Transit Research Analysis Committee Letter Report: November 11, 2016 (2016)

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2 PROGRAM OVERVIEW You and your team opened the 2-day meeting with an overview of recent developments in public transportation, including the trends and challenges facing transit agencies and supporting industries. Ridership is reaching record levels, and public–private transportation partnerships have been expanding and evolving to create new mobility supply models and innovative service offerings that were not anticipated just a few years ago. Local communities, transportation service providers, and private industry are experimenting with the integration of information, communications, and automation. The energy and environmental performance of transit systems is being enhanced by the widespread introduction of low- and zero-emission buses and by other advanced technologies. Even as it embraces these developments, the transit industry faces ongoing challenges, such as maintaining a state of good repair and ensuring the safety and security of passengers and employees. Intent on meeting these challenges, the Office of Research, Demonstration, and Innovation (traditionally abbreviated as TRI) administers a $136 million annual program that is larger and more varied than the one reviewed by TRAC when it last issued a letter report in 2012. TRI now has a wide range of functions and responsibilities. In addition to the direct programming and funding of research, demonstration, and deployment projects, it funds the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP);1 provides the transit industry with technical and workforce development assistance through a number of means, including support for conferences, webinars, 1FTA provides TCRP with $5 million annually. This research is programmed by the American Public Transportation Association’s TCRP Oversight and Project Selection committee, and the program is administered by TRB. This distinguishes TCRP funding from other TRI funding, which TRI continues to oversee. Box 1: TRAC Statement of Task TRAC, an interdisciplinary committee of experts from industry, academia, and the private and public sectors, will examine and recommend actions FTA can take to ensure that its research and innovation program is relevant, timely, and effective in meeting the diverse and changing needs of the public transportation community. To do so, TRAC will review the program’s  Latest Section 5312 Research Report that highlights program activities and accomplishments;  Strategic planning process, including approaches for setting research priorities and identifying research needs and opportunities;  Procedures for obtaining and evaluating stakeholder input; and  Means for evaluating research results, furthering their use, and understanding their value to the transit industry and broader public. TRAC will identify candidate areas of emphasis for FTA-sponsored research that are consistent with the stated goals of the U.S. Department of Transportation and with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act’s emphasis on improving mobility and infrastructure durability, reducing congestion, promoting safety, and preserving the transportation system and environment. Drawing on its interdisciplinary knowledge and experience, TRAC will assist FTA in identifying and examining emerging trends affecting the public transportation sector as well as transferable practices from outside the sector that can benefit public transportation. TRAC will make recommendations to FTA on research and innovation program strategies intended to strengthen the public transportation industry’s adaptation to new circumstances and adoption of new practices. TRAC will issue its findings and recommendations in biannual consensus letter reports but with the option, per request of FTA and subject to funding availability, to issue a longer consensus report that addresses elements of the task statement in more depth and over a longer time horizon.

