TESTIMONY
OF
ELIZABETH
STUTTS
GRANT
PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATOR
FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
on
behalf of
THE
ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUTER TRANSPORTATION
before
the
ENVIRONMENT
AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
UNITED
STATES SENATE
on
MOBILITY,
CONGESTION AND INTERMODALISM:
MARCH
19, 2002
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, thank
you very much for the opportunity to participate in the dialogue on the
reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st
Century, or TEA-21. My name is
Elizabeth Stutts, Grants Program Administrator for the Florida Department of
Transportation in Tallahassee, Florida.
I am pleased to be here today representing the Association for Commuter
Transportation – or ACT.
The
members of ACT represent a broad coalition of organizations – from major
private-sector businesses and institutions to transportation agencies – but we
all have one thing in common… We are
all working cooperatively to make transportation work better by making it more
efficient and less costly.
ACT
members are working together in public-private partnerships to make
transportation work better for business.
Major employers recognize that transportation issues impact the
bottom-line. Workers are facing
commutes that get longer each day – under more stressful and less predictable
travel conditions. This situation has a
direct impact on employee recruitment, retention, and productivity – increasing
labor-related costs and affecting competitiveness.
Our
testimony today will focus on creative approaches to making our transportation
system work better by investing in a more comprehensive approach – not just to
the way we build our transportation systems, but to the way we use
our transportation systems.
In
communities around the country, ACT members are working closely with the people
who use transportation on a daily basis. We have a customer-driven approach. After all, transportation is really about the people who use it –
and the individual decisions they make everyday about where they need to go,
when they need to leave, and how they’re going to get there. Unfortunately, all too often, everyone tries
to go the same place, at the same time, using the same route and the same mode
of travel. The result is congestion and
inefficiency, which greatly impacts our business productivity and our quality
of life. Our members include public-sector
entities working in partnership with businesses and residents to make transportation
more efficient; private-sector employers, working with their employees to
improve the commute; and schools working with their students to improve
connections to the campus and the classroom.
The
reauthorization of TEA-21 presents a clear opportunity to support America’s
businesses, workers, and citizens by supporting transportation programs and
partnerships that can make a difference.
In our testimony today, we are asking the Committee to:
·
Build
upon the foundations of flexibility and partnership established under ISTEA and
TEA-21,
·
Recognize
the important balance between the way we build transportation and the way we
use transportation,
·
Increase
support for partnerships that engage the private sector, and
·
Enhance
travel choices and provide incentives for smart choices.
ISTEA
& TEA-21: BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
The enactment of the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) in 1991, and its successor, TEA-21, in
1998, signaled a new era in the development of our nation's transportation
system. By the early 1990s, the
construction of the original interstate highway network was complete, and a
growing number of business and community leaders were looking to broaden their
approach to meeting the transportation needs of their workers and
citizens. ISTEA and TEA-21
responded. By giving communities new
flexibility to use federal funds to invest in a variety of travel modes – from
highways, to rail lines, to bike paths – ISTEA and TEA-21 recognized the
benefits of allowing communities to invest in transportation that gives people
more choices in how they get around.
These bills recognized the significant power of transportation
investments – not simply as an end in themselves – but as an effective tool to
achieve a wide range of community goals.
Throughout the 1990s, transportation agencies,
metropolitan planning organizations, and local jurisdictions responded to
increasingly diverse travel needs by investing in multi-modal transportation
improvements. The results of this shift
were significant. Annual federal
investments in public transportation systems doubled from just over $3 billion
in 1990 to nearly $6 billion in 1999, and federal funding for bicycle and
pedestrian projects grew from only $7 million in 1990 to $220 million in
1999.
In addition to enhancing funding flexibility,
ISTEA and TEA-21 stressed the importance of partnerships between federal, state
and local agencies – empowering metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to
facilitate intergovernmental partnerships in the transportation decision-making
process. This focus on partnerships
allowed federal transportation investment decisions to better respond to the
unique transportation goals of states and communities – and led to an overall
increase in state and local funding for projects that provide citizens with
enhanced travel choices. For example,
between 1990 and 1999, local and state funding for public transportation grew
by 34 percent.
