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From the Executive Director's Desk
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Driverless vehicles and the connected vehicle initiative are projected to improve driver safety and transportation operations efficiency. Are autonomous vehicles over-promising outcomes? Autonomous vehicles -
- May be a smart use for getting commuters from that last mile to their destination. Rideshare and vanpool services - furthermore, may be a replacement for some under-performing public transit routes.
- Will not reduce traffic congestion in our cities and may not be cost-effective for rural transportation and commuter systems.
- Will not address commuter and funding demands for walking, bicycling, subways, ferries, and many other public transit conveyances.
The concept of connected vehicle may be an element of our future cities. It is not a silver bullet. City leaders are concerned with integrating transportation into a multimodal network that manages commercial and commuter mobility demands. As stated by the National League of Cities, "The many economic, social, and environmental problems worldwide are also primarily urban problems: cities are where the people are. This leads to a logical prescription: cities should deal with these problems in an integrated way, with coordination across geography, issues, disciplines, and agencies. The terms 'quality of life' and 'livability'are now commonly used not just in environmental and land-use planning, but also in planning for economic development and infrastructure ( Understanding Urban Transportation Systems: A Guide for City Leaders, 2011). It is important for ACT members to learn more about the future of our transportation systems as it is being researched, designed, and tested. ITS and TDM could be converging elements to elevate the autonomous vehicle network into a multimodal network desired by community leaders. We recommend reading the report published by the U.S. Department of Transportation discussing the results of the Autonomous Vehicle Symposium held this summer; it's included in this newsletter. Best always, Bill Anderson Executive Director, ACT
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Speaker Presentations Available
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ACT Members who attended the International Conference in Baltimore are invited to see presentations at this time.
Please note that not all presentations have been shared, sometimes because of copyright rules. More presentations may be added later.
Thanks, and we hope you enjoy the presentations.
Conference Photos Available!
Post-Conference Attendee Survey
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Congress Begins Summer Recess
Article from the Associated Press
Congress has gone into its month-long summer recess. The House and Senate will return after Labor Day to a full plate of legislative work, including a surface transportation bill. Earlier, the President signed into law an extension of MAP-21 that will last until the end of October but whose funding is expected to last until the end of December, providing Congress an easy out if a long-term bill is not passed by the end of October.
Before leaving for recess, the Senate passed a multi-year transportation package: the DRIVE Act. The DRIVE Act reauthorized highway and transit programs for six years, but only included funding for the first three. The legislation includes a number of ACT's priorities including the preservation of CMAQ and a series of new discretionary grant programs aimed at innovative transportation solutions.
The House committees responsible for authorizing surface transportation programs are currently finalizing their products. The current plan is for them to take action in mid-September, giving House and Senate conferees October to work out differences. Several major hurdles, including how to fund the bill, remain. Complicating matters even further is the point that the House will only be in session for 12 days in September and its to-do list includes numerous 'must-pass'bills, such as FY 2016 appropriation bills as well as a vote on the Iran deal. ACT is working as if the House will take action in September and urges its members to pay attention to legislative alerts that will be released as needed. Federal Transit Administration Proposes New Safety Rule, Announces Webinar The Federal Transit Administration announced its proposed new safety rules. FTA will host a webinar on those rules, found here, to discuss the provisions of the proposed rule and how industry stakeholders can get involved in the regulatory process. The webinar will begin on Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 1 p.m. EDT. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions.
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University Launches Bike Share
The Ohio State University has brought a bike sharing program to its Columbus campus. Zagster Bike Share offers 115 bicycles at 15 conveniently located campus locations. For more information, click here.
TMA Council Celebrates One Year!
Thank you to everyone who attended our TMA Council event at the International Conference in Baltimore. With more than 40 attendees, we were thrilled to highlight our accomplishments this past year and provide an opportunity for networking. Thank you again to CelWell for their generous sponsorship.
We would also like to thank everyone who contributed to our very successful first year since being reinvigorated.
We look forward to working with you in the coming year. If you have any questions or would like to get more involved, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!
Our next meeting is September 15, 2015, 2-3 p.m. EST.
We're very happy to welcome all our new members to our ACT family.
Joining the Chesapeake Chapter are:
- Jude Miller, Marriott International
- Mark Pace, Montgomery College
- Nicholas Robb, Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission
Joining the Northern California Chapter are:
- Barry Arata, MuV Technologies, Inc.
- Brady McGibben, MuV Technologies, Inc.
Joining the SEACT Chapter are:
- Rick Carr, Carr Sales Company LLC
- Vonie Gilreath and Ronald Mitchum, BCD Council of Governments
Joining the Valley of the Sun Chapter is Paul Boyce of Commuter Services Group. Additionally, we have a new international member: Tom Lewison, RideShark Corporation.
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Report from the 2015 Automated Vehicles Symposium (AVS 2015) in Ann Arbor, Mich.
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Transportation is making major moves toward a future system of vehicles wirelessly communicating with each other and eventually driving themselves to avoid accidents and save lives. These connected automated vehicles are a major part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) research agenda. Thus, several USDOT leaders and staff participated in the recent 2015 Automated Vehicles Symposium (AVS 2015) held in Ann Arbor, Mich., to discuss this hot topic within the transportation industry.
