FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 7, 2012

Washington, DC - With the policy reforms from MAP-21 set to kick in October 1 and Members of Congress returning to Washington next week following the party conventions, some lawmakers are already beginning to look ahead toward the next transportation bill.

Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) told POLITICO she has started working to identify financing mechanisms to keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent after MAP-21 expires in just over two years. Boxer said her goal is “to find a dependable funding source” that can receive bipartisan support, explaining that “Revenues into the fund have dipped in recent years — at the same time construction prices have climbed — leading to major shortfalls ahead.”

Noting political opposition to raising the gas tax and shrinking revenues compounded by increasing fuel efficiency and alternative-fuel vehicles, Boxer said “I really believe that the Highway Trust Fund should be funded through user fees.” She acknowledged that indexing the gas tax to inflation would be a good start, saying “We’ve looked at it. It’s not sufficient, but it’s definitely sensible and there are other things we can do.” But she also said she doesn’t “like the vehicle miles traveled fee where you’d have some kind of a monitor in your car.” In addition to privacy concerns, Boxer said a VMT-based user fee would be expensive to implement and run, and would take more than 10 years to fully implement. “I don’t like it, and (Senate EPW Committee Ranking Member Jim) Inhofe doesn’t like it,” Boxer told POLITICO, noting that a low-tech version involving annual reporting of odometer readings might be more acceptable. Boxer said more ideas might be on the table in months to come.

The topic of VMT-based user fees also made its way into the GOP platform at the Republican National Convention, where delegates adopted language stating, “We oppose any funding mechanism that would involve governmental monitoring of every car and truck in the nation.” This follows the adoption of an amendment to the House version of the Fiscal Year 2013 transportation spending bill that would prohibit funding from being used to research or implement mileage-based user fees.

Not all Members of Congress are opposed to the idea however. House Ways and Means Committee Member Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) has been an outspoken champion for the concept, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said while he has some concerns with how a VMT-based plan might be administered for older vehicles that privacy concerns are overblown. “I think they probably can track us with our cell phones the same way,” he said of the notion that government would track citizens using the system. This sentiment seems consistent with a majority of participants in a University of Iowa study which found that while 41 percent of participants expressed a positive feeling about VMT-based user fees before the trial, roughly 70 percent reacted positively to the system afterwards. What’s clear is that mileage-based user fees and other financing mechanisms will be the topic of significant political debate in the coming months and years.

ITS America Shines Smart Solution Spotlight on Texas

ITS America this week recognized the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) and Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with its ‘Smart Solution Spotlight’ award for a new web-based tool that allows motor carriers to self-issue the permits and routes they need to move oversize and overweight loads on the state’s highway system. “TxPROS is an innovative tool that promotes safety and efficiency for people moving goods through Texas,” according to TxDOT Executive Director Phil Wilson. ITS America President and CEO Scott Belcher, who presented the award to Wilson and TxDMV Executive Director Whitney Brewster, said, “TxPROS perfects the use of the latest in database and web technology, GIS data and real-time information to totally streamline a manual process that was labor intensive and not very cost effective. This investment in technology is already yielding remarkable results for the state and its customers—we hope to see it replicated throughout the country.”

TxPROS allows trucking companies to apply for oversize/overweight permits, pay the fees and route their trucks on the best roads for a load’s size and weight, all online, 24/7. Before TxPROS, permit specialists processed applications during business hours only and manually routed loads using paper maps. A truck loaded and ready to go in the middle of the night could wait hours or even days for a permit and route. For most permit types a company can now apply, pay, print and go in minutes. TxPROS is the first system to generate a route — along with a map and turn-by-turn driving instructions — customized to the size and weight of the load in ‘real time’ using GIS. More information is available online here, and local news coverage of the event is online here.

Spectrum on the Table

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee will hold a hearing on government spectrum efficiency next Thursday, September 13 at 10:15 a.m. in Room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. “As the single largest spectrum user, the federal government could save taxpayers money and make more frequencies available to meet American consumers’ growing demand for mobile broadband services, while improving its own capabilities,” according to Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). Among the witnesses will be Karl Nebbia, Associate Administrator of the Office of Spectrum Management at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is conducting the Congressionally-mandated study of spectrum-sharing technologies and potential risks of allowing unlicensed use of the 5.9 GHz spectrum current dedicated to ITS safety applications. More information about the hearing is online here.

Secretary LaHood Announces Freight Policy Council

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently announced the launch of a Freight Policy Council which will focus on improving the condition and performance of the national freight network. The Council, which will be chaired by Deputy Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, is charged with developing a national, intermodal plan for improving the efficiency of freight movement. The Council will also work with states to encourage development of forward looking state freight strategies. According to Secretary LaHood, “Our freight system is the lifeblood of the American economy, moving goods quickly and efficiently to benefit both businesses and consumers across the country. With the launch of the Freight Policy Council, we have an opportunity to make not only our freight system, but all modes of transportation, stronger and better connected.” The Council was announced following passage of MAP-21 which called for U.S. DOT to establish a national freight policy and a National Freight Strategic Plan. While the Council is made up of officials from U.S. DOT and other Federal agencies, the freight and logistics industries, consumers and other stakeholders will play an advisory role and states will be asked to offer proposals for improving the freight system in their regions. More information from the announcement is online here.

ITS America Invites Participation in Transit ITS Survey

ITS America is conducting a survey to review the state of ITS deployment in the transit community as well as its perceived benefits and challenges to greater deployment. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recently surveyed transit agencies about technical issues related to data standards and software vendor tools. ITS America’s survey follows up on the APTA survey with a greater focus on challenges transit agencies face with ITS deployment. These challenges include not only technical challenges but also operational and organizational challenges. The survey also seeks input on issues related to the national ITS architecture. Click here to take the survey. Surveys must be completed by next Friday, September 14.

Federal-Aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released an innovative online resource called Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies. Produced in partnership with the American Public Works Association (APWA), the guide puts key information about Federal-aid requirements on a single website, giving local public agencies a centralized hub for guidance, policies, procedures, and best practices for administering Federal-aid projects. The main feature is a library of videos covering key aspects of project development and delivery. Whether you need more information on the environmental review process or want to make sure your agency is complying with Disadvantaged Business Enterprise policies, the website puts all the information at your fingertips in clear and concise language that users can easily navigate.

BTS Releases State Transportation Statistics, Government Transportation Expenditures

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has released its annual State Transportation Statistics 2011 (STS) – a web-only reference guide to transportation data for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. STS 2011 includes a wide range of state-by-state information, such as the calculations showing which states had the highest and lowest number of highway traffic fatalities per 100,000 population in 2010. The ninth annual STS consists of 115 tables of state data on infrastructure, safety, freight transportation, passenger travel, registered vehicles and vehicle-miles traveled, economy and finance, and energy and environment, plus a U.S. Fast Facts page. BTS also released its Government Transportation Financial Statistics (GTFS) report showing that Federal and state government expenditures on transportation were almost $243 billion in 2009 ($200 billion in state expenditures and $43 billion in federal expenditures). More than 50 percent of the funds were used for highways, with 22 percent used for transit and 20 percent for aviation. The report does not include local government outlays for highways.

 For more information, contact:

• Quentin Kelly, Campaign Director, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 202-721-4212
• Paul Feenstra, Keystone Public Affairs, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 202-906-0959