RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, AND TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT: FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION

In 1961 President Kennedy signed the first legislation authorizing the federal government to test the performance of innovative transit services, operations, management practices, institutional arrangements, and technology in real-world applications. Evaluation of these demonstration projects was crucial to drawing conclusions about technical and financial feasibility and the potential for improving public transit throughout the nation. In 1964 federal program authority was extended to research, development, and training. These activities are of even greater significance today as the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) works in partnership with communities across America to create a world-class mass-transportation network for the 21st century. The goal is to safely take people from where they are to where they want to go, at a time they want to go, and at a price they can afford. To realize this goal, the agency conducts programs and projects advancing research, development, demonstration, and deployment of innovative technologies with transit applications in areas such as navigation, vehicle design, information, and communications. Through these programs and projects, the agency is promoting transit facilities and services that not only provide personal mobility but also enhance quality of life in U.S. communities. This article highlights FTA's research program areas; federal support for transit research and development; FTA research and innovation-deployment programs in partnership with other government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels and with consortia formed by transit-industry suppliers, transit operators, national laboratories, and universities; and FTA advanced-technology projects.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/07386826
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This article is part of a series of articles in this special issue of TR News on Benefits of Transportation Research--Part 2: The Federal Perspective.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Drancsak, M M
  • Tann, H M
  • Nejako Jr, H A
• Publication Date: 1997-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 14-17
• Serial:
  • TR News
  • Issue Number: 190
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0738-6826
  • Serial URL: https://doi.org/10.17226/895

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demonstration projects; Development; Intergovernmental partnerships; Public private partnerships; Research; Research projects; Strategic planning; Technological innovations
• Identifier Terms: U.S. Federal Transit Administration
• Uncontrolled Terms: Research and development; Research programs
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Research;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00738879
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jul 11 1997 12:00AM