Praise for US DRIVE Act

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (560 ITS America) and the National League of Cities (NLC) have spoken in favour of the six-year surface transportation reauthorisation bill, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act, introduced by US senators Jim Inhofe and Barbara Boxer and other members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The legislation is scheduled for a committee business meeting today.

“I am proud of the bipartisan work that has culminated in a six-year surface transportation reauthorization,” said Inhofe. “Our nation’s roads and highways have suffered under too many short-term extensions, which have led to higher costs, more waste, and less capability to prioritize major modernization projects to address growing demands on our interstates. The DRIVE Act will provide states and local communities with the certainty they deserve to plan and construct infrastructure projects efficiently.  This bipartisan bill also contains the hallmark accomplishment of a new freight program to prioritize federal spending on the facilities that will most directly benefit our economy, in addition to prioritizing federal dollars towards bridge safety and the interstate system.  The DRIVE Act will help set the tone for America’s economic future by putting our nation back on the map as the best place to do business. We look forward to working with our committee in leading this bill out of mark-up and to the Senate floor for consideration.”

Regina Hopper, president and CEO of ITS America, said: "We commend Chairman Inhofe, Ranking Member Boxer, and members of the Committee for their long-term commitment to a safer, smarter, more efficient and innovative transportation future through modernizing our nation's infrastructure. The DRIVE Act recognizes the critical importance of a high-tech, connected transportation and infrastructure network. The legislation prioritizes federal programs to encourage new innovation, accelerate the adoption of Intelligent Transportation Systems ("ITS") and embrace the convergence of vehicle connectivity and automation, real-time data, and mobile apps and services. These innovative technologies will significantly reduce traffic deaths and injuries, provide people and businesses with more convenient and seamless transportation options, and equip state and local agencies with better tools to manage highways and transit systems."

According to the NLC, the DRIVE Act creates long-term transportation solution and improves local control.

CEO Clarence E. Anthony stated:  "For cities and towns, the DRIVE Act is an improvement over the status quo. The bill would improve local control of funding under the Surface Transportation Program and the Transportation Alternatives Program. But there is much more that could, and should, be done. The National League of Cities looks forward to continuing our strong partnership with Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Boxer to achieve our goal of enacting a forward-looking, long-term, multi-modal transportation bill."