TTI Transportation Policy Research Center Director Ginger Goodin (left) and TTI Center for Ports and Waterways Director Jim Kruse testify before the Texas House Select Committee on Texas Ports, Innovation & Infrastructure on Mar. 13.
Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers Ginger Goodin and Maarit Moran outlined the agency’s latest research on transportation network companies (TNCs) for members of the Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce on Mar. 14. Goodin, the director of TTI’s Transportation Policy Research Center, outlined in her testimony how TNC operations have expanded rapidly in cities worldwide, in some cases creating disruption in the transportation marketplace. TTI Associate Transportation Researcher Moran is responsible for multiple ongoing studies that examine the emerging regulatory environment for TNCs.
Committee members were considering one of several bills now before the Texas Legislature on the topic of TNC operations. In presenting his proposed legislation, SB 176, State Sen. Charles Schwertner, the bill’s author, noted the value of TTI’s research on the issue. | Read the testimony on TNCs
In a separate hearing the previous day, Goodin and TTI Research Scientist Jim Kruse also provided invited testimony for the House Select Committee on Texas Ports, Innovation & Infrastructure.
Goodin focused her comments on the Texas export trade and its reliance on Texas ports. Much of her testimony was drawn from Moving Texas Exports, a series of TTI reports examining the export supply chains of six major commodities. Goodin also addressed issues related to crossing delays along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Kruse, who directs the Institute’s Center for Ports and Waterways, provided testimony on how various states provide financial support for port infrastructure, and also on the effects of the Panama Canal expansion. He highlighted a 2015 study State Funding Practices for Coastal Port Infrastructure. | Read the testimony on ports