As we move toward the reauthorization of TEA-21,
we must build on these foundations of flexibility and partnership. We must continue to strengthen our national
transportation infrastructure, including road and bridge networks, bus and rail
transportation lines, ferry services, and bicycle and pedestrian trails. We must continue to prioritize investments
in preserving the quality of existing roads and bridges and improvements in
transportation safety. And we must
continue to support the expansion of rail and bus transit services to meet the
ever-growing demand for these services.
While ISTEA and TEA-21 were remarkable steps
forward, many challenges remain. Across
the country, traffic congestion is a serious and pervasive problem for both
businesses and communities. In 1999,
congestion cost the Unites States over $78 billion dollars in wasted time and
wasted fuel. People are spending more
and more time stuck in traffic and less time with families. More frustrating and less predictable
commute times are impeding the ability of employers to recruit and retain
valued employees, and congestion is impeding the efficient movement of
goods. Air quality continues to
endanger public health and degrade community livability. Finally, as the tragic events of September
11th revealed, the functionality of transportation systems affect a
wide range of security and emergency preparedness issues, from the movement of
response vehicles to the evacuation and protection of citizens.
To tackle these critical challenges, the
reauthorization of TEA-21 must build on the foundations of flexibility and
partnership first established by ISTEA.
Reauthorization must take the next step forward by integrating programs
and partnerships that can make the transportation system work better –
by not simply focusing on the way we build transportation, but on the
way we use transportation. This
is a critical distinction, as it recognizes that how well the transportation
system works depends on the balance between the availability of transportation
infrastructure – from roads to bridges to transit lines – and the way that
people use this available infrastructure.
Focusing on the way that people use
transportation means focusing on where they need to go, when they need to
leave, and what choices they have in how to get there. It means providing people more
transportation choices and real-time travel information about these
choices. It means recognizing that
people make travel decisions based on a variety of factors like time, cost,
convenience, safety and reliability – and developing incentives to encourage
smart travel choices. And it means
forging partnerships between the people that depend on transportation every day
– partnerships between transportation organizations and private employers,
between employers and their employees, between educational institutions and
their students, and between developers and their tenants.
To address the significant transportation
challenges facing our businesses and communities, the reauthorization of TEA-21
must recognize the importance of this balance between the way we build
transportation and the way we use transportation. The following sections highlight the need to integrate programs
and partnerships designed to achieve this balance.
Reauthorization represents a key opportunity to
enhance the spirit of partnerships developed in ISTEA and TEA-21 by supporting
win-win public-private partnerships between employers and transportation
organizations. Through commuter
benefits like monthly transit passes, on-site commute information, and flexible
work schedules, employers play a significant role in the travel decisions of
their employees. A 2001 national survey
called the Zylo Report found that, on average, employers that provide commuter
benefits have 15% fewer employees driving to work alone (86% vs. 71%). Employers offer commute programs because
they make good business sense. Employer
commute programs allow businesses to address employee recruitment and retention
problems, increase employee productivity, and lower facility construction and
maintenance costs related to employee parking.
For example, a commute assistance program saved a company in San
Antonio, Texas, over $2.5 million by eliminating the need to build and maintain
1,000 extra parking spaces.
Employer partnerships are an important source of
additional funding for transportation – as businesses invest in employee
transit passes, invest in the development and operation of shuttle programs,
and invest in other commute resources for their employees. As a powerful example, in 2000-2001, every
$1 that the public sector invested in supporting employer commute programs in
the State of Washington resulted in $12 of additional investment from
employers.
Employers and the organizations that support
employer partnerships are also a critical resource in emergency preparedness
planning and response. On September 11th,
ACT members worked with employers and employees to get people home safely –
providing critical information on the availability of transportation
alternatives. In the weeks following
September 11th, our members worked in partnerships to keep
businesses productive by supporting commute alternatives like telecommuting and
ridesharing.
The reauthorization of TEA-21 should strengthen
support for organizations that facilitate employer partnerships. These organizations integrate one of the
sectors most impacted by transportation challenges – America’s businesses –
into the fold as partners in developing effective solutions. For example, innovative programs spurred by
the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) –
including public-private organizations called Transportation Management
Associations, or TMAs – are responsible for many employer-partnership success
stories. To further promote these
programs, the next transportation bill should maintain support for the CMAQ
program with an enhanced emphasis on partnerships and innovation. Reauthorization should further recognize the
value of employer partnerships by supporting a tax credit for businesses that
offer commuter benefits to their employees.
