Past Mineta National Transportation Summits

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MTI’s National Transportation Finance Center (NTFC) organizes the Annual Norman Y. Mineta National Transportation Summit. The event has been presented in partnership with the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco every June, since 2010. Each summit brings together national experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities for funding transportation infrastructure and services.

June 2, 2023

14th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit
 

Getting to Zero Deaths on Our Roadways: Is the IIJA up to the Challange?

14th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit

 

Featured Speaker: Robin Hutcheson, Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Fireside chat with Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute

Keynote Speaker: Jennifer Homendy, 15th Chair, National Transportation Safety Board

Q&A will be moderated by Paula Hammond, Multimodal National Market Leader, WSP Chair, American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)
Board of Directors

 

MTI Safety Survey Presenter:

 

Panelists:

  • Ravinder S. Bhalla, Mayor, City of Hoboken

  • Beth Osborne, Vice President for Transportation and Thriving Communities, Smart Growth America

  • Emily Schweninger, Senior Policy Advisor, Transportation Health and Safety,
    U.S. Department of Transportation

  • Tony TavaresDirector, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

Panel Moderator: Selika Talbott, MTI Research Associate; Founder and CEO, Autonomous Vehicle Consulting

 

The United States faces a public health crisis on its roads. In 2021 alone, almost 43,000 people died in traffic crashes and millions more suffered serious injuries. Secretary Pete Buttigieg calls the situation a preventable crisis—one for which we must take responsibility by recognizing that human lives are not a price to pay for modernity. New funding available through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides a significant opportunity to reduce crashes through infrastructure redesign. Join the Mineta Transportation Institute and a panel of national experts to discuss the role of infrastructure redesign in achieving a national goal of zero traffic fatalities.

 

 

June 3, 2022

13th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit
 

Mapping the Route to Equitable Road User Charges

13th Annual Mineta National Transportation Finance Summit

 

Featured Speaker: US Congressman Peter DeFazio, Chair, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the 117th Congress

Fireside chat with Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute

Keynote Speaker: Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary, US Department of Transportation

Q&A will be moderated by Jeff Morales, Managing Principal, InfraStrategies, LLC

 

Panelists:

  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center

  • James Corless, Executive Director, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG)

  • Reema Griffith, Executive Director, Washington State Transportation Commission

  • Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director, ​​San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)

Panel Moderator: Stephanie Wiggins, Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)

 

The accelerating transition to electric vehicles brings new urgency to discussions on how to replace fuel taxes with other broad-based, reliable sources of transportation revenue. From Wyoming to Delaware to California, more and more state legislatures are considering mileage fees, regions like the San Francisco Bay Area are considering expanded tolling, and New York City is within reach of adopting a congestion pricing proposal. Overlaying these discussions is a persistent call to consider the equity of any new charges on drivers. How will the charges impact low-income drivers? Does payment require access to banking tools that are not universally available? This event explored proposals including fee rates that vary by driver income, vehicle characteristics, or time and place, and equity-centered policies for responding to non-payment of tolls or other fees.

 

 

June 11, 2021

12th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit

Electrifying the Transportation Future

12th Annual Mineta National Transportation Finance Summit

 

Special guest: Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation

Preliminary remarks: Senator Alex Padilla, U.S. Senate

Keynote address: Toks Omishakin, Director, California Department of Transportation

Moderator: Therese McMillan, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Carlos M. Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation
  • Carl Guardino, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs and Policy, Bloom Energy
  • Dan Sperling, PhD, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Davis

Transportation policymakers face two overlapping, once-in-a-generation opportunities: electrifying the nation’s vehicle fleet and re-establishing a stable source of federal and state revenue for transportation. As states and the Biden administration begin a push to rapidly electrify the US fleet for climate reasons, policymakers are under increasing pressure to rethink how states and the federal government fund transportation infrastructure and services. For decades, motor fuel taxes have generated the majority of state and federal funds spent on transportation, even if recently these taxes have been losing their purchasing power. However, a shift to electric vehicles will require a new transportation funding model. The speakers will discuss the challenges and opportunities with such options as mileage fees, carbon taxes, higher vehicle registration fees, or a shift entirely away from user-generated revenue.

 

 

June 26, 2020

11th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit

Paying for Transportation in California: Does COVID-19 Change Everything?

