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Specialists in the Transportation Research Board Technical Activities Division are in a unique position to identify the current concerns and learn about the activities of the transportation community. The TRB Annual Meeting, Board-sponsored conferences and workshops, standing committees, publications, and contact with thousands of organizations and individuals provide TRB staff with information on all modes of transportation from both the public and private sectors. A major source of such information is the annual field visit program, through which TRB staff meet on site with each state transportation department, many universities, transit and other modal agencies, and industry representatives. The objectives of the program are to (1) learn of problems facing these organizations and transmit information from state, industry, or educational institutions that can help solve those problems; (2) learn of research activities that are in progress or contemplated, and exchange information on similar research being carried out elsewhere, thus preventing duplication of efforts; (3) identify new methods and procedures that may be applicable elsewhere; (4) identify innovative or experimental work that may not be widely published, but is worthy of broader attention; (5) describe the Board’s range of services to new staff at transportation agencies that support TRB; and (6) identify potential candidates for TRB committees. Presented here are the issues, concerns, and recent program changes in transportation identified by the TRB Technical Activities Division staff as a result of this year’s field visits. The time period covered is July 1, 1996–June 30, 1997, unless otherwise noted. |
Last year’s hopes that reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act would be enacted by September 30, 1997, the end of the federal fiscal year, were just that—hopes. Despite the hard work of the administration and Congress, as well as the many affected parties, multiyear surface transportation legislation was still pending at fiscal year’s end. Passage was delayed, perhaps not surprisingly, by conflicts with the balanced budget requirement, debate over allocation formulas, and a host of "special considerations."
Although the trend has been evident for the past several years, the 1997 field visits revealed increased activity within the state DOTs related to new ways of conducting business. Regardless of the term used—quality initiatives, strategic plans, business plans, partnering, or customer orientation—many states are introducing new initiatives aimed at reorienting their departments to better address current needs and demands, partly in response to the need to shift from a construction to an operations mode. The use of performance measures is a critical part of most of these initiatives, and the first section of this summary provides an overview of the states’ experience with these measures to date.
Environmental issues, railroad mergers, airport funding, freight planning, demonstration of automated highway systems, transit initiatives, state DOT staff reductions and outsourcing, and safety concerns are among the many other subjects addressed in this summary. A central concern in all of these areas is the data required to conduct the various analyses and decision-making processes involved. With the recent sponsorship of the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, TRB has been able to strengthen its data-related activities. In accordance with this new emphasis, a section addressing the data needs of state and local transportation agencies has been added to this annual summary.