---
title: "ITIF Welcomes White House Plan for 21st Century Clean Transportation System"
summary: |-
  The plan that the White House has announced signals a welcome focus on the shift from concrete to chips.
date: "2016-02-04"
content_type: "Press Releases"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2016/02/04/itif-welcomes-white-house-plan-21st-century-clean-transportation-system/"
---

# ITIF Welcomes White House Plan for 21st Century Clean Transportation System

WASHINGTON—Welcoming the announcement of a White House plan for a new “[21st Century Clean Transportation System](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/04/fact-sheet-president-obamas-21st-century-clean-transportation-system),” the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) today released the following statement from its president and founder, Robert D. Atkinson:

[*As ITIF has said before*](/publications/2015/05/19/concrete-chips-bringing-surface-transportation-reauthorization-act-digital)*, the future of surface transportation lies not simply in building more infrastructure, but in leveraging technology to bring intelligence to every element of the U.S. transportation network. The plan that the White House has announced signals a welcome focus on this shift from concrete to chips. It holds the potential to make transportation in the United States safer, more efficient, more environmentally sustainable, and more conducive for spurring economic growth.*

*We were especially happy to see the White House call for a significant increase in federal investment in research and development for transportation technologies, including for research into autonomous vehicles. Autonomous vehicles will bring major productivity gains to the U.S. economy by reducing the human and material costs associated with accidents and traffic congestion. We *[*estimate*](http://assets1c.milkeninstitute.org/assets/Publication/MIReview/PDF/78-87-MR64.pdf)* that autonomous cars could save the United States $1 trillion annually. By increasing public and private investment in R&D, we can eventually make autonomous cars ubiquitous, which will mean that the administration’s new initiative would pay for itself two times over.*

*We were also pleased to see the White House call for a $10-per-barrel fee on oil to fund this new program. Higher prices for oil will help shift incentives for the private sector to be cleaner, and we have *[*long supported*](/publications/2014/05/27/beyond-2015-innovation-based-framework-global-climate-policy)* this as a way to pay for research into clean technology R&D.*

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*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2016/02/04/itif-welcomes-white-house-plan-21st-century-clean-transportation-system/*