Robert Poole is Director of Transportation Policy and Searle Freedom Trust Transportation Fellow at Reason Foundation.
Poole, an MIT-trained engineer, advised the Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations on infrastructure issues.
Surface Transportation
In the field of surface transportation, Poole has advised the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the White House Office of Policy Development, National Economic Council, Government Accountability Office, and state DOTs in numerous states.
Poole's 1988 policy paper proposing privately financed toll lanes to relieve congestion directly inspired California's landmark private tollway law (AB 680), which authorized four pilot toll projects including the successful 91 Express Lanes in Orange County. More than 20 other states and the federal government have since enacted similar public-private partnership legislation. In 1993, Poole oversaw a study that coined the term HOT (high-occupancy toll) Lanes, a term which has become widely accepted since.
California Gov. Pete Wilson appointed Poole to the California's Commission on Transportation Investment and he also served on the Caltrans Privatization Advisory Steering Committee, where he helped oversee the implementation of AB 680.
From 2003 to 2005, he was a member of the Transportation Research Board's special committee on the long-term viability of the fuel tax for highway finance. In 2008 he served as a member of the Texas Study Committee on Private Participation in Toll Roads, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry. In 2009, he was a member of an Expert Review Panel for Washington State DOT, advising on a $1.5 billion toll mega-project. In 2010, he was a member of the transportation transition team for Florida's Governor-elect Rick Scott. He is a member of two TRB standing committees: Congestion Pricing and Managed Lanes.
Aviation
Poole is a member of the Government Accountability Office's National Aviation Studies Advisory Panel and he has testified before the House and Senate's aviation subcommittees on numerous occasions. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Poole consulted the White House Domestic Policy Council and the leadership of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.
He has also advised the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of the Secretary of Transportation, White House Office of Policy Development, National Performance Review, National Economic Council, and the National Civil Aviation Review Commission on aviation issues. Poole is a member of the Critical Infrastructure Council of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation and of the Air Traffic Control Association.
Poole was among the first to propose the commercialization of the U.S. air traffic control system, and his work in this field has helped shape proposals for a U.S. air traffic control corporation. A version of his corporation concept was implemented in Canada in 1996 and was more recently endorsed by several former top FAA administrators.
Poole's studies also launched a national debate on airport privatization in the United States. He advised both the FAA and local officials during the 1989-90 controversy over the proposed privatization of Albany (NY) Airport. His policy research on this issue helped inspire Congress' 1996 enactment of the Airport Privatization Pilot Program and the privatization of Indianapolis' airport management under Mayor Steve Goldsmith.
General Background
Robert Poole co-founded the Reason Foundation with Manny Klausner and Tibor Machan in 1978, and served as its president and CEO from then until the end of 2000. He was a member of the Bush-Cheney transition team in 2000. Over the years, he has advised the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush administrations on privatization and transportation policy.
Poole is credited as the first person to use the term "privatization" to refer to the contracting-out of public services and is the author of the first-ever book on privatization, Cutting Back City Hall, published by Universe Books in 1980. He is also editor of the books Instead of Regulation: Alternatives to Federal Regulatory Agencies (Lexington Books, 1981), Defending a Free Society (Lexington Books, 1984), and Unnatural Monopolies (Lexington Books, 1985). He also co-edited the book Free Minds & Free Markets: 25 Years of Reason (Pacific Research Institute, 1993).
Poole has written hundreds of articles, papers, and policy studies on privatization and transportation issues. His popular writings have appeared in national newspapers, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, and numerous other publications. He has also been a guest on network television programs such as Good Morning America, NBC's Nightly News, ABC's World News Tonight, and the CBS Evening News. Poole writes a monthly column on transportation issues for Public Works Financing.
Poole earned his B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and did graduate work in operations research at New York University.
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It’s Time for Dedicated Truck Lanes
“We need to figure out as a country, as an industry, and as a Congress a better way to fund our infrastructure—highway infrastructure—going forward.”
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What the U.S. Can Learn From Australia’s Asset Recycling
Asset recycling can help modernize existing infrastructure, while also giving governments the capital to support a whole new generation of infrastructure.
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Fixing Our Pension and Infrastructure Problems at the Same Time
Toll-financed replacement and modernization of major highways via P3 concessions would significantly assist under-funded pension funds to increase their returns.
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Inspector General Report Shows FAA Is Failing and Why a Non-Profit Should Manage Air Traffic Control
Air traffic control should be handled by not-for-profit, independent organization that can focus on modernizing air traffic control operations.
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What Do Autonomous Vehicles Mean for the Future of U.S. Highways?
Will vehicle miles of travel increase or decrease?
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Unpacking the Washington Posts Critique of the Elizabeth River Crossings P3
The P3 community needs do a much better job of educating opinion leaders and policy-makers.
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An Argument for Toll Lanes on Interstate 77 in Charlotte, NC
Priced express lanes could increase lane capacity by 50 percent with little financial risk to taxpayers
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Why Truckers Should Reconsider Their Opposition to Tolling
Tolls are the best way to finance the reconstruction of Interstates and the system can be set up to be fair to truckers
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Public-Private Partnership Advocates and Trucking Industry Find Common Ground
American Trucking Associations support users-pay principle, seem open to tolling and P3 concessions
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Privately Financed High-Speed Rail Line Could Be Good for Texas
After the sorry track record of politically defined passenger rail systems, it will be interesting to see what the private sector can do
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Don’t Abolish the Highway Trust Fund
Strengthen the users-pay/users-benefit principle instead
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Culture Is Key to Fixing Air Traffic Control
The Air Traffic Organization's status-quo organizational culture should be top priority for reform
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It’s Time for Congress to Separate Air Traffic Control From the FAA
Transforming the air traffic system would fix several long-running problems
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Public-Private Partnerships Hedge Managed Toll Lane Risks
P3 concessions can protect taxpayers in early years of tolling projects
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Double the $15 Billion Cap on Private Actvitity Bonds for P3 Projects
Raising the cap would enable more public-private partnerships which stretch limited resources further
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Top Priorities for Interstate Tolling
Where will tolling give America's highway users the greatest bang for the buck?