November '23 Newsletter

November 2023

In Memoriam

Mortimer Leo Downey III

MTI Emeritus Trustee

We are deeply saddened about the passing of MTI Emeritus Trustee Mortimer Leo Downey III. Mort was an exceptional friend and highly respected expert in public transportation, a dedicated individual who spent an extensive career in transportation leadership, advocating to improve mobility for all. Mort passed away on November 2nd, 2023 at the age of 87. Mort served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation from 1993 to 2001, the longest-serving person to hold the post. Before that, he led the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority as Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer. Mort also worked at USDOT as Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs and earlier as the first Transportation Program Analyst for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on the Budget. In his long and storied career, he also held various positions at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and before that worked as principal consultant and chairman of PB Consult Inc. and a senior advisor with Parsons Brinckerhoff.

In 2000, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recognized Mort with a Lifetime Achievement Award. A former member of APTA’s Authorization Task Force, he also served on the High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail; Legislative; Innovative Funding, Finance and P3; and Transit Board Members and Business Member Small Business committees.

MTI Executive Director Karen Philbrick described Mort as someone who dedicated his life to making transportation better for everyone. “He was someone to admire, someone who paved the way forward to make transportation accessible and safe for all. I am so grateful to have known him.”

Student Research Assistant Spotlight 

MTI is proud to highlight Adam Azevedo’s contributions to What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options to Support Transportation? Results from Year Fourteen of a National Survey. Adam is a senior at The Nueva School in San Mateo, where he actively runs the Transit Club, advocating for increased public transit use within the school community. He first developed a passion for sustainable transportation in the 7th grade when he engaged with TransformCA, an Oakland-based sustainable mobility advocacy group, for a class project. Describing his experience, Adam said, “I realized most kids don’t have the opportunity to get around on their own due to inadequate biking and public transit infrastructure. My time at TransformCA opened my eyes to the power of public transit as a tool to connect places and people.” 

Adam has also volunteered with SF Transit Riders and served on San Francisco’s Youth Transit Advisory Board (YTAB). With Adam’s leadership, Caltrain—with partnership from MTI—hosted Nueva School’s Transit Club on a behind-the-scenes tour of the control center. “I am excited to attend a school where I can build my research skills and take transportation-related classes,” he says. Thank you for your contributions, Adam!

SJSU Student Spotlights 

Join us in congratulating Alan Hu and Flore Mountsambote for their achievements! 

Alan Hu

Civil Engineering
San José State University

COMTO NorCal Norman Mineta Scholarship Award
 

Flore Mountsambote

Transportation Management
San José State University

New Research

This report lays out principles to help California policymakers identify an optimal rate structure for a road-user charge (RUC). The rate structure is different from the rate itself. The rate is the price a driver pays, while the structure is the set of principles that govern how that price is set. We drew on existing research on rate setting in transportation, public utilities, and behavioral economics to develop a set of conceptual principles that can be used to evaluate rate structures, and then applied these principles to a set of mileage fee rate structure options. One key finding is that transportation system users already pay for driving using a wide array of rate structures, including some that charge rate structured based on vehicle characteristics, user characteristics, and time or location of driving. We also conclude that the principal advantage of RUCs is not their ability to raise revenue but rather to variably allocate charges among various types of users and travelers. To obtain those benefits, policymakers need to proactively design rate structures to advance important state policy goals and/or improve administrative and political feasibility.

The Use of Explosive Devices in Attacks on Public Surface Transportation: Trends in Frequency, Lethality, and Prevention

This report is the third in a series of MTI studies of the frequency and lethality of attacks on public surface transportation between January 2004 and December 2021. It focuses the way bombs were used in 3,836 attacks on passenger train and train stations, buses, bus stations and stops, passenger ferries and terminals, rail infrastructure and operating and security staff. 

The study finds that bombs—usually alone, but sometimes in combination with other methods—were used in 57% of the attacks, causing 63% of the fatalities and 76% of the injuries. Bombs are more frequently used in attacks in developing countries than in more economically advanced countries. While the percentage of bomb attacks has decreased, lethality has increased. Worldwide, bombs placed on railway tracks are not very lethal, as they are usually intended to create disruption, while bombs in passenger compartments or in train or bus stations are intended to result in mass casualties. Most of the bombing attacks in the economically developed countries were unsuccessful, but bombers had greater success in the other countries. 

This report summarizes the results from the fourteenth year of a national public opinion survey asking U.S. adults questions related to their views on federal transportation taxes. A nationally representative sample of 2,531 respondents completed the online survey from February 13 to March 23, 2023. A supermajority of the survey respondents, 70%, said they would support raising the federal gas tax rate to make roads and highways safer. The survey found that one in six respondents had experienced a motor vehicle collision in just the previous year, whether as a vehicle occupant, cyclist, or pedestrian. Also, one in nine of all respondents had suffered an injury from a collision during the previous year. 

Along with safety, respondents wanted to see better road maintenance. In this year's survey, 92% of respondents rated improving road and highway maintenance as a somewhat or very important priority for spending federal transportation dollars. Also, 71% of respondents said they would support raising the federal gas tax rate if the money were dedicated to projects for maintaining streets, roads, and highways. 

#VisionZero2030 Traffic Safety Competitions

Submit by December 8, 2023!

Open to students in grades 1-6 enrolled in any U.S. schools

Six winners will be selected: Three from grades 1-3 and three from grades 4-6. The informational flyer is available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Essay Contest

Submit by January 29, 2024!

Open to students in grades 6-12 in public, private, and home schools within the United States

Past Event

WTS-SF Bay Area and MTI hosted this free virtual event that introduced university students and emerging professionals to Northern California transportation organizations that offer networking, professional development opportunities, and/or scholarship opportunities.