Development, deployment, preliminary operation, and evaluation of the four active RM3P program elements are fully funded using VDOT’s “Innovation and Technology Transportation Fund” (ITTF) and the “Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment” (ATCMTD) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). But what will happen to RM3P when the initial influx of funding is depleted? And who will have responsibility for managing the different elements of the program after the first phase of RM3P is completed?
The RM3P Leadership Team is working diligently to answer these and related questions. The program’s Executive Committee has established a Task Force on the topic, and charged it with building a roadmap for RM3P Sustainability. The Task Force is composed of three voting members of the Executive Committee, backed up by a support team of senior professionals drawn from those leadership organizations (Virginia Department of Transportation [VDOT], Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation [DRPT], and Northern Virginia Transportation Authority [NVTA]) that are currently managing the RM3P initiative.
As a program funded by innovation funds and grants, RM3P will be evaluated by the various funding agencies to determine long-term benefits and investment potential. To achieve RM3P Sustainability, the program will need to be mainstreamed. “Mainstreaming” will involve designating permanent homes, or stewards, for each of the four RM3P program elements. It will also necessitate identifying long-term sources of funding, and then accounting for those funds in the annual budget process. Additional funding will be needed to operate RM3P, as well as to pay for periodic enhancements to the system. Beyond stewardship and funding, Sustainability will also entail formation of an overarching strategic framework to oversee and guide the RM3P system – this will help to ensure that the individual RM3P program elements operate as a cohesive, integrated program.
The Task Force held its first meeting in November 2022, and delivered its recommendations on Sustainability to the full Executive Committee during its June 2023 meeting. As RM3P components roll out, and our comprehensive evaluation quantifies the benefits of the overall program, our agency partners across the region will be encouraged to mainstream the program within their respective organizations. In this way, the entire community will contribute to RM3P Sustainability.