11th Annual Mineta National Transportation Finance Summit

 

Keynote address: David S. Kim, Secretary, California State Transportation Agency

Moderator: Nuria Fernandez, General Manager, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Carl Guardino, CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
  • Therese McMillan, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission
  • Matthew Tucker, CEO, North County Transit District

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens every aspect of transportation funding in California. State revenues from federal, state, regional, and local taxes and fees are all at risk.  Since California’s shelter-in-place order went into effect in March, the state has already faced plummeting revenues from gasoline taxes, tolls, transit fares, and sales taxes. These revenue sources will most likely continue to be severely threatened in the coming months and possibly even years. 

Panelists discussed the opportunities for every level of government to help recover transportation revenues in our uncertain future. Can we rely on our traditional mix of revenue sources? Will the COVID-19 crisis stimulate innovation in transportation finance? 

 

 

June 21, 2019

10th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit
 

The Intersection between Transportation and Housing: Building Blocks to the Future

10th Annual Mineta National Transportation Finance Summit

 

Keynote introduction: Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation (Ret.)

Keynote address: Therese McMillan, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Laurie Berman, Director, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
  • Dave Cortese, Supervisor - District 3, Santa Clara County
  • Pedro Galvao, Senior Policy Manager, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
  • Carl Guardino, CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
  • Abby Thorne-Lyman, Transit-Oriented Development Program Manager, Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)
While the San Francisco Bay Area is booming with jobs and (for many) high wages, people are increasingly priced out of the housing market. The region risks losing people to fill jobs that are essential to California’s economy. A variety of taxes, grants, fees and other public revenue sources can help fund affordable housing. Moreover, an innovative solution is to involve public transportation agencies. To that end, agency-owned land in and around transportation hubs could be incentivized to create transit-oriented development projects, which place high-density housing above or adjacent to transit centers. This provides easy mobility while offering less-costly living space.
 

View the recording

 

June 22, 2018

9th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit
 

Paving the Way to a Better Future - The Implementation of SB1 Funds

9th Annual Mineta National Transportation Finance Summit

 

Keynote introduction: Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation (Ret.)

Keynote address: Laurie Berman, Director, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Roger Dickinson, Executive Director, Transportation California
  • Carl Guardino, CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
  • Michael Hursh, General Manager, Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit)
  • Michael Quigley, Executive Director, California Alliance for Jobs
  • Phillip Washington, CEO, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)

The need to invest in California’s transportation system is dire and after years of seeking a solution to the state’s transportation crisis, the State Legislature passed and the governor signed SB 1 (Beall, 2017), also known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, increasing transportation funding by $54 billion over a decade. SB 1 provides the first significant, stable and ongoing increase in state transportation funding in more than two decades.

This free, half-day summit hosted by the Mineta Transportation Institute looked at how SB1 funds are being implemented and documented the strategies that state, local, and regional governments and transportation agencies are taking to address California’s transportation needs.

 

View the recording

 

June 16, 2017

8th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit
 

Are We There Yet? Bridging the Gap in California's Transportation Funding

8th Annual Mineta National Transportation Finance Summit

 

Keynote introduction: Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation (Ret.)

Keynote address: Jim Beall, Chairman, California Senate Transportation and Housing Committee

Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Nuria Fernandez, General Manager, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
  • Carl Guardino, CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
  • Steve Heminger, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission
  • Bill Higgins, Executive Director, California Association of Councils of Governments

The need to invest in California’s transportation system is dire. Estimates suggest a nearly $140B backlog in deferred maintenance on highways, bridges, and local streets and roads. While the funding crisis is widely recognized, solutions are difficult to come by. Senate Bill 1, passed by the California legislature in early April, dedicates over $50B to transportation projects through increased fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, yet that only partially fills the gap. This free, half-day summit hosted by MTI at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco looked at various strategies the state and local and regional governments and transportation agencies are taking to address California’s transportation needs. The results from year eight of a national public opinion poll of more than 1,500 Americans on various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues were presented.

 

 

June 17, 2016

7th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit
 

Superior Infrastructure = Economic Success

7th Annual Mineta National Transportation Finance Summit

 

Keynote introduction: Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation (Ret.)

Keynote address: Brian Kelly, Secretary, California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA)

Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Grace Crunican, General Manager, Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)
  • Steve Heminger, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission
  • Tim Rainey, Executive Director, California Workforce Development Board
  • Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute

Congress says that Americans won’t pay more taxes and fees for mobility. Is that true? What exactly are the funding challenges and how are transportation leaders addressing them?

At this summit, MTI presented the results of year seven of a national public opinion poll asking more than 1,500 Americans if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues, including a special focus on understanding support for increasing revenues for public transit.

 

Listen to audio recording
View the recording

 

June 26, 2015

6th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit 
 

Fund Federal Transportation Investment Now

6th Annual Mineta National Transportation Finance Summit

 

Keynote introduction: Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation (Ret.)

