TRANSPORTATION OPERATIONS: BUILDING A CONSTITUENCY

In the face of ever increasing congestion and given a wider range of investment options by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, the Federal Highway Administration is calling for renewed interest in management of transportation systems. It must generate commitment of a broad constituency if this new management initiative is to flourish. That is what this paper is about. The program objectives, scope, timing and depth of expected involvement required by potential constituents will all influence who chooses to join and the measure of their enthusiasm. The list of potential candidates narrows quickly in the early stages of program development based on these considerations. On the other hand, there has been an impressive array of new partnerships formed to manage some facet of transportation operations, largely stimulated by Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) investment incentives. Lessons learned from these experiences have been reported in Transportation Research Board studies and in the ITS Quarterly. They are summarized in this paper. The constituency needed to advance the state of the art of transportation operations exists and is at work. The questions are: How does it come together? Where does it come together? and Who brings it together?