Washington D.C. – In advance of Thursday’s Senate hearing on the Trump Administration’s infrastructure proposal, ITS America urged Congress to invest in intelligent transportation technologies that will modernize America’s infrastructure.

In a letter to the Committee on Environment and Public Works, ITS America President and CEO Shailen Bhatt outlined the organization’s priorities for what should be included in new infrastructure legislation.

“The nation is entericapitalng a technology revolution that will define the way people, goods, and services move for decades to come,” Bhatt said. “We must deploy intelligent transportation technologies on a large scale to remain competitive in an increasingly global economy.”

ITS America put forth six key recommendations:

  • Leverage existing FAST Act Programs;
  • Create grants for emerging technologies that support congestion relief;
  • Expand opportunities for smart communities;
  • Increase development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
  • Develop additional opportunities for broadband in unserved rural and metropolitan areas; and
  • Provide investments to stabilize the Highway Trust Fund and more resources for intelligent transportation technologies.

“Our increasingly outmoded roads, bridges, transit, freight, and intercity passenger systems are struggling to move the nation’s technology-driven economy,” Bhatt said. “We need an infrastructure bill that prioritizes investments in intelligent transportation technologies.”