Technology, transitions and transformation are all topping the discussions among transportation professionals. The industry awaits the actions of a new presidential administration and the impending impacts of connected and automated vehicles and other disruptive trends regarding infrastructure while taking stock of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s 50th anniversary, celebrated last October.
While the DOT has attained some significant accomplishments, such as in aviation safety statistics, it still has much to do in terms of passenger rail safety, said Ken Mead, a former inspector general to the U.S. DOT. Speaking on a panel at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting this month in Washington, D.C., he noted the area’s Metro woes. He asked, “Does the Federal Transit Administration have the capacity to pull off oversight”of transit safety issues?