ITD Cooperative Agreement Grant: Adopting innovative transportation technologies for equity, sustainability and advancement

In addition to the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety grant, another high priority program was recently announced to help eligible entities implement transportation solutions that support the USDOT Strategic Plan. This cooperative agreement grant will help accelerate innovative technology deployment, empowering organizations to harness new tools for the enhancement of road systems. Applications are due by April 19, 2024 at the latest.

The ITD Cooperative Agreement Grant is designed to not only help improve motorist safety but also advance other important aspects of national transportation as well. Monies from the grant are to be spent on technologies that help organizations plan enhancements to current transportation infrastructure. The main objectives of these improvements are to:

• Create a more fair and inclusive national transportation system that works for everyone.
• Support climate- and emissions-friendly goals by installing more public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
• Develop a stronger workforce with more vocations in transportation and improve the quality of the jobs that are currently available.
• Preserve the health and well-being of all drivers and passengers on the road.
• Enhance all Americans’ ability to save more money. 

To be eligible for the grant, organizations must meet a series of criteria that the U.S. Department of Transportation has outlined. Funds will not be awarded to individual persons or corporate entities. Qualifying organizations must also have a defined project plan that’s been vetted in accordance with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST) in order to be approved for a portion of the funds..

As one of the primary objectives of the ITD grant, sustainable transportation infrastructure is becoming increasingly important. An increasing number of EVs find themselves on American roads, as indicated by statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Their figures show that in 2012, there were just 100,000 light-duty EVs being driven; leading up to 2021, that number rose to 2.13 million.

To help accommodate drastic increases in EV usage and support commercial fleets in achieving electrification goals, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken action by announcing a plan to install more zero-emission infrastructure along key freight corridors. Through the sponsorship of intelligent technologies to study vehicle movement patterns, plan smarter EV infrastructure locations and improve public charging access, the strategy seeks to advance America’s climate initiatives and purify the air. In addition to reaping environmental and health benefits, citizens can also potentially save more money over the long haul with increased public EV charging options at their disposal.

Innovative technologies can help state agencies, research institutions and nonprofits execute on the objectives mentioned in the ITD NOFO by helping them better understand the current states of national and regional travel. By starting with an honest assessment of relevant movement trends at present, planners and modelers can infer what strategies to deploy next based on robust, up-to-date analytics. Officials can more easily identify hidden equity, environmental, work quality or safety deficiencies in their current transportation infrastructure by using data to help uncover them.

As mentioned earlier, the ITD grant’s purpose is to help qualifying agencies acquire these transportation technologies and access the valuable insights they provide. Altitude by Geotab offers one such solution with Altitude, our cutting-edge transportation analytics platform that offers an abundance of rich, actionable insights. This fleet and freight traffic data platform can be an integral part of your organization’s projects by helping you measure and visualize accurate data related to truck parking, roadway congestion, vehicle vocations and more. In addition to providing real-world transportation insights, Altitude also helps your team understand critical background information on the types of vehicles most commonly driven through your region, the specific purposes of their trips and their origins and destinations. These smarter pieces of context go deeper than simple metrics, helping you develop informed strategies that account for the possible reasons behind observed trends. Altitude can help your organization pursue the objectives of the ITD grant and use these powerful insights to construct the cities of the future. 

Tomorrow’s cities will increasingly pursue green initiatives like sustainable transportation infrastructure, with these involving the construction of more public EV charging stations to support higher demand for alternative fuel sources. Altitude enables transportation planners, modelers and energy analysts to prioritize sustainability by segmenting vehicle characteristics and comparing vehicle classes to stop time data. Identifying which types of vehicles are stopping in a certain area and for how long can be instrumental to knowing the best types of EV charging options to build.

Route analytics within our platform can also help you visualize the most frequent trips taken by vehicles, where most are coming from and where they’re headed. Prioritizing the construction of charging ports along the most heavily traveled corridors can help you add optimal charging locations for all drivers across your region. Relying on data to inspire your sustainability objectives enables you to effectively scale your region’s next infrastructure iterations.

Apply for ITD funding or learn more about the program by visiting the grant’s webpage. For questions regarding your eligibility or the application process, you can consult the Grants.Gov support page or reach out to one of their representatives via the aforementioned overview webpage as well. With financial support and the right solutions in place, your qualifying organization can let accurate data drive its strategic transportation infrastructure decisions.

Reach out to us today to discover more about how Altitude can support your plans for equitable, sustainable and safe transportation infrastructure.