For years it has been known that urban transportation does not adequately meet the needs of many.  Our buses, trolleys and trains are costly to build and operate.  They are designed and constructed mainly in travel CORRIDORS not easily nor fully accessible on a 24/7 basis given the low density of our suburban metropolitan areas.  Since urban sprawl has been and will likely continue to be a dominant land use pattern, and while transit remains a significant benefit for nearby residents who cannot afford the expense of a car, transit’s share of ridership has nevertheless failed to meet expectations and to justify the billions of dollars expended on it.

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Make no mistake, our existing public transit is a godsend - an essential lifeline for those unable to drive or to afford a car – and our public transportation planners have worked hard to craft mobility solutions using the tools available to them - but the existing systems attract very few who have access to an automobile.  Contrary to the view of some that low transit ridership is due to a “love-affair” with the car we believe it to be a forced marriage of convenience.

So while automobiles, during our lifetimes, have been a reliable and effective means to move people, goods and services, they now come with a significant and growing price tag.  As our population has increased the high costs associated with cars have also become more apparent.  These costs include: urban congestion; greenhouse gas emissions; death and personal injury; social inequality; inefficient land use; and high costs for business sectors.

The California Infrastructure Institute (“CALII”) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focusing on innovative infrastructure and technology as a means to address our transportation challenges.  Our purpose is to assist efforts to address the complex problems confronting users, operators, metropolitan planning organizations and public transportation system owners. 

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CALII believes there remains a vast yet unexplored potential for transit NETWORKS to complement our existing transit CORRIDORS.  Such NETWORKS could well become the flip-side of high capacity/limited stop solutions currently being offered by trolleys, commuter rail and to a large extent buses.  We believe what is needed are innovative systems that can enhance our existing transit investment in trolleys, commuter rail and bus CORRIDORS by creating transit NETWORKS that may conveniently connect riders to them and help resolve their “first/last mile problem”.  An innovative system of NETWORKS that we seek a responsible evaluation of is termed an Automated Transit Network (“ATN” or “PRT”).   

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Our CALII Board is made up of concerned citizens having broad backgrounds and expertise in: urban planning; local, regional and national government; transportation security; power generation and supply; engineering, construction and electrical circuitry; and related legal matters.  We are well acquainted with Southern California’s regional governance as well as the metropolitan planning organizations (or “MPOs”) that serve them.  CALII’s goal is to bring together government, business, academia, professionals, environmentalists, regulators and the public in order to advance the research, development and deployment of Innovative Transportation Technologies in order to address our transportation challenges.