Skip to main content

President’s transportation budget ‘takes the next step’, says ITS America

Announcing President Obama’s US$98.1 billion Fiscal Year 2017 Budget for the US Department of Transportation (DOT), Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Meeting future challenges will require a long-term vision for the transportation sector that includes more and cleaner options, and expands those options to communities across the country. This budget brings us closer to that vision.” The Budget addresses the DOT’s top priority, safety, with investments in the safe integration of emerging techno
February 10, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Announcing President Obama’s US$98.1 billion Fiscal Year 2017 Budget for the 324 US Department of Transportation (DOT), Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Meeting future challenges will require a long-term vision for the transportation sector that includes more and cleaner options, and expands those options to communities across the country. This budget brings us closer to that vision.”

The Budget addresses the DOT’s top priority, safety, with investments in the safe integration of emerging technologies, such as autonomous vehicles and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which have the potential to transform transportation systems, save lives and reduce carbon emissions.
 
It also supports the authorised funding levels in the recent surface transportation authorisation, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act , but also moves to a regionally-focused approach to transportation funding that reflects the changing shape of the country’s communities and prioritises spending on projects that will have the most benefits.

Commenting on the budget, a spokesman for ITS America said: “Lives saved, more time for friends and family and more efficient movement of a growing economy are not Democratic or Republican priorities. They are American priorities. Congress accelerated the deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems with the FAST Act. 77 cities across our nation are stepping up to US DOT’s Smart City Challenge to invest in smart infrastructure and modern, high-tech transportation services.”
 
“The President's budget takes the next step by investing not only in needed traditional infrastructure improvements but also the next frontier of automated and connected vehicle technologies and other transportation innovations that will transform our modern way of life.  This is a budget that Congress and future administrations should build on to make connected and automated vehicles, smart infrastructure and transportation innovation a cornerstone of our nation’s economic strength and global competitiveness.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Congress ‘needs a lesson in smart transportation’
    December 11, 2014
    Former US transportation secretary Ray LaHood says Congress needs to learn there’s more to transportation funding in the 21st century than building more roads and bridges. He urged smart transportation advocates attending the Smart City Council’s Smart Cities Now forum in San Diego this week to take their message to Congress. There are new people in Congress who are going to write a transportation bill, LaHood suggested, and if they don’t incorporate all of the smart technologies that the forum has
  • No compromise on workzone safety
    January 14, 2022
    The National Work Zone Memorial is a sobering reminder of the dangers of working on US highways. More accurate and timely information can help reduce risks, explains One.network’s Simon Topp
  • USDoT responds to death crash 'crisis' on roads 
    November 4, 2021
    'First-ever' national safety-first roadway strategy comes as 20,160 die in first half of 2021
  • AI is creating road maintenance savings
    July 30, 2021
    Artificial intelligence is starting to create savings for hard-pressed local authorities when it comes to road maintenance. David Crawford reviews recent advances in cost and performance control