Transportation Research Board 2020 Annual Report (2021)

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8 TRB • 2020 Annual Report GOAL 3 Advice As part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, TRB study committees provide formal advice to the federal government through consensus studies and review U.S. DOT research programs. Additionally, TRB provides useful information that informs policy discussions at all levels of government, through workshops and research reports. Convening to Advise Upon request, National Academies–appointed consensus study committees provide advice to Congress, executive branch federal agencies, the states, and other organizations on an array of complex and often controversial transportation topics of national significance. Committee members are selected to provide appropriate expertise and a balance of perspectives on the issues involved. Through these special expert committees, TRB also conducts periodic or continuing reviews of specific transportation research and technology programs. Policy study committee activities are subject to the requirements of Section 15 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 1997.  Consensus Study Committees TRB conducts advisory studies in accordance with procedures of the National Academies. Some studies are requested by Congress or executive branch agencies, while others are self-initiated studies funded by TRB. Committees of volunteer experts, supported by staff from TRB’s Consensus and Advisory Studies Division, conduct these studies. Formal policy advice comes through TRB’s consensus studies. Each study committee produces a report with evidence-based conclusions and recommendations that are subject to the National Academies’ rigorous report review process. Reports completed in 2020 and expected to be completed in early 2021 include the following: Transit and New Mobility Services New and expanding shared-mobility options—such as ride-hailing, shared cars, bikes or scooters, and microtransit—have proliferated. The study committee considered the role of these services as part of

TRB • 2020 Annual Report 9 regional transportation systems; specifically, the relationship to and impact of these services on existing public transit. As part of the study, the committee considered 1) how these services can improve the transportation system’s ability to further goals such as accessibility, efficiency, equity, sustainability, and safety; 2) the role transit agencies and other entities could play in managing and otherwise furthering the new mobility landscape; and 3) ways that transit agencies have coordinated with the new mobility providers, both in the United States and abroad. The study committee’s report recommends steps to help bring about this transformation, including in urban areas with historically robust transit service.9 These steps then could increase the value and viability of transit and shared mobility services more broadly across regions. U.S. Coast Guard’s Use of Unmanned Technologies The study committee identified, examined, and made recommendations on key considerations to guide the U.S. Coast Guard’s priorities for developing, testing, and deploying unmanned systems for maritime awareness applications. The report, Leveraging Unmanned Systems for Coast Guard Missions, examines opportunities for the Coast Guard to make greater use of unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles.10 The committee that authored the report concluded that, to remain responsive and fully relevant to its many missions, the Coast Guard should take a more strategic approach to investigating and investing in these systems by 1) establishing a central office to plan and coordinate the investments; 2) partnering with and leveraging technologies from other military services, the federal government, and the private sector; and 3) encouraging experimentation across operational units and mission areas. In December, the Chair and Ranking Member of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure wrote a letter to U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Karl L. Schultz urging adoption of the recommendations in the report. Mitigation Measures for Lead Emissions from Aviation Gas The study committee identified and assessed measures to reduce lead emitted from the combustion of aviation gas by piston-engine general aviation aircraft. Aviation gas continues to contain lead to provide the high octane needed for the safe operation of high-performance piston- engine aircraft, which account for about one-third of the fleet but more than two-thirds of the fuel consumed. The mitigation measures considered include expanding the availability and use of unleaded and lower-lead gasoline grades for the portion of the fleet that can use these fuels; the development and introduction of an unleaded grade that can satisfy the entire fleet; changes to operations and practices that contribute to lead emissions and exposures at small airports; and

10 TRB • 2020 Annual Report the development of new, lead-free aviation propulsion technologies.11 Because of uncertainty about the time it will take to develop and introduce an unleaded fuel that can serve the entire fleet, the report points to the importance of taking steps now to make early and sustained progress in reducing lead emissions and exposures. Committees That Advise on U.S. DOT Research TRB has several standing and ad hoc committees that review the research and development programs of various modal administrations in U.S. DOT, including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration, and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The committee charged with reviewing FRA’s rolling stock, track, train control, and human factors research to ensure it supports the agency’s safety mission issued Review of the Federal Railroad Administration’s Research and Development Program in 2020.12 TRB’s Committee for the Review of FHWA Infrastructure Research and Development is charged with advising the program regarding priorities in terms of the technical tools and products that state DOTs need to maintain and improve the performance of their pavements, bridges, and other structures. Their annual letter report highlights FHWA’s Long-Term Infrastructure Performance Program accomplishments in pavement and bridge deck data collections, development of bridge deck deterioration models, and outreach to program stakeholders during 2019.13 Input to Policy Development at All Levels of Government Although reports from TRB’s research programs and conferences and workshops do not contain formal recommendations to government, they can be an important source of information for federal, state, and local governments when these entities are making policy, legislative, and regulatory decisions. A notable example is a series of Insight Events workshops sponsored by TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP). The airline industry, airports, and their business partners have all been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, TRB’s Insight Event, “Flight Plan to Recovery: Preparing Airports and Their Business Partners for the Return of the Flying Public” convened experts to offer insights on a range of issues affecting the airline industry.14 The event covered public safety, passenger emotions and sense of safety and security, and financial stability. Speakers and participants considered mitigation strategies to enable recovery in the post-lockdown environment. Providing a platform to share this information helped inform airport operators across the country as they made operational and policy decisions in response to the pandemic.