Foreseeing the Impact of Transformational Technologies on Land Use and Transportation (2019)

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I-39 Expertise in the new technologies is a weakness for many traditionally trained land use and transportation planners. A particular weakness of the current generation of planning professionals is in the application of big data methods to answer planning questions. Several options are available for acquiring the needed expertise. They range from request- ing volunteers to hiring experts to establishing formal partnerships with educational insti- tutions and technology companies. In addition, an agency might consider university and trade school partnership options for building up the expertise of the local private-sector workforce. 8.1 Option 1: Bring in Other Agencies with Other Expertise Agencies already are accustomed to working with a wide variety of state, regional, and local agencies as well as local institutions and operating agencies through the metropolitan planning process. Nonetheless, successful land use and transportation planning for transformational technologies requires an agency to reach out to a broader range of divisions within the same agency (e.g., fire, police, maintenance, IT), as well as institutional and jurisdictional partners with additional technical expertise that might not ordinarily be extensively involved in the agency’s planning process. Transportation planning for implementation of new technologies in the field should involve first responders, fire, enforcement, utilities, and other non-traditional participants in the plan- ning process. The challenge will be getting these new participants educated on the planning process and institutionally motivated to contribute actively and to implement the resulting recommendations. The manager of the planning process needs to identify something of tangible value to the new participants for participating in the planning process and convince them of those benefits. 8.2 Option 2: Invite Outside Experts to Sit on Advisory Committees Public agencies are well aware that involving the appropriate stakeholders on various advisory bodies is critical to the successful outcome of the land use and transportation plan- ning process. Agencies currently involve the following stakeholders in their planning pro- cess: residents, citizen groups, business groups, transit agencies, and representatives from other relevant jurisdictions. However, new technologies introduce other stakeholders that an agency may not have previously considered relevant to their planning process. C H A P T E R 8 Get Smart, Get the Expertise

I-40 Foreseeing the Impact of Transformational Technologies on Land Use and Transportation A commonly used option for obtaining outside expertise for the planning process is to invite outside experts to sit on one or more planning advisory committees. This is a very low-cost option for obtaining the outside expertise; however, the agency may find that participation on advisory committees requires a greater commitment of time than is feasible for volunteers. 8.2.1 Challenge: Who to Invite? Selection of the non-traditional stakeholders to involve in the planning process will vary according to the agency’s new technology goals for its land use and/or transportation plan. • Planning for innovative curbside management technologies and advanced traffic manage- ment strategies may benefit greatly from the involvement of police, fire, transit, mainte- nance, and private-sector motor carrier, delivery, ride hailing, bike sharing, and car sharing services. • Planning for EVs may benefit greatly from private developer, vehicle manufacturer, and utility provider participation. • Larger private-sector technology companies may provide their own transportation services for their employees in competition or in coordination with public services. • Access to adequate housing and transportation services affects location choice for private sector technology companies. 8.2.2 Challenge: Identifying Private-Sector Representatives It is relatively easy to identify representatives from public agencies to participate in the planning process, but it can be difficult to identify suitable representatives for the private sector. The private sector involves diverse and competitive businesses with conflicting goals and perspectives. For example, the California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued permits to 52 com- panies to test fully autonomous AVs on California roads (California DMV 2019). Some of these companies are further along in developing their vehicles and prefer regulations that confirm their selected approach to automating vehicles. Others are not so far along and desire the flexibility to develop options that may increase their ability to compete. One representa- tive from one of these 52 companies cannot be expected to reasonably or accurately reflect the views of all 52 companies, much less the views of the entire private sector. One approach is to go to the various private-sector trade groups to ask them for advice on contacting representatives who can participate in the agency’s planning process and provide a private-sector perspective. The recently formed Partnership for Transportation Innovation and Opportunity (PTIO) is a new 501(c)(6) non-profit policy group that was created to present the private sector’s perspectives on transformational technologies to policy makers and to the public. PTIO member companies include Ford, Toyota, Daimler, Waymo, Uber, Lyft, FedEx, and the American Trucking Association (Wiggers 2018). An agency can supplement the following list of U.S.-based technology-oriented trade and lob- bying groups by identifying additional trade groups, especially local ones that may better meet the agency’s needs. • Internet Applications Trade Groups: – The Computer & Communications Industry Association (https://www.ccianet.org) is a lobbying group that represents Google, eBay, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Netflix, Intel, Samsung, and other tech companies.

