ITS Funding Under Scrutiny

Is a substantial increase in federal support for Intelligent Transportation Systems on the horizon, when Congress tackles a major renewal this year of the law that provides ITS sustenance?

Maybe, but achieving that boost is becoming increasingly difficult. The ITS community is hoping for a sizable boost in funding over the next six years, once Congress finishes reauthorizing the existing six-year Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which is due to expire on Sept. 30 of this year. Leading lawmakers, in the House especially, advocate a sharp rise in federal highways and transit spending, to about $375 billion total, and that kind of rising tide would lift a lot of transportation boats, including the ITS funding vessel.

"There is a strong concern that, in order to grow the ITS program to a sufficient size to meet transportation needs, additional revenues be part and parcel (of the reauthorization process).  In the current revenue stream, there is just insufficient money," Jason Conley, director of government relations for the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, said in a TM+E interview. Federal ITS financing totals $232 million for ITS research and deployment in Fiscal 2003, which ends Sept. 30, with an additional half a billion dollars a year being spent on ITS work as part of funding for broader surface transportation programs.

But these are tough times, and the Bush administration, for its part, has so far signaled that it favors little or no increase in highways or ITS funding, at least for fiscal 2004, the first year of what is expected to be the six year surface transportation program. Rumors have been circulating that the administration even wants to cut ITS funding sharply for the reauthorization period.

"Although the administration has not officially consulted with Congress on its reauthorization proposal for TEA-21, commonly referred to as TEA-3, there are enough reports to seriously consider that the administration may cut or flat-fund ITS research and deployment in their proposal," Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), told TM+E. "Given the '03 funding level of $246 million, that leaves no room to unleash the promise of ITS. In that kind of budget environment, where funding for highways will also be meager, we have to look at ITS as the only budget-realistic way to reduce congestion--by recapturing unused capacity," Rep. Tauscher said.

Rep. Tauscher is co-chairperson of the Congressional ITS Caucus, a group of House members that promote federal funding for ITS, and whose ranks reached 48 at recent count.

The pressures of a weak economy, war and homeland security, with their demand for big new federal money, mean "it will not be as easy to grow the program, although the ITSA and the transportation community will certainly try," Conley said to TM+E at presstime.

Indeed, advocates of sizable funding increases note that congestion and other problems have worsened, requiring more money for surface transportation in general and especially more money for ITS, with its unique ways of reducing congestion and aiding safety and national security. The physical condition of the nation's road, bridge and transit infrastructure has improved due to significant investment gains under TEA-21, but, "despite record levels of funding, the system's operational performance measured by congestion has gotten worse," the Democratic caucus of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee said, in a statement of TEA-21 reauthorization principles.

The U.S. DOT said the cost of needed improvements in highway conditions and performance are 65% above current spending by all levels of government, and the costs of needed transit improvements are 128% above current spending.

Mary Peters, the Federal Highway Administration's administrator, told the Transportation Research Board recently that the Bush administration "will seek to continue a strong ITS program," that "accelerating the pace of ITS deployment will continue to be a critical priority."

More than $2 billion in federal money for ITS over the past 11 years has helped 57 of the nation's 75 largest metropolitan areas achieve a "significant" level of integrated ITS deployment, and nearly 100 states and metropolitan areas have adopted regional ITS architectures to guide their local ITS investments, Peters added. ITS technologies in commercial vehicles, public transit and the new 511 traveler information service are being deployed rapidly as well, she said.

Sowing ITS seeds

One big effort toward making the ITS program grow significantly in the next six years was evident in March when an ITS Caucus Advisory Committee issued a report calling for a major increase in the money available for surface transportation, including ITS, with a goal of meeting crucial national needs involving reducing traffic congestion, enhancing highway safety and contributing to homeland security amid heightened threats of terrorism.

The report, which is expected to be the centerpiece of attempts by the coalition and other ITS backers to strive for greater ITS funding under TEA-3, makes some ambitious recommendations for a boost in federal ITS financing. But in an earlier draft in January, the committee was even more ambitious, and "a bit optimistic," calling for an outright substantial increase in federal ITS money, recalled Brent Bair in a TM+E interview, who chaired the advisory committee. Bair is managing director of the Road Commission for Oakland County, Mich., where putting ITS programs such as traffic preemption to assist emergency vehicles is vigorously promoted.

The final report retains that ambitious recommendation as the most aggressive one of three recommendations--the Breakthrough Funding level, which "truly approaches the level of the need" and would make the most progress toward reaching the three big ITS goals. Funding of $1.2 billion the first year is recommended, with $975 million for deployment and $225 million for research, compared with the combined $232 million allocated by Congress for fiscal 2003. The six-year funding total would be $8.16 billion.

