CURRENT PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY:

Congestion Mitigation: The Mobility and Infrastructure Team is developing a synthesis of significant knowledge on congestion mitigation measures and their individual and combined effectiveness. The project will contribute to an understanding of what are the options for congestion mitigation and what is their relative effectiveness, individually and in concert, in improving system performance.

DOT/HUD – Transportation/Development Cooperative Program: The Office of Transportation Policy has been holding policy-level discussions with its counterparts in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to facilitate interagency cooperation on common goals, including regional development, community revitalization, and public involvement in decision-making. Professionals from throughout each Department have met to discuss how the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and other spatial imagery analytical techniques can be used to inform policy and improve planning and operations. A cooperative research program is currently being developed.

DOT/NASA Remote Sensing Program: The Mobility and Infrastructure Team contributes to the management of the DOT/NASA Remote Sensing and Transportation Products Program through DOT/NASA Remote Sensing Management Oversight Committee. This program is developing remote sensing transportation applications in the areas of environmental applications, infrastructure management, hazards and disaster management, and multimodal transportation flows.

Intercity Public Transportation Services: The Mobility and Infrastructure Team is leading a study to assess the provision of intercity public transportation services in the U.S. Intercity travel includes rural to metropolitan trips. The study will identify the current extent of, and level of service (LOS) provided by, the existing intercity bus, rail, and air passenger transportation services, assess the demand for intercity passenger travel, and will consider policy options for ensuring that an adequate LOS is provided for intercity travelers.

International Sustainable Urban Travel Workshop: The US Department of Transportation (USDOT), in partnership with the European Council of Ministers of Transportation (ECMT), is hosting the first in a series of workshops that will focus on how countries are bridging the gap between the identification and implementation of effective sustainable urban travel options including financing strategies. With a special eye on US experience, experts from local, regional and national government, as well as transport and urban planners and environmentalists from different parts of the world will reflect on and share their countries’ experiences applying strategies to foster sustainable urban travel policies. The three day workshop will be held at the Marriott MetroCenter in Washington DC from November 5th through 7th, 2003. Additional workshop information and registration materials can be found at www.dot.gov.

Performance Measure in Statewide and Metropolitan Planning: The U.S. Department of Transportation has encouraged the use of performance measures in many aspects of its program. In our proposed reauthorization legislation, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA), DOT propose that certain transit and highway safety funds be distributed according to performance or specified outcome measures.

The Mobility and Infrastructure Team is working with FHWA and FTA to hold an expert panel on Wednesday, October 8th and Thursday, October 9th, 2003, at the Jury Hotel in Washington, DC. It will bring together state and local transportation planning officials to discuss lessons learned in the application of performance measurement systems and its role in the decision-making process, with an emphasis on practical implementation and administration. This workshop is intended to be the first in a series of meetings and sessions to advance the state of the performance measures process and to further increase its effectiveness through research and peer-to-peer exchanges.

Marine Transportation System: The Policy Office provides policy guidance and support for DOT-wide efforts to promote the Maritime Transportation System including participation in the Interagency Committee on the MTS, support of policy research on the MTS, and development of SEA-21 MTS support legislation.

Next Generation Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Electronic container-seal Test: Washington State DOT has completed the initial operational test that affixed E-seals to marine containers to evaluate their effectiveness in securing cargo, conveying manifest information electronically rather than through paper documentation, and facilitating the clearance of shipments through customs. Washington State DOT will now evaluate the performance of E-seals in an expanded test of international end-to-end movements of intermodal freight, confirm the cargoes' chain of custody, and expand participation by U.S. Customs, INS, the Department of Agriculture, and other Federal Agencies. Transport Canada and intermodal service providers in British Columbia will also undertake a complimentary and cooperative operational test to support the Washington State DOT project.

A review of E-seal and chain-of-custody technologies is currently underway, with the results of these activities, initial system design, and recruitment of project participants being completed by mid-summer 2003. Beta-testing the devices and the communications network will be completed by the end of 2003, along with any re-engineering that is necessary prior to undertaking a full operational test in 2004. Results of this operational test should be available in the spring of 2005.

