TESTIMONY OF THE
AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION
BEFORE THE HIGHWAYS, TRANSIT AND PIPELINES SUBCOMMITTEE
OF THE
HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
ON REAUTHORIZATION OF THE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT
AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS
*******
March 4, 2003
SUBMITTED BY
American Public Transportation Association
1666 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 496-4800
APTA is a nonprofit international association
of over 1,500 public and private member organizations including transit
systems and commuter rail operators; planning, design, construction and
finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit
associations and state departments of transportation. APTA members serve
the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit
services and products. Over ninety percent of persons using public transportation
in the United States and Canada are served by APTA members.
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, on behalf of the American Public Transportation Association, thank you for this opportunity to speak to you about the federal public transportation research and training programs as they pertain to the reauthorization of TEA 21.
ABOUT APTA
APTA's more than 1,500 member organizations serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient, and economical public transportation service, and by working to ensure that transit products and services support national energy, environmental, community, and economic goals. APTA public and private member organizations include transit systems; commuter railroads; design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; and state associations and departments of transportation. More than ninety percent of the people who use public transportation in the United States and Canada are served by APTA member systems.
APTA’S REAUTHORIZATION PROPOSAL ON RESEARCH AND TRAINING
Mr. Chairman, the federal transit research and training programs have been invaluable to our members and the transportation community as a whole. Funding for these five programs needs to be increased in the reauthorization of TEA 21. Federal investment in research and technology enables our systems to operate more efficiently and safely while growing ridership and allows U.S. goods and services to become more competitive in the global marketplace. Without research and training, innovation withers and American jobs are lost offshore. Investment in the International Mass Transportation Program, for example, helps promote American transit products and services overseas, and affords opportunities for American vendors to showcase their products and services. Other types of research and assistance provide tools and information to transit agencies as they continue their efforts to increase ridership on their systems. In short, the several DOT sponsored research programs help provide a solid foundation and a guiding light in fostering innovation and growth in the transit industry.
The Transit Cooperative Research Program, National Transit Institute, National Planning and Research (including Project Action), Rural Transportation Assistance, and University Transportation Research programs have helped the industry reduce costs, increase productivity and enhance operations. Unfortunately, funding for these federal transit research programs has had very limited growth over the past decade. This means that the transit research program has lost purchasing power to inflation even as the needs have grown, thus unduly stretching these limited resources.
APTA has included the federal transit research and training programs in its recommendations for the reauthorization of TEA 21. Our proposal advocates providing for a one-time adjustment in Fiscal Year 2004 to take the overall funding level to $73.59 million which will help restore the lost purchasing power of these programs during the TEA 21 authorization period. APTA proposes to increase research and training funding and to provide for annual increases until funding reaches approximately $132 million in Fiscal Year 2009.
Because these programs are so valuable to the transit industry and the transportation community as a whole, I think it would be useful to provide for the committee some background on some of the research programs and provide for you APTA’s recommendations for their future.
TRANSIT COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM (TCRP)
A key component of FTA’s research program is the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). The Transit Cooperative Research Program was created under ISTEA in 1991 and reauthorized under TEA 21 in 1998. It was created in response to strong demand for ideas and applied solutions to the everyday issues associated with delivering transit services effectively and efficiently, and to bring innovation to the industry. It is modeled after the highly successful National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). TCRP is run cooperatively by the Transportation Research Board, the Transit Development Corporation (an affiliate of APTA), and FTA. It was the intent of the legislation that created this program that it be operated by an independent governing board, a system that continues today and that has worked very well.
Research under TCRP is undertaken by researchers selected through a competitive process. Oversight panels provide the necessary peer-review to assure that the contracted research is on target with the industry’s problem solving need. Once the research is completed, the TCRP in cooperation with APTA, disseminates the information to transit agencies, service providers, equipment manufacturers, and suppliers, the academic community and others. This is done through periodic reports, workshops, and other training aids. According to a recent report, the TCRP has commissioned 346 projects, and completed 247 published studies to date. These projects are divided into eight categories, including operations; service configuration; engineering of vehicles and equipment; engineering of fixed facilities; maintenance; human resources; administration; and policy and planning.
TCRP research has produced many success stories. One study on low-floor light rail vehicles helped Santa Clara County, California save $20 million in costs associated with Americans with Disabilities Act compliance for its new light rail system. Another study is being used by bus systems around the country as they consider purchasing environmentally friendly hybrid-electric transit buses. A TCRP project that seeks to develop uniform technical standards for rail vehicle systems has saved New Jersey Transit $420,000 a year in procurement costs. TCRP Report number 54 "Management Toolkit for Rural and Small Urban Transportation Systems" identifies management principles and techniques for effectively operating transit systems in rural and small urban areas and is being used successfully by the West Virginia Division of Public Transit, among others. Over $2.3 million has been committed since 9/11/01 on fourteen projects to improve the security readiness of the nation’s transit systems. Other reports and studies are being used as training manuals or standard operating procedures for several transit projects, welfare-to-work programs, public information activities, intelligent buses and railcars, and more.