Keynote address: Hon. Jim Beall, California State Senator

Moderator: Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute

 
Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Emily Bacque, Director of Policy at CJ Lake, LLC
  • Grace Crunican, General Manager, Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)
  • Carl Guardino, Past Chair, California Transportation Commission
  • Steve Heminger, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission

When the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the US transportation infrastructure a grade of D+, it should have been a wake-up call. Two years later, funding approvals are still hard to come by. Bridges continue to crumble. Roadways develop potholes. Rail systems are in crisis.

Congress says that Americans won’t pay more taxes and fees for mobility. Is that true? What exactly are the funding challenges, and how are transportation leaders addressing them? The results from year sixth of a national public opinion poll of more than 1,500 Americans on various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues were presented.

 

View the recording

 

June 20, 2014

 

Funding Transportation Infrastructure Now and in the Future

5th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Forum
 

Keynote introduction: Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation (Ret.)

Keynote address: Therese McMillan, Federal Transit Deputy Administrator

Moderator: Mortimer Downey, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation (Ret.) 

 
Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Steve Heminger, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission
  • Michael Melaniphy, CEO, American Public Transportation Association

This year's Mineta Transportation Institute policy summit featured experts representing viewpoints from the national, state and local levels discussing the financing challenges facing the U.S. transportation infrastructure.

 

Listen to the audio recording

 

June 21, 2013

 
 

Catching Up with the Rest of the World

4th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit 

 

Keynote introduction: Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation (Ret.)

Keynote address: Kathryn B. Thomson, U.S. Department of Transportation

Moderator: Mortimer Downey, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation (Ret.) 

 
Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Flora Castillo, Chair, American Public Transportation Association
  • Malcolm Dougherty, Director, California Department of Transportation
  • Jeff Morales, CEO, California High Speed Rail Authority

This year's Mineta Transportation Institute policy summit featured experts representing viewpoints from both the national and state level discussing the financing challenges facing the U.S. transportation infrastructure. These leaders also examined the results from the latest national survey polling Americans about transportation taxes and fees.

 

Listen to the audio recording

 

June 22, 2012

 
 

Financing Infrastructure for America: Are We Becoming a Second-Class Country?

3rd Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit 

 

Moderator: Mortimer Downey, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation (Ret.) 

Speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Steve Heminger, Executive Director, San Francisco Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission; President of the Board of Directors, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
  • John Horsley, Executive Director, Association of American State Highway and Transportation Officials
  • Will Kempton, CEO, Orange County Transportation Authority
  • Michael Melaniphy, President & CEO, American Public Transportation Association

Transportation experts discussed their growing concerns regarding what they see as the woeful lack of investments and funding for our national highways, bridges, transit and airport systems. As they tackled this important issue, they also reviewed a newly completed national survey on the topic. 

 

 

June 24, 2011

 
 

From Point A to Point B: Fixing U.S. Transportation Systems

2nd Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit 

 

Keynote address: Polly Trottenberg, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation

Moderator: Mortimer Downey, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation (Ret.) 

Other speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • Steve Heminger, Executive Director, SF Regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission
  • John Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials
  • Michael J. Scanlon, General Manager and CEO, San Mateo County Transit District; Executive Director, Caltrain

If you have ever been stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge, late to meetings, or have had a ruined weekend because you couldn’t make it to a destination in time, you know that California suffers from a major transportation infrastructure problem. From pot holes jarring people’s necks and backs, to bridges collapsing nationwide, thousands of commuters are being affected every day by America’s inadequate and faltering transportation infrastructure system.  At the 2nd Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit, experts examined what can and must be done to ameliorate this dire situation.

 

 

June 25, 2010

 
 

Funding the Transportation System of the Future

1st Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit 

 

Moderator: Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation (Ret.)

Speakers:
  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center
  • John Horsley, Executive Director, Association of American State Highway and Transportation Officials
  • Hon. Alan Lowenthal, California State Senator
  • William Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association

Within the next two decades, the Census Bureau estimates that the U.S. population will increase by as many as 50 million people, including at least a 25-percent increase in California’s population alone. This population growth, combined with a growing backlog of overdue maintenance work on roads and transit systems, creates a need for significantly expanded transportation revenues. However, the current political climate is generally unfavorable to tax increases. Given these political realities, what new or expanded revenue sources could be generated for transportation? In particular, what options will be politically feasible in the short and medium term? Our panel of transportation experts, representing viewpoints from the national and state level, discussed possible revenue options and their likely reception from the public and legislators.

 

 

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