Passenger Travel Data: The Mobility and Infrastructure Team is working with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to develop a number of data packages including the Census Transportation Planning Package (CTPP), the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) and the American Community Survey (ACS). CTPP 2000 is a set of special tabulations from the decennial census designed for transportation planners. The data are tabulated from answers to the Census 2000 long form questionnaire, mailed to one in six U.S. households. Because of the large sample size, the data are reliable and accurate. CTPP provides comprehensive and cost-effective data, in a standard format, across the United States. The NHTS [formerly known as the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) and the American Travel Survey (ATS)] are household-based travel surveys conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Survey data are collected from a sample of U.S. households and expanded to provide national estimates of trips and miles by travel mode, purpose, and a host of other characteristics. The survey collects information on daily, local trips and on long-distance travel in the United States. The American Community Survey (ACS) is a new approach for collecting accurate, timely information needed for critical government functions. This new approach provides accurate, up-to-date profiles of America's communities every year. Community leaders and other data users will have timely information for planning and evaluating public programs for everyone from newborns to the elderly.

Performance Measure in Statewide and Metropolitan Planning: The U.S. Department of Transportation has encouraged the use of performance measures in many aspects of its program. In our proposed reauthorization legislation, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003 (SAFETEA), DOT propose that certain transit and highway safety funds be distributed according to performance or specified outcome measures.

The Mobility and Infrastructure Team is working with FHWA and FTA to hold an expert panel on Wednesday, October 8th and Thursday, October 9th, 2003, at the Jury Hotel in Washington, DC. It will bring together state and local transportation planning officials to discuss lessons learned in the application of performance measurement systems and its role in the decision-making process, with an emphasis on practical implementation and administration. This workshop is intended to be the first in a series of meetings and sessions to advance the state of the performance measures process and to further increase its effectiveness through research and peer-to-peer exchanges.

Telecommuting: The Department has long been a leader in promoting telecommuting as a travel demand measure to decrease highway congestion and air pollution. The Mobility and Infrastructure Team has completed three congressionally mandated telecommuting studies. DOT has established an internal task force to examine issues affecting implementation of expanded telecommuting. These issues include redefining what constitutes telecommuting, establishing participation objectives, developing position and employee eligibility criteria, and issues affecting the Department's IT structure. We are also committed to ensuring that the Federal Government does its part to meet the Metropolitan Council of Governments goal for telecommuting in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.

Transit Benefits: On April 21, 2000, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13150, Federal Workforce Transportation in order to expand Federal employees' commuting alternatives and reduce their contribution to traffic congestion and air pollution. The Policy Office was instrumental in developing this Executive Order. The Order also requires the program be evaluated for its effectiveness in reducing single occupancy vehicle travel and local area congestion. The Mobility and Infrastructure Team is currently evaluating Federal transit benefits nationally and will report its findings by October 2003.

Travel Model Improvement Program: The Mobility and Infrastructure Team co-manages the Travel Model Improvement Program (TMIP) and TRANSIMS with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). TMIP is a multi-year, multi-agency program to develop new travel demand modeling procedures that accurately and reliably forecast travel for a broad range of modes, policy actions and operational conditions. The TRansportation ANalysis SIMulation System (TRANSIMS) is a set of new transportation and air quality analysis and forecasting procedures developed to meet the Clean Air Act, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, and other regulations. It consists of mutually supporting simulations, models, and databases that employ advanced computational and analytical techniques to create an integrated regional transportation system analysis environment. By applying advanced technologies and methods, it simulates the dynamic details that contribute to the complexity inherent in today's and tomorrow's transportation issues. The integrated results from the detailed simulations will support transportation planners, engineers, decision makers, and others who must address environmental pollution, energy consumption, traffic congestion, land use planning, traffic safety, intelligent vehicle efficiencies, and the transportation infrastructure effect on the quality of life, productivity, and economy.