Coalition of Business, Highway, Transit and Environmental Leaders Urge Congress to Support Smart Technologies in Transportation Reauthorization Bill

Washington, DC – A coalition of highway and transit organizations, automakers, safety and environmental advocates, and public and private sector leaders from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses joined forces today to urge Congress to invest in high-tech solutions in the surface transportation reauthorization bill to get the most from our nation’s infrastructure and limited transportation dollars.

“As we look for ways to make needed improvements to our nation’s infrastructure, embracing the rapid advancements in innovative technologies is a no brainer,” said Governor Ed Rendell, Co-Chair of Building America’s Future. “Whether they are geared to providing more reliability to our daily commutes or advanced detections to bridges, smart technologies are the wave of the future.”

“Our citizens expect us to be forward thinking and good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” explained Minnesota DOT Commissioner Tom Sorel. “The Minnesota Department of Transportation uses cost-effective ITS technology to ensure that our transportation system is safer, more efficient and user friendly.”

A few examples of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) include advanced crash avoidance systems, active traffic management to reduce congestion and improve incident response, electronic tolling and payment systems, synchronized and adaptive traffic signals, stress sensors in bridges, weigh-in-motion truck screenings, and real-time traffic, transit, and parking information for commuters.

According to Bruce Josten, Executive Vice President for Government Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “Businesses require transportation systems that are safe, reliable, and cost-effective. According to the Chamber’s Transportation Performance Index, America has to make substantial, but smart, investments to improve system performance to deal with traffic congestion and unclog bottlenecks, bring systems to a state of good repair and create seamless intermodal connections for goods and people. If we don’t, we’ll lose jobs to other nations and drag down economic growth. Intelligent transportation systems can be part of delivering better commutes and more efficient commerce.”

“At a time when governments at all levels are being asked to do more with less, investing in intelligent transportation systems is a cost-effective way to ensure that our transportation system is safer, more efficient and user-friendly, all the while supporting job creation and economic growth,” according to more than 100 organizations ranging from AAA, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, American Public Works Association, American Highway Users Alliance, American Public Transportation Association, and Retail Industry Leaders Association to private sector leaders such as Ford, General Motors, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Siemens, AT&T and Verizon.

In a joint letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders, the coalition urged lawmakers to support the Smart Technologies for Communities Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by ITS Caucus co-chairs Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Russ Carnahan (D-MO) to establish competitive pilot projects in up to six communities across the country that would serve as models for large-scale deployment of high-tech, integrated transportation solutions.

“As state and local agencies look for cost-effective solutions, smart technologies offer the most bang for the buck when it comes to reducing traffic congestion, improving safety and providing better traveler information, while helping keep our nation’s infrastructure in a state of good repair,” said Scott Belcher, President and CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) which organized the letter and represents a national and statewide network of more than 1,600 public and private sector transportation and technology organizations.

AAA President and CEO Bob Darbelnet explained, “AAA supports the ‘Smart Technologies for Communities Act’ because commuters and travelers deserve better performance and efficiency in their everyday transportation experience. Technology can help make the transportation system – and travelers – smarter, thus maximizing the investment of limited resources and enabling travelers to make informed choices about how they get to their destinations safely and efficiently.”

Investing in high-tech solutions is considered vital for strengthening job creation and the economy. Dr. Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), stressed that “Intelligent transportation systems are a vital contributor to national and regional economic competitiveness, ensuring that people and products move smoothly and efficiently, enabling reliable supply chains, and mitigating the negative economic consequences of traffic congestion and accidents.”

“ITS technologies constitute a growing industry supporting tens of thousands of high-tech, high-paying jobs which are critical to fostering the competitiveness of the domestic automotive and IT industries,” continued Atkinson, whose also served as Chair of the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission. “And the social return on federal investments in ITS are substantial; for instance, a $1 billion investment in a real-time traffic information system could generate over $30 billion in economic benefits for American citizens.”

One area that could be pursued under the bill is a regional connected vehicle network, which the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates has the potential to – if deployed nationwide – prevent or mitigate the impact of 4 out of 5 unimpaired vehicle crashes, preventing thousands of deaths and millions of injuries on U.S. roads each year.

“Technology continues to play an important role in the future of auto safety,” explained Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers Vice President of Federal Affairs Shane Karr. “Technology combined with consumer education and strong laws visibly enforced, has reduced fatalities to historic lows. To build upon this success, things like vehicle to infrastructure communications will be essential. The Smart Technologies for Communities Act can help us advance auto safety further. We applaud and support the ITS Caucus Co-chairs, Representatives Mike Rogers and Russ Carnahan, for their vision toward the future.”

Under the Smart Technologies for Communities Act eligible communities could also deploy existing high-tech safety solutions including systems that are critical for reducing fatalities and injuries on rural roads. “MnDOT’s Rural ITS Safety Solutions Systems are low-cost, readily deployable, low maintenance systems that improve safety at low-volume curves and non-signalized rural intersections. This is just one example of how we do more with less, while protecting and contributing to the quality of life in Minnesota,” said MnDOT Commissioner Sorel.

Another critical challenge facing cities and communities is traffic congestion, which is slowing down commerce, contributing to pollution and wasting precious fuel. In major metropolitan areas alone, over 4.8 billion hours are spent sitting in traffic, wasting 3.9 billion gallons of fuel and costing our economy over $115 billion annually.

“Utilization of Intelligent Transportation Systems is crucial to advancing the productivity of the supply chain and optimizing the flow of goods from factory to store,” said Kelly Kolb, Vice President of Global Supply Chain Policy at the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). “The Smart Technologies for Communities Act is a pragmatic solution bringing 21st century technology into our infrastructure and we applaud ITS Caucus co-chairs Mike Rogers and Russ Carnahan for their continued leadership on this issue.”

Sustainability leaders such as the Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Transportation for America, and Pew Center have also endorsed the bill. According to Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, “Transporting people and goods more efficiently is one of the key steps towards reducing oil use and our impact on the global climate. Adopting reliable and cost-effective solutions for deploying intelligent transportation technologies are a no-brainer in these times of constrained budgets.”

The letter, list of endorsements, and additional information about the Smart Technologies for Communities Act (H.R. 995) are available online at http://www.itsa.org/SmartCommunities.html.