Funding will support vital transportation planning reform

Dec. 17, 2009

Washington, D.C. - The Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP) applauds Senator Mark Warner for recognizing that the nation’s transportation policies are in need of reform. Senator Warner’s amendment to the FY 2010 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 3288) represents an essential first step towards accountability for the way we invest in our nation’s transportation infrastructure.

The language, in Section 105 of H.R. 3288, provides funds for the Transportation Planning, Research, and Development program to be used for the development, coordination, and analysis of data collection procedures and national performance measures. This will provide funds to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to begin working with states and other grant recipients to develop data on national performance metrics for transportation funding. This is a crucial prerequisite to moving towards a performance-based federal transportation policy, a transformation NTPP calls for in its recently released report, Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy. NTPP’s recommendations propose restructuring federal programs, and creating a performance-based system that directly ties transportation spending to broader national goals, including economic growth, connectivity, accessibility, safety, energy security, and environmental protection.

“We commend Senator Warner for his leadership on this issue,” said Joshua Schank, Director of Transportation Research at the BPC. “His support for reforming the nation’s transportation system will have a positive impact on all Americans as they go about their daily lives.”

To optimize returns on transportation investments, NTPP recommends data collection to track how grant money is being spent and whether those investments make progress toward the nation’s transportation goals and objectives. The metrics proposed in NTPP’s report would focus on larger national economic, energy and safety benefits, rather than individual elements of the transportation system. NTPP believes that outcome-based metrics, as well as a clearer articulation of the goals of federal transportation policy and a more transparent, systematic application of those goals to funding decisions would significantly improving performance.

While Senator Warner’s efforts mark a step in the right direction, NTPP urges Congress to continue to refine metrics and develop relevant data in any extension of the Safe Accountable Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) in order to further improve performance and increase accountability.

NTPP was launched with the goal of bringing fresh approaches to transportation policy. Its proposals for transportation reform aim to be bold and pragmatic, while remaining effective and relevant. NTPP, a project of the BPC, is composed of a diverse and bipartisan group of transportation experts and business and civic leaders. It is co-chaired by former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, former New York Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, former Washington Senator Slade Gorton, and former Minnesota Congressman Martin Sabo. Senator Warner was an original co-chair of the project.

To learn more about NTPP and read Performance Driven: A New Vision of U.S. Transportation Policy, please visit: www.bipartisanpolicy.org.

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National Transportation Policy Project