /RITA to consider including in your strategic planning work As you know, transportation in our cities is quite a mess and there are few cost-effective solutions available for doing much about it. Costly mass transit facilities and services can rarely meet the needs of the dispersed city and its very diffuse travel patterns. This is not a new problem but one that is much worse than it has been and investing huge amounts of money in more mass transit systems and more electric cars isn’t likely to produce the kinds of improvements in mobility and improvements in congestion, pollution, livability and sustainability that are needed. What would be helpful would be the creation of another New Systems Study Project, like the one that was implemented in the late l960’s by the Johnson administration. It was designed to help establish a comprehensive program for national leadership in urban transportation research, development and demonstration. The legislative authority was provided in an Amendment to the UMTA Act of 1964: An Act to Amend the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 (P.L.89-562, Sept. 8, 1966) required the following: "Subsection 6(b). The HUD Secretary shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, undertake a project to study and prepare a program of research, development and demonstration of new systems of urban transportation that will carry people and goods within metropolitan areas speedily, safely, without polluting the air and in a manner that will contribute to sound city planning. The program shall (1) concern itself with all aspects of new systems of urban transportation for metropolitan areas of various sizes including technological, financial, economic, governmental and social aspects; (2) take into account the most advanced available technologies and materials; and (3) provide national leadership to efforts of States, localities, private industry, universities and foundations. The Secretary shall report his findings and recommendations to the President for submission to the Congress as rapidly as possible and in any event not later than eighteen months after the effective date of this subsection." This program arranged 17 contracts , valued at $3 million, to 11 different corporations and universities aimed at developing better and more effective urban transportation systems. It generated a overwhelming amount of interest and enthusiasm within the business and academic worlds (I was an excited junior professor at the time) and resulted in the working demonstration of four systems at an exposition at Dulles International Airport, called Transpo ’72, under the leadership of Secretary Volpe of the US DOT. Details about Transpo ’72 can be found with a Google search. Ford Motor Company and Otis Elevator provided two of the working demos. A 100-page report to Congress, entitled Tomorrow’s Transportation, was also produced that summarized and illustrated the best thinking available on the subject at that time. A summary can be seen at: http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/tomtrans.htm While some of the concepts developed under this program have resulted in currently operational systems (WV University at Morgantown, various airport automated peoplemovers, downtown peoplemovers in Miami, Detroit and Jacksonville), the subsequent Nixon administration did not follow-up on this good start by providing some stable, continuing federal funding to help get the best concepts to a market-ready state. However, some of them are still alive but struggling to find funding to complete their demonstration and testing programs so as to produce competitive products. It was a one-year effort and a lot was accomplished by various corporate and academic participants. An article is available on-line (http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/reflec2.htm) that describes the history and activities of the New Systems Study Project in considerable detail. I would like to see a similar, but updated, project included in the new transportation bill that your subcommittee is working on. Today’s advanced computer technologies offer many necessary capabilities that were not even dreamed of 40 years ago. I am the webmaster of the Innovative Transportation Technologies website (http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans) : a current resource for people interested in finding better solutions to urban transportation problems, now in its 13th year. It contains historical information as well as descriptions and illustrations of more than 100 systems currently in some stage of development around the world. Some are operating, some are under development and some are still conceptual. All are electrified, low cost, high performance, environmentally acceptable and in need of support for further development. Some have attracted private capital but public/private programs are needed to move them ahead much faster. I believe that the need is great and urgent and that the New Systems Study Project is an effort that warrants repeating. I am particularly concerned that an Obama stimulus effort could be designed to spend $1 trillion on existing systems and fading industries but nearly nothing for innovative transport systems. Clearly, investments in existing systems are needed but there should also be a significant innovation component in any new stimulus or reauthorization bills. I hope that RITA and others in Congress will make endeavor to include such a component in your future R&D efforts.