A commute benefit tax credit would provide a powerful tool to leverage
additional private-sector investments in transportation solutions that work.
On a daily basis, people make a variety of
transportation decisions. These
decisions begin with the travel choices available to them – where to go, when
to leave, what mode to use, what route to take – but they also include a
variety of other influencing factors, like travel time, trip cost, convenience,
safety, and reliability.
The reauthorization of TEA-21 should support the
continued enhancement of travel choices.
A strong and balanced transportation system provides travelers with a
variety of choices – rather than limiting choices – allowing each traveler to
choose the best travel alternatives to meet their needs. The next transportation bill should continue
to support a multi-modal approach to building transportation by continuing to encourage
flexibility in the use of federal funds and by maintaining the Transportation
Enhancements program.
In addition, the bill should also support smart
travel choices that make more efficient use of existing facilities – including
smart mode choices like transit, ridesharing, bicycling, and walking;
smart time choices like traveling during off-peak hours, smart route
choices based on real-time traveler information; and smart location
choices like living near your place of employment, living near public transit
services, or utilizing travel-free alternatives like telecommuting and
e-commerce. Supporting smart travel
choices can reduce the overall “demand” for transportation – improve the
efficiency, operation, and performance of the existing system – and produce
broad-based benefits.
We must also work to make smart travel choices
truly viable. We must create an
environment where the other key decision criteria – like travel time and travel
cost – are equitable between travel choices.
As an example, commuters can currently receive up to $185/month in
tax-free benefits from the their employer to park their cars at work all day,
yet they can only receive a maximum of $100/month for the same trip via transit
or vanpool. This inequity does not
encourage smart travel choices and should be addressed during
reauthorization. In addition, other
travel choices like carpooling, bicycling, walking, and telecommuting should be
made eligible for this transportation benefit, creating equity between all
travel choices.
Finally, people cannot make smart travel choices
without increased awareness and real-time information on the alternatives
available, how to use them, and even when to use them. The development of Intelligent Transportation
Systems (ITS) should continue, especially development of real-time traveler
information services. At the same time,
the development of ITS infostructure must be supported by programs and services
that can get real-time transportation information into the hands of the people
that need it, when they need it, and where they need it – so that they have
ample opportunity to make the smart travel choices that can make a difference.
The programs and services developed and implemented by ACT members to forge partnerships with major employers and enhance travel choices are a critical tool in the effort to make transportation more efficient and less costly. As a compliment to major capital improvements, these customer-driven programs and services (often called transportation demand management, or TDM) can provide near-term benefits which improve transportation operations and make the most of existing resources by improving the way we use transportation. The reauthorization of TEA-21 should recognize the role of TDM organizations by supporting improved coordination between these and other organizations that manage and improve the daily operation of the transportation system.
Finally, the reauthorization of TEA-21 must
strengthen the integration of TDM programs and services in major investment and
corridor planning efforts. Too often,
TDM programs are compared to other major investment alternatives in a
“no-build” versus “build” analysis, setting up an illogical either-or
evaluation. Instead, reauthorization
should require the integration of TDM programs and strategies as a complement
to major capital investments. TDM
programs have proved effective as construction mitigation measures, and offer
near-term implementation advantages to address transportation challenges before
the construction of the major investment is complete.
Again,
the reauthorization of TEA-21 presents a clear opportunity to support America’s
businesses, workers, and citizens by supporting programs and partnerships that
make transportation more efficient and less costly. Reauthorization should:
·
Build
upon the foundations of flexibility and partnership established under ISTEA and
TEA-21,
·
Recognize
the important balance between the way we build transportation and the
way we use transportation,
·
Increase
support for partnerships that engage the private sector, and
·
Enhance
travel choices and provide incentives for smart choices.
We appreciate the opportunity to present
testimony before the Committee and offer the Association for Commuter
Transportation as a resource on these important issues. If you have any questions, or would like to
discuss these matters further, please contact Kevin Luten, ACT Assistant
Director, by phone: (202) 546-5478, or by email: kevin@act-hq.com. You may also contact ACT’s Washington, DC, representative Thomas
J. Bulger, Government Relations, Inc., by phone: (202) 775-0079, or by email: tbulger825@aol.com.