3 and publications; supports the education and training activities implemented through the National Transit Institute; and sets the performance standards used in FTA’s Model Bus Testing Program. In your presentations, the subjects of these activities were categorized under one or more of the following three research priority areas: mobility, asset management and asset innovation, and safety. The pyramid in Figure 1 illustrates the priorities. Safety, described as a key consideration in all transit decisions, is placed at the pyramid’s base; mobility, described as an end goal of transit service, is placed at the peak. Table 1 shows TRI’s annual funding grouped according to the three priority areas. Within each of the areas, some of the funds are used to conduct research, but most of the funds (about 85 percent) are used for demonstration and deployment projects as well as activities such as technical assistance. The demonstration and deployment projects include the U.S. Department of Transportation Smart Cities Challenge; Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox; Research and Technical Assistance Program Planning activity; Accessible Transportation Technology Research Initiative; Rides-to-Wellness Program; and Innovative Safety, Resiliency, and All-Hazards Emergency Response and Recovery Research Demonstrations. Funds are also used to support safety research demonstrations and the development of employee safety reporting systems. We were told that these projects are not only budget-intensive but also that their administration commands a large portion of your staff’s time. FIGURE 1: FTA research priority pyramid TABLE 1: Current Annual TRI Funding of Priority Areas (excludes TCRP funds) Priority Area Funding ($) Mobility 8 million Asset Management and Innovation 88 million Safety 35 million Total Annual Funding 131 million Mobility Although mobility is situated at the peak of the pyramid, it accounts for only about 6 percent of annual TRI funding. The main project is the MOD Sandbox initiative, which funds pilot projects allowing transit agencies, private companies, and communities to partner in the development of mobility services with fewer traditional policy and regulatory constraints. MOD projects include greater integration of transportation network companies, such as Uber and Lyft, with existing paratransit operations to reduce the per trip cost of such critical but specialized mobility services. One of the goals of this research is to aid in the design of FTA policies and regulations that both stimulate and accommodate the development of such innovative services. Asset Management and Asset Innovation About two-thirds of TRI funds go to activities categorized as asset management and asset innovation. However, more than 85 percent of these funds ($77 million of $88 million) go to the No- or Low-Emission Vehicle testing and assessment program. The program was created in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (the Mobility Asset Management and Asset Innovation Safety

4 2012 surface transportation reauthorization act that preceded the FAST Act). The remaining $11 million goes to the funding of transit standards programs and other research efforts. Safety The $35 million in funding for safety projects accounts for about one-quarter of TRI’s portfolio. In particular, we were provided information on the Safety Research and Demonstration project, which provides $7 million in technical and financial support to transit agencies to explore the use of innovative technologies, methods, and vehicle designs to mitigate safety hazards. We were told that this program was funded only through 2016 but that TRI anticipates funding infusions in future years. Another program within the safety topic is the Innovative Safety, Resiliency, and All-Hazards Emergency Response and Recovery Program. This program provides $24 million to transit agency applicants to improve system safety and respond more effectively to emergencies. Outreach Efforts to Inform Future Research Programming During August and September 2016, FTA conducted an online dialogue to acquire public input on topics that may be candidates for future research. The dialogue consisted of a web forum in which individuals could offer ideas on research needs and vote on them, thereby informing TRI’s development of a strategic plan. During the roughly one month in which the forum was open, the 462 people who participated generated 131 unique ideas for research and cast nearly 1,500 votes on them. As shown in Figure 2, FTA grouped the ideas into categories after online voting was complete. How narrowly or broadly these topics were defined was not explained to the committee. The three most prominent topics were mobility, safety, and transportation–land use connections. As explained to the committee, the highest-ranked mobility topic included research ideas on equality and access, ridership and travel behavior, funding and planning policies, and mobility performance measures for both rural and urban systems. Safety topics were ranked second, and many of these topics involved automated transit possibilities and operator fitness for duty. The third-ranked transportation–land use topic included research ideas concerning the coordination of transportation, land use, and housing and connections to transit hubs and centers. Asset management and asset innovation, one of TRI’s three priorities, included ideas about congestion reduction and electric vehicles. It was ranked significantly behind the top three. FIGURE 2: Voting results from TRI’s online dialogue on transit research themes OBSERVATIONS AND ADVICE When TRAC issued its last letter report in 2012, TRI was still facing the effects of years of earmarking, which significantly reduced its ability to engage in strategic research planning. The FAST Act, passed in 2015, provided the first long-term program authorization in years. The law’s shift in emphasis away from earmarking has provided TRI with increased autonomy as well as budgetary stability. While the committee recognizes that TRI still does not have full discretion over programming—as illustrated by the need to administer the No- and Low- Emissions bus testing program—it commends you and your team for expressing a strong commitment to strategic programming. 26 68 72 283 348 428 Workforce Data Asset Management & Asset Innovation Transportation Land Use Connection Safety Mobility