What Are You Doing to Embrace Good Stewardship?

(Note: This week’s question is inspired by the life of Ed DeLozier, executive director of the E-470 Public Highway Authority in Aurora, Colorado, and first vice president of IBTTA, who passed away suddenly on April 21 after suffering a stroke. Ed dedicated his life to the toll industry. He mentored me and countless others who found their home in transportation. Ed was at his best when he was helping others to be their best. He defined what good stewardship is all about. You can read more about Ed and his life on the Memorial Website set up by E-470 and on the Memorial page set up by IBTTA.)

With the world economy still suffering from the effects of the global financial crisis and high unemployment in many parts of the world, leaders and managers increasingly confront the question of stewardship. How do we do more with less? How do we drive cost out of the system to accommodate declining revenues? Perhaps most importantly, how do we engage, motivate, and retain our best people in a time of economic volatility and uncertainty? And how do we continue delivering the highest level of service to our customers in a constrained environment?

At transportation departments and tolling agencies, stewardship is often a team function – with the general manager/executive director/CEO working in tandem with a board of directors, a commission, a city council or some other governing body. The CEO also works in tandem with a management team and staff who, ideally, share a common vision. One function of the CEO is to provide effective orientation to the members of the board or commission. That means providing a useful frame or context in which to view the world and shape decisions about the policies, people, and resources needed to sustain the transportation network.

Our question this week involves the changing nature of stewardship in a volatile world. As the CEO or senior leader of a transportation organization, what information do you most want your board or commission to have? What are the key attributes of the frame or lens through which you want your board to see the world? What are your obligations to others in the organization – the junior staff and middle managers who will assume the mantle of leadership in years to come? What will you do to help those who surround you to become greater than yourself?

What is the Future for Tolling U.S. Interstate Highways?

On April 6, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration declined to approve Pennsylvania’s application to place tolls on Interstate 80. In its press release FHWA said, “The Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program requires that revenue from tolls be used only to improve the tolled facility, in this case I-80, and not be directed toward other state funding needs or transportation projects elsewhere in the state, as is the case in the Pennsylvania application.”

Reacting to the decision, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said "People understand that if they want safe bridges, good roads, and potholes eliminated, you cannot wait for the pothole fairy to do it – you’ve got to pay for it." Governor Rendell also predicted that under the next federal surface transportation bill, "They will lift the ban on tolling federal highways because there is no appetite for raising the gas tax right now, and this is one of the only ways for us to maintain these highways.”`

Commenting on the decision, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “I care about the transportation needs of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We have provided $1.4 billion in Recovery Act funds to Pennsylvania over the last year to jump start the economy and put people back to work. We based today's decision on what is allowable under federal law.” However, on April 7, speaking to ICAT, a transportation conference hosted by Bradley University and Caterpillar, Inc. in Peoria, Illinois, Secretary LaHood noted the Federal Highway Trust Fund has run out of money and that tolling and PPPs are the wave of the future. He repeated his support for tolling during the question and answer session.

Rounding out this picture of fierce diversity on the subject of tolling federal-aid highways, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar held an unusual hearing on March 26 during which he rejected the notion of tolling interstate highways and “existing roadways that have already been paid for by the users.” (See TollroadsNews). Which makes us recall this statement by Ed Regan of Wilbur Smith Associates during IBTTA’s 2005 Future Forum: “Federal restrictions on the ability of states to put tolls on existing interstate highways is one of the biggest barriers to that rebuilding process. So the federal government, while not supplying solutions in terms of funding, still refuses to get out of the way and allow tolling as an option for the states to use.”

So, what do you think? What is your view on the prospects for tolling U.S. interstate highways? Will the Congress ultimately see things as Governor Rendell does and lift the ban on tolling interstate highways? Will Americans stomach the possibility that un-tolled interstate highways will now be tolled? What will make or break this shift in federal policy?

What Are You Incubating?

Usually at this time of year, I get a big surge of energy in my life: physically, mentally, psychologically – the works. I think it has something to do with the lengthening of days, the increase in sunshine, and the melting of winter into spring. This year, my energy surge is not as big as it has been in previous years. That usually means I’m incubating something. While my conscious mind is busy with everyday things like work, attending meetings, writing, responding to email, etc., my unconscious mind is working on something else altogether. And it’s drawing a lot of energy.

I wonder what this incubation is all about. Maybe it has to do with the development of our new strategic plan or the ramping up of our new functional committees. Maybe it’s about IBTTA’s business model and the adaptations we’ll need to make over the coming years. Maybe it’s related to my three children leaving the nest one by one and going on to other adventures. Or it could be something else.

So, our question for this week: What are YOU incubating? What earth-shattering new development is emerging from behind the shadows of your mind? What is keeping you up at night, perhaps even in a good way? What profound thoughts are poking their way out from your unconscious mind and spurring you on to something new? What are you incubating?