New IDEAs for Transit: Annual Progress Report - January 2006

TRB’s Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) program has issued its New IDEAs for Transit: Annual Progress Report, which summarizes recent investigations conducted under the Transit IDEA program. The Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the member states of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials sponsor four IDEA programs that promote innovation beyond the scope of traditional research programs in the areas of transit, safety, high-speed rail, and highways.

The Transit IDEA Program is designed to help foster concepts that have the potential to enhance security, increase ridership, and improve efficiency for transit agencies.  Transit IDEA Program is part of the Transit Cooperative Research Program, a cooperative effort of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and the Transit Development Corporation (a nonprofit educational and research organization of the American Public Transportation Association). The program is funded by the FTA and is managed by TRB.