The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s University Transportation Centers program in five yearly installments of $1.4 million, will serve the country’s transportation community by providing research, education, workforce development, and technology transfer activities focused on improving the mobility of people and goods to help ensure our nation’s transportation system is fast, safe, efficient, accessible, and convenient for all.

"I’m pleased to see a substantial federal investment in the mobility of people and goods that will help drive innovation to meet the needs of communities like ours in San Jose," said Lofgren. "Investments like this help harness the know-how needed for better transit systems that move people more efficiently, protect the environment, and help boost our economy."

“It would be difficult to overstate the contribution that the Mineta Transportation Institute has made to advancing our understanding of the far-reaching potential of mobility to effect change in people’s lives,” said Norman Y. Mineta, U.S. Secretary of Transportation (ret.) “Without a doubt, the Mineta Transportation Institute has been a source of personal pride for me.”

The Mineta National Transportation Research Consortium (MNTRC), led by the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University, combines the transportation research and education programs at Howard University, Navajo Technical University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and San Jose State University to leverage each program’s expertise to find new real-world solutions to the nation’s transportation challenges. The Consortium supports cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary activities that advance transportation expertise and contribute to effective transportation decision-making.

“Where human beings are concerned, the difference between having and lacking mobility is no less than the difference between having and lacking opportunity,” said MNTRC Executive Director Dr. Karen Philbrick. “MNTRC research and other products will work together to create a transportation system that is sustainable and egalitarian and recognizes and responds to current trends.”

Lofgren led a letter of support for the Consortium’s grant application in May, and was joined by U.S. Reps. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.), Alma S. Adams (D- N.C.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia), and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.).

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