The Republican transportation package recommends a number of valuable reforms, but it omits at least three critical components to any meaningful re-shaping of Virginia’s transportation system.
Technology. Other than a bill that would require all tolls to convert to electronic payments, the GOP package fails to utilize promising new technologies.
- Intelligent Transportation Systems would put more real-time traffic information in the hands of commuters and businesses.
- Traffic light synchronization could increase the capacity of road corridors without the expense of adding new lanes.
- Modeling & Simulation could provide planners with more powerful tools to examine the system-wide impact of transportation improvements, enabling them to allocate construction dollars more precisely.
The Kaine administration wants to create a $20 million fund to advance ITS projects in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. It’s not much, but it’s $20 million more than the GOP plan provides for.
Telecommuting/Telework
. The relationship between workers and the workplace is undergoing a seismic shift not seen since the advent of the industrial revolution. Technology allows hundreds of thousands of Virginians to work at home all or part of the time. The state could do far more than it has to encourage telework, which would take commuters off the roads or, at the very least, give them the flexibility to drive to work during non-rush hour periods,
Mass transit deregulation. This topic isn’t even on the radar screen, but it’s vital. One way to reduce traffic congestion is to get more people to use more shared vehicles. But taxis are highly regulated, jitneys are outlawed, and bus systems are government monopolies. As a consequence, there is shockingly little innovation. The General Assembly needs to think seriously about deregulating the shared-ridership sector with the vision of encouraging entrepreneurs to find creative ways to serve the public.
The GOP legislative package is so ambitious that it’s hard to fault legislators for failing to address every conceivable transportation strategy. But technology, telework and mass transit deregulation are critical. They must be addressed — if not this year, then next.