Get Smart, Get the Expertise I-41 – The Mobile Marketing Association (https://www.mmaglobal.com/about) is an associa- tion of MaaS enterprises and businesses using mobile marketing applications (marketers, sellers, enablers, agencies, and carriers). • Vehicle Technology Trade Groups: – The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (https://autoalliance.org) is an association of 12 of the largest car manufacturers in the United States. – The Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets (http://www.selfdrivingcoalition.org) is a lobbying group formed by Ford, Lyft, Uber, Volvo Cars, and Waymo to work with lawmakers, regulators, and the public to promote fully autonomous (self-driving) AVs. – The Light Electric Vehicle Association (LEVA) (http://www.levassociation.com) is an association of e-bike and e-scooter retailers, dealers, distributors, manufacturers, and suppliers. • Infrastructure Technologies Trade Groups: – The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) (https://www.nema.org) is a trade association of electrical equipment manufacturers in the United States. – The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) (https://www.itsa.org) is an association of automotive manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, public agencies, and research organizations. • Logistics Technologies Trade Groups: – The ATA (https://www.trucking.org) is a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking asso- ciations and industry-related conferences and councils. – The Association of American Railroads (AAR) (https://www.aar.org) is an industry trade group representing the major freight railroads of North America. – The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) (http://www.aapa-ports.org) is an association of public port authorities in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America. – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) (https://www.iata.org) is a trade association for the world’s commercial airlines. – The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (https://www.icao.int) is a United Nations agency created to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Experts’ availability to participate in advisory group meetings may be constrained by scheduling issues. In such cases, the agency might consider scheduling a separate meeting with the expert and sharing the information and perspectives gained from that meeting with other stakeholders at subsequent advisory group meetings. 8.3 Option 3: Hiring and/or Training Staff The manager of the planning process might consider hiring an additional staff person who has the necessary expertise. The manager also might send existing staff out for the necessary training; however, these options take time and involve budgeting for the necessary resources. Moreover, the technical expertise needed to meet specific planning challenges may vary, and staff who have or acquire current technical expertise may be difficult to retain. One approach to providing existing staff with a working knowledge of current technologies is to take advantage of university extension courses. The planning manager also might consider sending staff to technical conferences such as: • The annual Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES) put on by the Consumer Technology Association (https://www.ces.tech/About-CES.aspx),

I-42 Foreseeing the Impact of Transformational Technologies on Land Use and Transportation • The ITS America Annual Meeting (https://www.itsa.org), or • The annual Automated Vehicles Symposium (AVS) co-sponsored by the Transportation Research Board and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (http:// www.automatedvehiclessymposium.org). 8.4 Option 4: Partnering with Educational Institutions The manager might consider partnering with local educational and research institutions to obtain the services of individuals with training or technology expertise not present among the agency’s own staff. For example, temporary employment of student interns drawn from the educational institution may quickly fill specific gaps in the agency’s technological knowledge. Agencies also might consider partnering with local universities and trade schools to cre- ate opportunities for private-sector workforce development. For example, as part of the U.S. DOT’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program, the Tampa, Florida, site deployment team has partnered with a local auto repair trade school to have the students install on-board units in study vehicles. The students’ technical training assists the program, and after com- pleting the program, the participating students will have work experience that few others in the country have. 8.5 Option 5: Hire an Outside Expert The agency might hire an outside consultant to be its on-call expert for a set period. The challenge with this option is its cost and the time and effort needed to select the expert. Once the contract is over, the expertise is no longer available to the agency. 8.6 Option 6: Partnering with the Private Sector Public agencies have a great deal of experience contracting with the private sector to construct public projects. Agencies also have a great deal of experience regulating private land develop- ment and the commercial provision of services to the public. Partnering with the private sec- tor as an equal partner, however, is a new challenge. Various public-private partnership (PPP) options are available, depending on the extent of financial commitment desired by each party. The challenge to achieving a successful PPP is identifying meaningful shared objectives for the partners. Identifying a dependable revenue stream for the private sector partner often is key to obtaining private sector participation. As with any PPP, establishing a firewall between the PPP and elected officials is important. Such a firewall protects the agency and the private-sector partner, enhances public trust in the work of the PPP, and helps ensure that the projects undertaken through the PPP can continue despite changes in administration across election cycles. 8.6.1 Traditional PPPs A wide variety of traditional options can be employed to involve the private sector in public- sector plans and projects (Sabol & Puentes 2014). Traditional PPPs include: • Conventional Public Project Build. The public-sector agency originates, funds, designs, operates, and maintains the project. The public agency hires a private-sector contractor to build the project to the agency’s specifications. The agency owns the resulting facility. Most

