NVTA committee reviews transportation technology strategic plan; debates privacy and autonomous-vehicle roles

Chair Snyder called to order the Jan. 13, 2021 meeting of the Transportation Technology Committee of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority and opened discussion on a draft Transportation Technology Strategic Plan distributed to committee members in January.

The plan, presented by Keith Jasper of NVTA staff, lays out eight strategies and three cross-cutting core values: safety, equity and sustainability. "This presentation ... give[s] you a high level overview of, the transportation technology strategic plan," Jasper told the committee, and he emphasized that the plan must be paired with an action plan that assigns responsibilities, schedules and measures to move strategies into implementation.

The committee and staff framed the strategic plan as consequential to NVTA funding and planning. Jasper said projects must appear in the Authority's TransAction long-range plan to be eligible for NVTA funding; TransAction is slated for an update targeted for adoption in November 2022. "The authority cannot fund any projects that are not included in the current version of its long range plan," Jasper said, summarizing the link between strategy, planning and funding.

Committee members pressed staff about ownership of specific responsibilities. A committee member asked who would champion cybersecurity and privacy work; staff said the forthcoming action plan will specify timeframes and ownership and that committee and staff roles (funding, championing, observing) vary by strategy. "We have a great team," Monica Backmon, NVTA Executive Director, said, "but we just want to get input from the committee as to your thoughts on where we are on this draft plan."

Privacy and legal framing drew particular attention. Mayor Rieschel said current draft wording on privacy read as "feel-good wording" and asked staff to strengthen the legal basis for privacy protections, noting that "the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution accords everyone the right to privacy." Committee members agreed staff should consult counsel on appropriate language and approaches.

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) prompted extended discussion. Dr. Mudge said the plan "could have said more about autonomous vehicles," observed that the technology has historically been "overpromised," but warned deployments may accelerate within four to five years. He suggested the region consider measures to stimulate AV development and pilots so benefits such as greater access to jobs can materialize locally rather than elsewhere. "There may be ways for the region to shape how the market develops," he said.

Kathy McGee of the Virginia Department of Transportation described VDOT's testing and research partnerships, including the Virginia Smart Road and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and noted on-road pilot activity on portions of I-66, Route 29 and Route 50 where roadside units have been deployed to enable vehicle-infrastructure communication. McGee said VDOT and VTTI are researching automated-vehicle interactions with emergency services.

Committee members and staff returned repeatedly to how potential NVTA actions should be judged against the plan's core values: safety, equity and sustainability. "The issue is not whether this is going to happen, but how it links to our core values," Chair Snyder said, urging that any NVTA role prioritize those values.

Staff requested written feedback on the draft by Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021; staff said they will take a revised draft through NVTA's standing committees in February and seek Authority-level discussion in spring 2021. The committee discussed follow-up work including an action plan, coordination with VDOT and other regional partners, and possible outreach on liability/insurance issues for transit providers.

Votes at a glance:

- Resolution authorizing this meeting to be conducted electronically under the COVID-19 emergency and recent FOIA amendments (House Bill 29): motion moved and seconded; approved by voice vote.

- Approval of meeting minutes (Dec. 4, 2019): motion moved and seconded; approved by voice vote with Mayor Rieschel recorded as abstaining because she was not in attendance at the Dec. 4, 2019 meeting.

The committee scheduled its next meeting for Feb. 10, 2021 and NVTA staff announced the Northern Virginia Transportation Roundtable planned for March 10, 2021. The meeting adjourned after member updates.