America’s transportation system is large and complex. An amazing array of actors are responsible for moving people and goods around the world, from coast-to-coast, or within a region. This means there are countless approaches that are impossible to generalize or observe only from inside the Beltway.
Arguably the most important transportation measure to go before voters is in metropolitan Detroit. Residents there will decide on an ambitious $4.6 billion plan to build out a rail and bus transit system for the largest American region without one.
Procurement reform may not be the sexiest transportation issue right now but to restore American competitiveness, support smart job growth, and proliferate technological innovation, it just might be one of the most important.
September 22, 2016 – This November, the power of the state and local governments in the American electoral process will be forcefully demonstrated. But in addition to the presidential drama, another election story, with dramatic lessons about state and local influence, will play out as Americans in nearly half the states vote on important questions related to transportation investments in their regions.
The way nonprofits are funded, and how and why they work with their partners, continues to evolve. Like most non-profit organizations, Eno is funded from a variety of sources including individuals, philanthropies, corporations, and occasionally government grants. This is not happenstance. We aggressively seek advice, perspectives, and partnerships from a diverse set of actors. It is my staunch belief—and also that of Eno’s Board of Directors—that if we are to be relevant and impactful, we must work closely with a range of non-profit organizations, public officials, and private corporations because, after all, these are the experts in the field.
As we careen toward the November election, there does not seem to be much upon which Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump agree. One of those very few things, however, is the opportunity to create good paying jobs by rebuilding our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. And for good reason.
At a time when the market for new ideas and approaches in transportation is hot, discretionary transportation grant programs matter because they naturally allow for competition and, in turn, a crowdsourcing of solutions. This new type of delivery channel fosters and utilizes the creativity of states and localities, allowing them to craft and execute personalized solutions to their transportation or infrastructure needs.
At Eno we firmly believe that technology is revolutionizing transportation. It is up to policymakers to ensure that decisions being made in response to these changes create an environment that allows new technologies to be successfully deployed.
Today’s transportation industry is full of the new and the old – Legacy companies and agencies who have been operating successfully for years, and hungry start ups that are eager to bring innovation and disruption to the industry. Our industry is at a crucial crossroads. There is an opportunity to repair our aging systems, utilize new technology, and provide more and better transportation options for all. But we need leaders who can bring all of the pieces together both in the quiet times and during moments of crisis.
Infrastructure is critical to the health of the U.S. economy, and to its people. Though largely lost in the noisy national debate and all but ignored in the head-shaking Presidential campaign; public, private, and non-profit leaders are starting to cut through the chatter with new concerns about the state of our infrastructure today.