In the 1980’s!
During the 1980’s, Eno participated in the UMTA/FTA International Transit Studies Program, which brought approximately 300 senior professionals to international transit agencies to collect information, share knowledge, and expand international cooperation. Eno published parking textbooks, a biography of William Eno, and the Annual State of Logistics Report. In addition, Eno began the publication of Commuting in America. The 1980’s saw the rise of deregulation initiatives in the federal government, passing laws to deregulate the railroads, ocean shipping, and trucking.
Commuting in America
In 1987, the Eno Foundation published the first edition of an extensive analysis of commuting trends in the United States called Commuting in America. It examines commuting patterns and trends, the characteristics of the commuter (baby boom impact, women in the labor force, suburban workers, household size tends, zero vehicle households, etc.), commuting flow characteristics, and the implications of the author’s findings.
“What a privilege it is to be able to work on a subject that is a source of endless interest. The need to better understand transportation behavior, and as a part of that the need to better understand commuting, is still with us and, it seems, will be for a long time. The ways in which human needs and preferences play out in a spatial context, given changes in technological possibilities, in the demography of the population, and in the larger society, generates an almost endless array of patterns to investigate and stories to tell, ” — Alan Pisarski.
Did you know?
“On Aug. 3, 1981, more than 12,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization walked off the job, setting off a chain of events that would redefine labor relations in America. In response to the walkout, President Ronald Reagan issued one of the defining statements of his presidency. He said the striking air-traffic controllers were in violation of the law; if they did not report to work within 48 hours, their jobs would be terminated. Reagan carried out his threat.”
Research Spotlight
Parking – For Institutions and Special Events
In 1982, Eno published a concise and insightful look at the problems that medical centers, colleges, and socio-recreational sports complexes face in providing adequate, controlled parking. This publication provides information that is helpful in planning and designing cost-effective parking for institutions and special events. It discusses and documents travel and parking characteristics generated by hospitals and medical centers, colleges and universities, and various kinds of special events. Especially useful in helping to determine parking needs created by institutional and special-event traffic generators.
Eno: The Man and the Foundation
Published in 1988, this book examines Mr. Eno’s personal background and the organization he created to deal with the centuries-old problem of urban traffic chaos. It highlights the enthusiasm and imagination of this unique man who devoted his adult life and personal fortune to improving transportation for everyone. It also provides a sweeping picture of modern transportation development.
Then
Public Transit Service Contracting: A Status Report
“Service contracting is unlikely to be a panacea for the transit industry’s fiscal problem, but the evidence does indicate that significant cost savings can occur as a direct result of contracting. In addition, further cost savings may result indirectly from the establishment of a competitive environment for procuring service (by causing transit agency compensation levels and work rules to remain competitive service in bidding for service). Judging by the current extent the practice ,service contracting appears to work well mechanism for transit service delivery; numerous local governments rely on this form of service delivery. The question posed UMTA’s private sector policy initiative is whether this practice institutionally feasible at a much larger scale than has been typical date.”
Public Transit Service Contracting: A Status Report by Roger F. Teal, published in Transportation Quarterly
Now
Contracting for Mobility
“New privately-run mobility services are now ubiquitous in many urban regions. These include ride-hailing (e.g., Uber, Lyft, and Via) as well as on-demand micro-mobility services such as shared electric scooters and bicycles. While these services are private ventures, companies and public entities can partner to deliver services that augment or enhance public transit. The formal basis for these relationships are often codified in a legal contractual agreement. These contracts are essential, allowing cross-sector partnership and goal setting, as well as legal assignment of risks, liabilities, requirements, and payments. This report discusses the nuances of interactions between private companies and public agencies, including non-disclosure agreements, data sharing, and the challenges and opportunities faced between the transit agencies and the MOD provider as well as between the other entities involved in the service provision and evaluation of the project.”
Contracting for Mobility, written by Alice Grossman, PhD and Paul Lewis, published by the Eno Center for Transportation
President Reagan & Transportation
Highway Revenue Act of 1982
The Highway Revenue Act of 1982 is now remembered as a triumph of bipartisanship – a Republican President who had recently passed the largest tax cuts in living memory joined with a Democratic House of Representatives and a Republican Senate to more than double (from 4 cents per gallon to 9 cents per gallon) federal motor fuels taxes and to use that money to provide large increases in federal spending on highways and bridges and, for the first time, to provide a permanent federal role in financing urban mass transit. As the legend goes, people of goodwill in both political parties saw a great national need and came together to find a politically difficult but common-sense solution. The reality is a bit messier.
Reagan’s 1987 Highway Bill Veto
Reagan’s 1987 Highway Bill Veto
In 1987, an 18-month struggle over the future of federal highway and mass transit funding came to a head: President Ronald Reagan became the first chief executive to veto a federal-aid highway authorization bill, and Congress overrode the veto. (Though it took two tries in the Senate.)