The National Academies Transportation Research Board (TRB) and Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) partner together to host the annual automated vehicle event, now in its fourth year.
E-tool for Business Processes to Improve Travel Time Reliably
Three versions of the e-tool are available for download in a zip format.
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Franklin Transit Welcomes Williamson County CASA's Rocklin
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Franklin Transit was a recent host to a special new customer: Williamson County CASA's (Court Appointed Service Advocates) highly trained therapy facility courtroom dog, Rocklin. Marianne Schroer, Williamson County CASA Executive Director and Rocklin's handler stated: "Rocklin's riding Franklin Transit is great on two levels. First, it gives us the opportunity to interact with people in the community and talk about the role of service dogs and gives insight into what CASA does. Second, it is important for Rocklin to have exposure to a variety of experiences that will help him in his role as a service facility dog."
In his working role, Rocklin goes to court, attends the Foster Review Board with children, and visits schools and other civic groups to share with people about the work of Williamson County CASA. He loves helping both children and adults who are going through a difficult time in the community. Rocklin was trained by Canine Companions for Independence, a member of Assistance Dogs International. He has found a permanent home in Franklin, Tennessee.
"The Franklin Transit Authority is honored to help enrich in the social training of service animals, such as Rocklin. The acclimation to the use of Franklin's public transportation and the interaction with riders is an integral broadening in Rocklin's working experiences. We look forward to seeing him on board again as he continues his service and training in our community,"states Debbie Henry, Executive Director, Franklin Transit Authority.
15 Metros with the Biggest Declines in Commuting by Car Driving alone remains the most popular way to commute in the U.S., but efforts to reduce solo, four-wheeled daily trips may be helping reduce the number of cars on roads.
A new U.S. Census Bureau report, "Who Drives to Work? Commuting by Automobile in the United States: 2013,"shows that 85.8 percent of Americans still get to work by car, and 76.4 percent drive solo. But the Census Bureau also charted metro areas that have made strides in cutting down their numbers of automobile commuters. Here are the top 15, taken from metros with more than 500,000 people.
Transportation Secretary: Be More Vocal About the Lack of Federal Transportation Funding
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx renewed his call for passage of a robust, long-term federal transportation bill and urged state transportation officials to become more vocal on how local projects suffer without such a bill.
"Frankly, I would like to see more states telling Washington what they are not doing,"he said. "Sometimes we go out and make these calls to states to say, 'What is going to happen if this highway bill doesn't pass?'and we hear crickets chirping.
"I would rather see states stepping up and saying, 'This is what we can't do, and we could do it if we had a federal bill,'"said Foxx, who was in Kansas City speaking at the Polsinelli Public Policy Up Close Speaker Series.
Hoboken to Launch Bike Share
Hoboken, N.J., announced that it will roll out its bike share program next month-the same month Jersey City plans to launch Citi Bikes. Officials touted Hoboken's system, which is supplied by nextbikes and operated by Bike and Roll. The bikes have built-in locks and GPS-tracking systems, so docking stations aren't required throughout the city, said Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
MBTA Moves Toward Privatizing Some Bus Routes
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is exploring the privatization of more than two dozen bus routes, a move that the president of the T's largest union says amounts to a "betrayal"from Governor Charlie Baker's administration.
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When Are Bus Lanes Warranted? Considering Economic Efficiency, Social Equity and Strategic Planning Goals
Read the full report here
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This report describes a framework for determining when bus lanes are warranted.
This paper examines conventional planning, describes examples of bus lane planning and evaluation, and discusses ways to optimize their implementation. This analysis suggests that bus lanes are generally warranted where, after all economically justified pro-transit policies are implemented, they would attract more than 800 peak-hour passengers (about 20 buses) on surface streets or 1,800 peak-hour passengers (about 40 buses) on grade-separated highways, because they carry more passengers than a general traffic lane, saving total travel time.
"Living Transport" ( www.livingtransport.com) is a website about living and about transport, and especially about how important it is to fit the two together.
"Urban Accessibility Explorer" ( http://urbanaccessibility.com). This powerful new accessibility mapping system measures the number of activities -including jobs, schools, parks, stores, and libraries -that can be reached by residents of a specified neighborhood within a given amount of travel time by a particular mode and time of day, in the Chicago metropolitan area.
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National Days of Fun Interests
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Make time to appreciate.
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August 28:
College Colors Days
August 29:
Franchise Appreciation Day
August 30:
Holistic Pet Day
August 31:
Trail Mix Day
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September 1:
Building & Codes Staff Appreciation Day
September 2:
Lazy Mom's Day
September 3:
Skyscraper Day
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Today, August 27
Burger Day
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Blow Your Trumpet 
You won an award? Your organization received a grant? You solved a problem that has long vexed the TDM world? Why keep it a secret? Please add ACT to your press list and email us your news. A short paragraph is plenty; we'll follow up with you if we need more details. Just email us at info@actweb.org with "Member News" in the subject line.
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