A second option would be a Minimum Desirable funding level to "make a significant difference," with $770 million in the first year--$600 million for deployment and operations and $170 million for research, education and program support, and an estimated six-year total of $5.24 billion.

A third, Subsistence Funding, level would "avoid erosion" of ITS progress under TEA-21, with $310 million in funding--$200 million and $110 million, and $2.11 billion over six years.

The advisory panel of 19 ITS and transportation professionals also concluded that there should be a new program for ITS deployment, operations and management, involving a formula distribution of money to states similar to the ones used for most DOT highway programs, and an increase in funding for ITS research, education and program support.

"Use it or lose it"

The deployment funding would go to states on a "use it or lose it" basis, advisory committee chairman Bair said. Using a formula for distribution of deployment money to states is becoming popular among TEA-3 planners, largely because administrations--including the Bush administration--and others have been critical of the predilection of members of Congress to earmark specific funds for favored ITS projects in their own districts or states, which could undercut attempts to further ITS development by nationally coordinating deployments.

In a recent draft reauthorization bill, titled "The Safe and Flexible Transportation Efficiency Act of 2003," and subject to changes by the White House budget office, the Department of Transportation proposed to replace the existing deployments-funding program with a new Performance Incentive Program, as a better way to reduce traffic congestion, improve transportation reliability, give users better service and improve safety and security. 

Funds would be distributed based on factors such as a state's reduction in delays when traffic crashes occur, improved roadway work-zone safety, better transit reliability and service, better-quality and more available traveler information, improved crash notification and increased safety and productivity of commercial vehicles.

The advisory committee also recommended a new Comprehensive Area Deployment Initiative (CADI) to accelerate deployment of ITS technologies by funneling more than $120 million each to two to four regions. Model deployment initiatives so far, at "$10 million a crack," have been inadequate, Bair insisted. "There wasn't enough to accomplish what they set out to do."

The panel also advocated boosting funding for operating and managing ITS technologies while enhancing the flexibility and accessibility of the Surface Transportation Program, National Highway System and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement funds, and accelerating ITS research, education and program support, including new or better technologies.

Finally, the panel urged changes in federal procedures in transportation projects to encourage the acceleration of ITS deployment and research.

Association views

ITS America, for its part, hadn't come up with any specific funding suggestions at presstime, but the group, along with others, strongly advocates creation of an Integrated Network of Transportation Information, and at least two model deployments, following the ITS Caucus Advisory Committee's CADI recommendation. The system would draw traffic data from loop detectors, traffic cameras, transit, AVL data, telematics devices, cellular phones and commercial vehicles, integrate the information into a package of "robust information on the performance of that system," and send it to all users through telematics, the 511 traveler information phone service, the media and the Internet.

ITS America's Conley said "states have chosen to spend money on ITS demonstrates that ITS is fast becoming mainstream--part of the bundle of choices of tools that transportation planners and roadbuilders use. We hope that through TEA-3, the mainstreaming of ITS will be considered in the same breath as asphalt and concrete."

Meanwhile, the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials sticks by its earlier position: annual research funding of $125 million and deployment money of $142 million, modest increases over the fiscal 2003 financing of $110 million and $122 million, respectively.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) contends that federal transit funding under TEA-3 should rise to $14.3 billion by fiscal 2009, the last year of the reauthorization, from $7.2 billion.

Capitol report

Congressional transportation leaders have a more grandiose vision of where surface transportation funding should go than the Bush administration, and where highways and transit funding goes, so, of course, go the ITS components.

Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the Republican chairman of the House T&I committee, and other committee leaders advocate raising highways and transit funding to the $375 billion level over six years, starting with $50 billion in fiscal 2004--up substantially from $36 billion in Fiscal 2003 and the plan is supported by nearly all of the 75 full committee members. The proposal to boost surface transportation investment to $75 billion by Fiscal 2009 "would represent the first time in history that federal highway and mass transit funding would be based on system needs,"

C. Michael Walton, ITS America chairman, who is also professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas, testified recently before the House T&I Committee's Subcommittee on Highways, Transit & Pipelines. He described benefits of ITS in areas where specific programs have been deployed, such as ones in Texas, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania and New York state, where traveler information, traffic management, electronic toll collection and incident management systems have led to significant improvements in safety, and reduced travel time, vehicle emissions and fuel consumption.

ITS backers express confidence that Congress will come through for surface transportation and ITS again, as it has done in fending off proposed administration cuts for fiscal 2003.                   TME