Legal Problems Arising out of Highway Programs. Topic 27-04. Managing Performance for Innovative Technology Contracts

The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) plans to award a contract for a study and report. Legal reports sponsored by this project are published in NCHRP's Legal Research Digest (LRD) series. Publications are available to some libraries and approximately 4,000 transportation lawyers and officials through the TRB distribution network. In the last decade, information technology applications for transportation have changed and improved how state departments of transportation (DOTs) services, including parking and active transportation, are operated, used, and funded. The transportation industry has also observed significant shifts in the behavior of travelers and the market trends caused by social, economic, and environmental factors and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.  Most state DOTs want to utilize these new technologies to enhance and improve transportation services. Accordingly, they will seek third-party technology experts (“vendors”) to provide and integrate the new technologies into the services. Such vendors are relied upon to develop, deploy, operate, and maintain new technology applications in accordance with certain stated specifications. This reliance on vendors may create challenges in procuring and overseeing these services for the agencies.  The objective of this research is to gather and present information on innovative mobility technologies and tools to help state DOTs with contracts to achieve desired vendor performance in a cost-effective manner.  This study will: (1) Identify appropriate contractual tools for performance management, e.g., compensation structure, incentives/disincentives, liquidated damages, and performance bond, for innovative mobility technology contracts; (2) Evaluate the suitability of contractual tools for new technologies, e.g., microtransit, mobile payment, and real-time data;   (3) Outline the considerations when drafting relevant contract terms and special provisions; for terms that involve monetary consequences, identify existing intellectual property or solutions, define data sharing and interoperability requirements, and summarize the principles or methods in quantifying the monetary consequences; (4) Document successful practices for using contractual tools in contractor performance management, covering the major types of new technologies in transit; and (5) Provide sample contract language, including key performance indicators, for performance management that can be tailored by transit agencies and DOTs as needed.

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5562

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $100000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-06, Topic 27-04

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Chisholm-Smith, Gwen

• Start Date: 20230905
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Best practices; Contracting; Data sharing; Legal factors; Procurement; Software; Technological innovations; Transit operating agencies; Transportation departments
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Data and Information Technology; Law; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01887179
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-06, Topic 27-04
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Jul 11 2023 10:41AM