All of this is done on an annual budget of $8.25 million, which is the same level of funding the program received when it was created in 1991. In comparison, NCHRP – the sister program of TCRP – is currently funded at approximately $30 million, with funding levels rising with annual increases in the federal highway program. Had TCRP funding been pegged to the size of the federal investment in transit, which has grown through the ISTEA and TEA 21 years, current TCRP funding would be approximately $17 million instead of $8.25 million.
With more federal investment, this program can do even more to save taxpayer dollars and better serve transit customers. Therefore, APTA recommends that this program receive $13.75 million in Fiscal Year 2004 and annual increases to almost $27.93 million in 2009.
Candidate projects for TCRP funding are selected by a diverse, twenty-five member TCRP Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Committee. The TOPS Committee consists of a broad array of industry interests, public and private, as well as academics. It functions as the TCRP governing board and sets research priorities in accordance with the needs identified by the transit industry itself. In comparison, NCHRP comes under FHWA’s State Planning and Research program (SPR). The SPR funds are apportioned to the fifty states. The states, in turn, commit a portion of their SPR funds to support the NCHRP program, by voluntarily signing annual agreements with the National Academy of Sciences committing the funds. The states recommend projects to be selected. Comparison of these two funding models shows that the NCHRP program has been insulated from the pressures associated with the federal budget process, while the TCRP program has been subject to Congressional earmarking and to the undue influence of FTA in the project selection process.
UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH
Innovation resulting from the latest knowledge and a well-educated and well-trained transportation work force is key to improving mobility. As a country we must develop new transportation leaders and researchers, and assure the development of the most advanced and productive transportation technologies. Universities can play a critical role in this regard.
National benefits in this regard are achieved through the University Transportation Centers Program (UTCP), and through the University Transportation Institutes. APTA strongly supports the continuation and growth of these programs.
By forming a working relationship with universities, the transit industry and the FTA are able to create a link with the academic community in providing an open forum for problem solving and intellectual discourse.
As with the TCRP, the UTCP budget has remained flat at the $6 million level since 1993. APTA recommends a $10.5 million investment in this program in Fiscal Year 2004 and annual increases to $21.9 million in Fiscal Year 2009.
NATIONAL PROGRAM OF TRANSIT PLANNING AND RESEARCH
The National Program of Transit Planning and Research, or TPR, is the FTA’s primary program for TPR data collection and analysis, and technical assistance to the transit industry. TPR addresses challenges and opportunities that are national in scope including safety, security, mobility, fuel efficiency, clean air, and global trade. It includes research, development, testing and information transfer of innovative transit technologies and services. One of the most successful efforts has been Easter Seals Project ACTION, an initiative first commissioned by Congress in 1988 to promote cooperation between the transportation industry and the disability community to increase mobility for people with disabilities under the ADA and beyond.
APTA works closely with FTA Administrator Dorn and her team on a number of important issues, including safety and security, intelligent transportation systems, and setting voluntary standards for the transit industry. Unfortunately, FTA often has little discretion in which projects to undertake as nearly all funds are Congressionally directed. The effectiveness of the national research program would be enhanced if the program were made less susceptible to earmarking.
APTA recommends funding this program at $36.2 million in Fiscal Year 2004, with annual increases to $57.5 million in Fiscal Year 2009.
NATIONAL TRANSIT INSTITUTE
The National Transit Institute (NTI) was established in 1992. It is based at Rutgers University and, like the TCRP, is modeled after a successful highway program, FHWA’s National Highway Institute. The NTI serves the training and staff development needs of the transit industry’s workforce. It offers courses and seminars in a number of FTA offices in several policy areas including procurement, program management, and planning. The overall goal of the NTI is to help the transit industry attract and develop employees who are productive and technically competent.
Like other programs mentioned previously, the investment in this program has remained relatively flat, receiving only a $1 million increase after Fiscal Year 1998 to $4 million annually. APTA recommends increasing this to just over $5 million in the next fiscal year and providing increases in investment up to $8.9 million in Fiscal Year 2009.
RURAL TRANSIT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Significant training and technical assistance services to promote delivery of safe and effective public transportation services in rural areas are provided through the Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP). APTA recommends that the RTAP program be funded at $7.94 million in FY 2004, growing to a level of $15.33 million in FY 2009.
APTA RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN
Before closing, Mr. Chairman, I would like briefly to note that the transit industry through APTA has developed a strategic plan on research and technology. Our plan will address five key areas: safety; technology; workforce development; transit in the community; and market development. We look forward to briefing the Committee on the plan in the future, and working with FTA on its implementation.
CONCLUSION
In closing, I want to express my appreciation for the opportunity to testify before you today. Investment in these important research programs is a cost-effective way to ensure that our nation’s transit infrastructure is safe, modern, efficiently run and competently operated. When our transit network operates in this fashion, transit best serves our communities by serving as an important part of an integrated, multi-modal transportation system that gets and puts people to work, protects the environment, and moves goods and services. APTA recommends that congress recognize the role transit research plays by increasing its investment in these programs. Mr. Chairman, we look forward to working with the Committee as it advances legislation to address our transportation needs and to reauthorize the TEA 21 programs that have worked so well.
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