November 17th Marks 2-Year Anniversary of Transportation Innovation Agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation

Zion National Park bus arrives at the park.

NPS

On November 17, 2021, Department of the Interior (DOI) and Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretaries Haaland and Buttigieg signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Regarding Transportation Innovation in the National Park System. The MOU strengthens the collaboration between the National Park Service (NPS) and DOT to proactively address emerging mobility. The MOU outlines initiatives to provide enhanced, sustainable, and equitable access to public lands. This partnership includes innovative technology pilots, transit and fleet electrification, shared mobility integration, and advanced traveler information systems.

In the two years since the MOU signing, the Departments are working together to develop policy and regulations and leverage the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to advance planning and engineering assessments, capital projects, and research across the NPS. The NPS has worked closely with the U.S. DOT Volpe Center and Federal Highway Administration. Key initiatives include:

Components of EV Systems

Innovative Technology Pilots

• The NPS and State of Michigan jointly launched an industry challenge in August 2023, seeking proposals for innovative technology pilots under a 2022 MOU. The challenge covers three innovation areas: small-scale electric shuttles (including automated driving systems), micromobility, and multimodal electric vehicle charging hubs. The NPS and Michigan will work to implement the most promising ideas in 2024 and beyond.
• The NPS is piloting a program to explore access improvements for underserved communities. NPS identified 9 parks for pilots based on criteria such as size, geography, staff capacity, potential for connections via transit and trails, and proximity to historically underserved communities. The pilot program began in FY23 and is expected to conclude in FY24.
• Building upon the automated shuttle pilots at Yellowstone National Park and Wright Brothers National Memorial, the NPS continues to explore opportunities to test different vehicle formats, service types, and park contexts as automated driving system technologies rapidly evolve.

Shared Mobility Integration

• The NPS is developing regulations that would govern the use of micromobility devices, such as e-scooters and Segways, in park areas. NPS and DOT subject matter experts worked together to prepare a draft rule in 2022. More information can be found at reginfo.gov.

Mojave National Preserve provides real-time updates on road closure status on their webpage, and the NPS tested pulling this information into an automated data feed during monsoon recovery for display on navigation apps.

Advanced Traveler Information Systems

• The NPS is providing greater access to accurate and up-to-date transit schedule and route information for ten pilot parks using the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS). This feed information is now available on NPS.gov and can be used to include park shuttle and ferry routes, stops, and schedules in navigation apps.
• The NPS is sending real-time roadway closure information to visitors through NPS.gov, the NPS app, state-level 511 systems, and navigation apps using DOT’s Transportation Data Exchange (TDx) specification. This information is now available for visitors through the alerts and maps on NPS.gov and major navigation apps for real-time updates on road closures or incidents.

Transit and Fleet Electrification

• Zion National Park will complete the replacement of its transit fleet with state-of-the-art battery electric buses in summer 2024. Grand Canyon National Park and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park are similarly replacing their fleets. Between the three parks, the NPS is expending over $70 million in BIL funding and reinvesting in systems that see approximately 9 million passenger boardings a year. The NPS is one of the largest purchasers of battery electric buses in North America.
• The NPS released an external Electric Vehicle Transition report and developed internal guidance with technical support from DOT. Together these documents outline current activities, challenges, and planned activities related to EV policy, infrastructure and utilities, charging stations, and fleet electrification. The guidance provides resources to help parks implement EV charging, including guidance on prioritizing public-facing EV charging and business model options.
• The NPS awarded a contract to conduct site assessments at almost 40 sites. These assessments will focus on infrastructure availability and evaluate charging needs holistically for public-facing charging and NPS transit and administrative fleet needs.