Get Smart, Get the Expertise I-43 state and local highway improvement projects are examples of this approach to private-sector involvement. • Design/Build, Design/Build/Finance, and Design/Build/Finance/Operate. These options fall in the category of PPPs that have been proposed to expedite public project delivery when the public agency faces funding constraints. They increase involvement of the private sector in what is still ultimately a public project. The public agency originates the project and owns the resulting facility. Many privately operated toll roads are examples of this PPP approach to private-sector involvement in a public project. • Permits, Licenses, Franchises. The private sector applies for permission to build and/or operate a building or service open to the public. The legal basis for this regulation is the protection of public safety. Typically, the private-sector partner originates, funds, builds, and operates the project according to the conditions of the permit, license, or franchise. The private-sector partner collects the revenue and must maintain its facilities and vehicles. The public agency may collect fees; designate a territory for the service; and set operating hours, minimum wages, working conditions, and so forth. Permits, licenses, and franchises already are commonly employed by public agencies to regu- late private land development, utilities (e.g., electricity, water, sewer, internet, cable TV) and private commercial transportation services (e.g., trucks, taxis). The review and conditioned approval of subdivision maps and planned unit developments are examples of this option for interacting with the private sector. Some agencies (e.g., in San Francisco and New York City) have extended the permitting/licensing process to the regulation of car sharing, ride hailing, and bicycle/e-scooter sharing services. Other agencies are considering this option. Formal PPPs involve the partners entering into a legally enforceable agreement that des- ignates the obligations of each partner to the others, the sharing of risks, and the sharing of revenues. In states with the appropriate enabling legislation, public agencies also may enter into formal joint powers agreements that designate the powers they will share with a newly created agency. The joint powers agreement stipulates the obligations of each member agency and the operation of the new agency created by the agreement. Joint powers agreements have sometimes been used to create special districts (e.g., hospital or utility districts). In these cases, the agreements spell out how specific agency obligations and powers are shared or distributed among the partner agencies and direct how specific government services are provided within those districts. 8.6.2 Applications of PPPs for Transformational Technologies Given that the private sector often has much greater expertise in designing and operating many of the new technologies, simply permitting or licensing the private-sector operation often may achieve the agency’s planning objectives. In most large, urban areas, the agency need not push the private sector (through a PPP) to do what market forces would have done anyway. PPPs come in handy when the public agency wants a particular technology deployed sooner than would be supported by market forces alone. This can be an important approach for smaller urban areas and rural areas to obtain technologies earlier than the market would ordinarily allow. For example, if ridesharing services do not provide adequate coverage of a rural county, the county might provide the desired web-accessible ridesharing by entering into a PPP with a local taxi company to provide the vehicles with drivers along with a transportation network company (TNC) that has the necessary web application.

I-44 Foreseeing the Impact of Transformational Technologies on Land Use and Transportation Rationales that support a public agency entering into more-elaborate PPPs are: • Debt constraints on the public agency that affect financing of the desired public projects; • A desire to expedite private-sector deployment of a project that is not typically a central function of the public agency; and • Recognition that the private sector has greater expertise with the technologies, materials, and management techniques appropriate for the project. If a public agency anticipates going into a formal PPP to fund, design, build, and/or oper- ate specific technologies, the public agency is advised to take certain steps to maximize the likelihood of a successful outcome satisfactory to all partners. Specifically, the agency should: • Make sure a strong legal framework for PPPs exists at the state level; • Pick the highest-priority projects based on agency goals; • Pick projects that are politically smart (have a strong consensus that will survive changes in elected officials); • Ensure that the PPP agreement aligns well with private-sector needs (e.g., a dependable revenue stream); • Ensure that the revenue streams for the project are durable and resilient; • Employ a clear and transparent partnership process; • Ensure that the team responsible for implementing PPP decisions is empowered to do so; • Actively engage stakeholders in the PPP process and implementation; and • Monitor and learn from prior PPP projects. 8.6.3 Less-Formal Options Less-formal partnering options are available when the partners wish to work together to achieve a common goal but do not wish to legally commit themselves to specific funds for the project or to take on specific risks. These less-formal options may be called alliances or coalitions. The shared objectives of an alliance or a coalition may be documented in a memorandum of understanding (MOU). MOUs indicate a desire by the signatories to pursue a common line of action. They are usually carefully worded to avoid their interpretation as a legally enforceable contract between the parties.