Project Description:
Over the last century, great strides have been made to improve our national transportation system. From the creation and expansion of our Interstate Highway System to the freight and logistics revolution and the development and advent of ubiquitous commercial aviation – the United States of America has established an abiding global legacy of transportation innovation, vision, and leadership. While there is much about this legacy to celebrate, we must simultaneously ensure that our transportation system is prepared to deliver a similar legacy over this century – a century that will be defined by what we are able to accomplish through the integration of transportation technologies and innovations, both to solve longstanding transportation challenges and to capitalize on emerging opportunities to provide for the safe and efficient movement of people and goods. Encouragingly, such solutions are within reach – intelligent transportation systems (ITS) developed by American industry and academia are eagerly sought-after by our international partners and competitors, and technology solutions promise to dramatically improve transportation safety, drive economic growth and development, enhance our global competitiveness, and improve the resiliency and return on investment of our hard infrastructure assets.
Building and sustaining high quality infrastructure requires significant investment in the best tools available today – especially technology. Other industries such as healthcare, financial services, and telecommunications have embraced technology – and transportation should be no different. Still, the deployment and integration of these solutions will not happen automatically. It will take the dedicated support of public and private sector partners to successfully secure widespread implementation of ITS technologies, just as it will require reimagining our understanding of transportation infrastructure to one which reaches beyond concrete or steel. If we can accomplish that, however, we will substantively address our enduring transportation challenges in a way which exceeds current efforts using traditional solutions; a way which leverages new technological innovations to deliver new and improved outcomes.
Project Costs
Capital Cost total:
Change in net operating cost per year:
Change in societal cost per year:
Change in cost over Life Cycle of Project:
Project Cost Discussion
Effectiveness - Emissions
CO2 reduction:
NOx reduction:
PM reduction:
CO reduction:
HC reduction:
Emissions Calculation Discussion
Effectiveness – Fuel Displacement
Liters of Gasoline Equivalents Displaced:
Liters of Diesel Equivalents Displaced:
Kilowatt-hours saved:
Fuel Displacement Calculations Discussion
Energy Efficient Urban Transport Strategy:
See Appendix at end of document for complete descriptions of each strategy.
☐ Facility Efficiency
☒ Vehicle Efficiency
☐ Renewable Efficiency
☐ Fixed guideway/rail
☐ Fuel Cell
☐ Transit-oriented development
☒ Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
☐ Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
☒ Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
☐ Pedestrian/bicycle and other non-motorized facilities
☐ Other Transit Service enhancements
Appendix
Facility Efficiency - This includes projects that reduce energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and/or decrease overall environmental impact of transit facilities, including maintenance facilities, transit stations, offices, buildings, etc.
Vehicle Efficiency - This includes projects that reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of transit vehicles. This may include the use of alternative fuels, as well as improvements in fleet logistics leading to more efficient scheduling and route optimization, and other enhancements.
Renewable Energy - This includes a wide range of renewable technologies, such as solar, wind, geothermal, etc., that provide off-the-grid power generation from renewable sources. While these technologies typically apply to improvements to transit facilities, this could also include vehicle improvements (e.g. solar panels on roof or rail cars, etc.).
Fixed Guideway/Rail - This includes any project that provides a dedicated guideway for (exclusive or shared) operation of transit vehicles. Both rail and bus projects may fall in this category.
Fuel Cell - This includes transit projects involving the conversion of chemical energy from a fuel (typically, hydrogen) into electricity through a chemical reaction with an oxidizing agent (typically, oxygen) and using that energy for vehicle propulsion or stationary uses. This covers both fuel cell vehicles and stationary fuel cell installations.
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) - Projects involving land development strategies that maximize access to public transportation, encourage transit ridership, and enable higher density mixed-use development, leading to reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) - Projects that make use of information and communication technologies to improve transit safety, travel reliability, environmental performance, and network operation resilience, or/and to enable informed travel choices, promote social equity, or provide other transportation benefits.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) - This includes a variety of public transportation projects involving the provision of highly reliable, fast, and more efficient bus service, compared to ordinary bus line. BRT projects can range from traffic signal prioritization, provided to public transportation vehicles, to dedicated lanes used exclusively by transit buses.
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) - This includes a variety of projects that use innovative transportation strategies and policies to reduce travel demand or to redistribute it in space or time. This may include projects involving various ride-sharing programs, such as carpooling or vanpooling, and policies that redistribute trips away from peak times, as well as congestion pricing, and other capacity management strategies.
Pedestrian/Bicycle and Other Non-motorized Facilities - Projects involving improvements in facilities used for non-motorized transport, leading to higher accessibility and usage of non-motorized modes of transportation. This may include pedestrian sidewalks, bike lanes, and other improvements.
Other Transit Service Enhancements - Projects that do not fit into any of the above categories.