lnstituitional and Policy Issues in Adopting Advanced Public Transportation Systems Technology

This paper examines implementation issues associated with the Inter-modal SurfaceTransportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). In particular, it discusses whether ISTEA ismore a truly revolutionary change in policy, or a continuation of the status quo. The articleconsiders these issues in the context of a legislation battle that did not produce clear winners andlosers, where both sides appear to have achieved what was important to enable a test of theirown hypotheses, and where each has an interpretation of what the “spirit” or the intention ofISTEA is, and how it ought to play out. The result is an “experiment” testing the viability of two world views. One view seesa public policy largely at odds with the real public sentiment on transportation, where the willof the people has been distorted by federal intervention to favor SOVs and urban sprawl. Givenan alternative, this view predicts the public will opt for different behavior and lifestyle changes.The other view sees public policy as largely consonant with abiding public preferences,behaviors and land use patterns that are unliiely to change quickly as a result of the flexibilityand local focus introduced by ISTEA.The complexity is compounded by the new role of Metropolitan Planning Organizations,especially with regard to requirements for public participation and clean air. Finally, since theexpression of public preference is related both to the outcome of the policy experiment and tothe ongoing legitimacy of the institutions (including MPOs) charged with its implementation, thisparticipatory framework is critical to understanding the future direction of transportation policy.