Government Affairs
POLICY BRIEFS

Transportation

Background
It is no exaggeration to say that the world depends on transportation as much as it does communications. History shows a continuous stream of transportation's influence on societies and economies, from the first sea-going vessels that opened world trade routes to today's web of air routes that rings the globe ferrying passengers and cargo. For most individuals, the details of this transportation system are not important, until they are victims of some problem in the system, such as a traffic jam, a lost piece of luggage after a plane trip, or an outright calamity such as a bridge collapse. Yet, mistakes, congestion and the threat of crises represent a chronic condition of global transportation systems as a whole.

The impact today
Despite technology-driven transformations in many areas of public life, the transportation system has been overlooked. A few examples demonstrate both the problem and the promise.

A large number of vehicles today come equipped with built-in GPS and wireless communications equipment. Yet, the most useful information — road conditions, accident locations, preferred routes — is still not beamed to vehicles attempting to navigate from point A to point B. Roadways are not monitored for this basic information even though cameras, sensors and wireless communications technology are readily available. The concept of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) has existed for many years and technology is now available to fulfill that vision of a dynamic transportation system. While there are always federal and state funding constraints, public policy initiatives are needed to move us forward by adopting the next generation of transportation solutions.

As with virtually all major cities around the world, Glasgow, Scotland has long struggled with traffic congestion. In order to build confidence and attract consumers onto public transportation, the city focused on the reliability of the system and developed the Streamline priority system, which currently tracks the movement of 500 city buses on eight key routes around the city. If a bus falls behind schedule, the system automatically alerts Glasgow's Traffic Control Center, which then gives the bus priority at almost 250 remote controlled traffic lights to help it get back on schedule. In addition, the system provides information to digital displays at bus stops. For the core of the system, the city chose a high-speed mobile broadband solution based on a Motorola MOTOMESH™ Solo wireless communications network. Glasgow is already beginning to reap the benefits of the Streamline system. Bus schedules are being met, travel times have decreased, passenger numbers have increased, and passengers are reporting greater satisfaction.¹ This is one example of how technology is improving transportation systems.

On a similar note, engineers know where the stress points on bridges and other transportation structures are located. In most major bridge structures, sensors have been implanted into those stress points so that stresses can be monitored. And we also have computer models for measuring those stresses. What we have not done is install the infrastructure to wirelessly transmit critical data in real time so that transportation officials can be forewarned of bridge hazards and prevent structural catastrophes. With the 2008 collapse of the Interstate-35 bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota the security of decades-old infrastructure became a national concern in the United States. Continuous bridge monitoring allows for real time alerts ranging from stresses on structural integrity to icing in winter conditions. This knowledge could enable a range of dynamic responses from changing load ratings over time to proactively addressing over-stressed bridges before they become dangers to public safety.

The world's airports constitute another critical infrastructure sector that must utilize innovative technologies to increase both travel safety and efficiency. Airport security personnel can benefit from the addition of today's latest communications tools. Video surveillance systems can quickly and effectively enhance security efforts by increasing visibility to the total airport footprint covering runways and airport borders as well as operations centers, terminal and parking facilities using wireless broadband technology and video cameras. Runway incursion is a major concern for any airport whether it is vehicles or animals and can jeopardize the safe operation of aircraft. Motorola's advanced digital wireless perimeter security systems have been installed in airports around the world. Airport police security can also benefit greatly from state-of-the-art interoperable communications systems to increase their ability to communicate on a daily or emergency basis with local first responders. Finally, airport luggage-handling systems can be upgraded through the implementation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology that has a much higher "read rate" than conventional bar coding. RFID tracking systems utilize a radio signal rather than a line-of-sight scanning of the bar code which allows improved bag-matching capability and overall system efficiency.

Ports represent a vital part of global trade. The United States alone has 361 ports that conduct 95 percent of their commercial trade. Ports are challenged to balance the economic development of maritime industries, providing efficient transport of goods, and ensuring a safe and secure environment for people, property and cargo. Effectively protecting the ports requires information exchange between national, state, and local authorities as well as global information exchange since the ships coming into any port began their voyages somewhere else. Information is most-valuable when presented in real-time. Therefore wireless communication to users anywhere at the port is required. Information could include live video, nuclear-biological-chemical sensor feedback, physical location of fellow team members, database look-up, ship manifest information, intra- & Internet access, and fingerprint analysis.

Motorola position
Motorola supports dedicated funding and policy directives for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). We believe ITS solutions represent the most cost-effective means both for reducing traffic congestion as well as increasing safety through improved emergency response and monitoring critical transportation infrastructure. To the extent ITS must continue to compete with traditional transportation spending, it is highly unlikely that the necessary investments will be made to realize the full potential of ITS technologies. To move forward will require a policy directive as well as appropriations. In the United States we advocate policy directives be included in the next Transportation Reauthorization bill.

In a similar vein, we support the funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 for transportation infrastructure upgrades, and Motorola urges state and local officials deploying those funds to find ways to incorporate ITS and bridge monitoring solutions into their brick and mortar transportation projects.

Motorola also supports funding in the pending U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill to provide much needed technology upgrades throughout U.S. airports. This funding can be used to implement sensor and surveillance systems as well as advanced interoperable communications. We also support adding a provision to this legislation to give airports the flexibility to use the federally-authorized Passenger Facility Charge assessed per ticket to help fund upgrades to baggage-handling systems to enable improved baggage tracking. Finally, Motorola supports increased appropriations for those U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant programs focused on improving security of critical infrastructure such as seaports, public transportation systems and freight rail.

European cities have long struggled with traffic congestion and the associated problems of increased air and noise pollution, traffic accidents, lost productivity and sheer frustration. Motorola supports European Union and national public funding to projects aimed at deploying effective communications networks, which help to better manage the public transportation system and enhance passenger security.

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¹ Motorola case study: Motorola's Wireless Broadband Helps Glasgow's Buses Run On-time