Connected Transportation Research and Innovation Act of 2015

Connected Transportation Research and Innovation Act of 2015

This bill reauthorizes through FY2021 highway research and development, including highway safety, technology and innovation deployment, training and education, and intelligent transportation systems.

After receiving a 5.9 GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure device, the Department of Transportation (DOT) shall test it to examine the possibility of interference with safety-related vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure applications.

DOT shall:

• research, develop, and test automated vehicle systems;
• promote the research, development, and demonstration of user-based alternative revenue mechanisms that preserve a user fee structure to maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund; and
• establish and lead a Surface Transportation Revenue Alternatives Advisory Council to inform the selection and evaluation of such mechanisms.

The bill reauthorizes through FY2021 the university transportation centers program, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the National Cooperative Rail Research Program, hazardous materials research and development, the advanced transportation research and innovation program, the National Cooperative Freight Transportation Research Program, and the rail cooperative research program.

The bill also increases the amount of grants for national, regional university, and tier 1 university transportation centers.

DOT shall:

• examine opportunities for federal and state participation and investment in international transportation research collaborations, and
• establish the Advanced Transportation Research and Innovation Program.

The bill cites eligible public transportation workforce development programs.

DOT shall establish:

• a hazardous materials transport cooperative research program, and
• a multimodal national cooperative freight transportation research program.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Research and Technology shall study digital technologies and information technologies (smart cities transportation planning), including shared mobility, data, transportation network companies, and on-demand transportation services.