Policy Review

An examination of recent policy and regulatory initiatives

• FAST Act: Surface transportation reauthorisation

  January 1, 2016
  The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act is a five-year legislation to improve the surface transportation infrastructure in the United Sates.

• Transport for Canberra: Balancing car use with public transport

  December 1, 2015
  ‘Transport for Canberra' is the foundation for transport planning for the next 15 years.It updates and replaces the 2004 Sustainable Transport Plan and supplements the Canberra Spatial Plan, now known as the ACT Planning Strategy.

• FTA's Proposed Rule for SGR: Focus on transit asset management

  November 1, 2015
  On September 30, 2015, the United States Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a proposed rule for transit agencies to monitor and manage capital assets to achieve and maintain assets in a state of good repair (SGR).

• Final Interim Policy Guidance for the CIG Program: New methods to evaluate projects

  October 1, 2015
  The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has released the final interim policy guidance on the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) programme in August 2015.

• Kenya Vision 2030 : Medium-term strategies to achieve broad goals

  September 1, 2015
  Kenya Vision 2030 is the country's new development blueprint, which aims to transform Kenya into a “newly industrialising middle-income country providing a high quality life to all its citizens by the year 2030”.

• FTA's initiatives for safety : New policies and programmes

  August 1, 2015
  In June 2015, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) released the safety management inspection (SMI) report of operations of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

• Malaysia's UPT NKRA: GTP 1.0 review and GTP 2.0 plans

  July 1, 2015
  The Government of Malaysia has set a deadline of 2020 for itself to become a developed, high-income nation. The Government Transformation Programme (GTP) has identified seven pressure points that it has designated as National Key Results Areas (NKRAs).

• Rail ticketing Code of Practice in the UK: Improving transparency and quality

  June 1, 2015
  The UK rail industry recently adopted a Code of Practice (COP) on the provision of retail information for rail tickets and services.

• Colombia's National Development Plan: Progress via 5-year strategy

  May 1, 2015
  The Colombian economy has improved significantly over the recent years. Growth has been robust and accompanied by low inflation, declining public debt and better management of public resources.

• Ghana Railway Master Plan: Need for early and prudent implementation

  April 1, 2015
  The railway infrastructure in Ghana is severely lacking and in dire need of rehabilitation and expansion. Over the past few years, the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) have been moving forward (albeit rather slowly!) with a massive railway improvement plan.

• US FTA's FY 2015 Program: Funds and guidelines

  March 1, 2015
  In February 2015, the United States Federal Transit Administration (FTA) published its Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Apportionments, Allocations, and Program Information, providing funding for FTA's programs as authorised by MAP-21, pursuant to the FY 2015 Appropriations Act.

• Wellington Regional Public Transport Plan: Service enhancement and growth to increase ridership

  February 1, 2015
  The Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) adopted the final version of the Wellington Regional Public Transport Plan on June 26, 2014.

• EC approves revised TSIs for railways: New requirements effective January 2015

  January 1, 2015
  On November 18, 2014, the European Commission (EC) adopted a full set of revised Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs) related to accessibility, safety in railway tunnels, locomotive and passenger rolling stock, as well as energy and infrastructure subsystems.

• Development of transit safety regulation in US: A comprehensive approach

  December 1, 2014
  Under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is ushering in a new era for transit safety by strengthening and funding robust state safety oversight agencies.

• Fare regulation in Singapore: Balancing affordability and viability of services

  November 1, 2014
  Public bus and train services in Singapore are provided on a commercial basis, within the maximum fares approved by the Public Transport Council (PTC).

• Railway reform in France: New legislation for restructuring RFF and SNCF

  October 1, 2014
  In July 2014, the French Senate passed a new legislation to restructure the French railway industry to improve the efficiency and safety of the rail system.

• Urban Transport Development Project for Lebanon: Support from the World Bank

  September 1, 2014
  The Urban Transport Development Project (UTDP) for Lebanon was approved by the World Bank in June 2002. The project aims to provide a basic institutional framework for Beirut and the Greater Beirut Area (GBA), and facilitate investments needed to maximise the efficiency of the existing transport system in a phased manner.

• Metro Vancouver's 30-year Transit Plan: Investing CAD7.5 billion in transit

  August 1, 2014
  In June 2014, Metro Vancouver approved a 30-year plan to improve transportation at an investment of CAD7.5 billion.The plan identifies new transportation services to meet the needs of the growing region, enhance the economy, improve the quality of life, and protect health and environment.

• SHIFT²RAIL: Promoting innovation in rail solutions

  July 1, 2014
  On June 16, 2014, the European Union's (EU) Council of Ministers adopted the regulation to establish the SHIFT²RAIL joint undertaking to focus on rail research and innovation (R&I) over the next six years.

• GROW AMERICA Act: Increasing and stable funding

  June 1, 2014
  In April 2014, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) submitted a surface transportation authorisation bill, the Generating Renewal, Opportunity, and Work with Accelerated Mobility, Efficiency, and Rebuilding of Infrastructure and Communities throughout America Act (GROW AMERICA Act), to Congress.