USA Banner
  U.S. flag
              An official website of the United States government Here's how you knowOfficial US Government Icon
              **Official websites use .gov**A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
            Secure Site Icon
              **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                  A **lock** ( A locked padlock ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 
 U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation
 Search DOT
            Search
                    About FHWAFHWA Organization
                Headquarters Offices
                Field Offices
                Strategic Plan
                Business Opportunities
                Staff Directories
                Careers
                Highway History
                Contact UsProgramsAcquisition Management
                Civil Rights
                Federal Lands Highway
                Infrastructure
                Innovative Program Delivery
                Operations
                Planning, Environment, and Realty
                Policy
                Research, Development, and Technology
                Safety
                Browse by TopicsResourcesCore Highway Topics
                Federal Aid Essentials
                Automation
                Complete Streets
                Laws and Regulations
                Policy & Guidance Center
                Section 508
                Publications and Statistics
                Professional Development
                National Highway Institute
                Resource Center
                Accessibility Resource Library
                FHWA Research LibraryNewsroomPress Releases
                Speeches & Testimony
                Photos
                Videos
                Media ContactsMenu OFFICE OF RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY AT THE TURNER-FAIRBANK HIGHWAY RESEARCH CENTER Home
                        Research
                        Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center


            
            In This Section
        Explore Research and Technology
                Technology and Innovation Deployment Research Programs
                Technology and Innovation Deployment
      
   Contact Us
      Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
      
                    
            United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration6300 Georgetown PikeMcLean, VA 22101United States
      
          
    **Email:**TFHRC.webmaster@dot.gov
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
                
                Novel Modes Explored During Multimodal Workshop
    

    
    
          The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation published summary reports on a 2014 Novel Modes Workshop. The research project was a multimodal effort, supported by the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program. On December 2–3, 2014, at the Turner–Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) in McLean, VA, the EAR Program coordinated a workshop to assess the state of technology for new modal systems. The EAR Program convened the workshop with support from the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center). Participants of the workshop addressed potential technological trends and government policy and research roles that could affect the current highway, transit, and rail systems.  They also addressed an opportunity to provide fair and open access to innovators in the business and academic sectors.The EAR Program invited respondents of an FHWA request for information (RFI) concerning entities working on novel modal systems to the workshop to present their concepts, either in person or remotely. Government, academia, and the private sector participated in the workshop. A team from multiple offices within Office of the Secretary of Transportation, FHWA, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and the Federal Railroad Administration also participated. In addition to the TFHRC location, the workshop took place concurrently at FTA Region 9 Offices in San Francisco, CA, and remotely from over a dozen sites on three continents via Web access.The workshop summary report captures highlights from the workshop and summarizes the discussions that took place. Brief overviews of the RFI respondent presentations are presented in Appendix A. The surface transportation modes report summarizes the initial stage investigation into current research and development of alternative modal concepts to gain a better understanding of novel surface transportation concepts.The *Novel Modes Workshop* summary report is available here and the *Novel Surface Transportation Modes* report is available here.
      
    
          Last updated: Monday, December 2, 2019 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

**Federal Highway Administration**

1200 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, SE

WASHINGTON, DC 20590

202-366-4000Subscribe to email updates
                    About
  

        
              About FHWA
                Careers
                Org Chart
                Staff Directories
                Work with UsPrograms
  

        
              Acquisition Management
                Civil Rights
                Federal Lands Highway
                Infrastructure
                Innovative Program Delivery
                Operations
                Planning, Environment, and Realty
                Policy
                Research, Development, and Technology
                SafetyPolicies, Rights, Legal
  

        
              About DOT
                Accessibility
                Budget and Performance
                Civil Rights
                FOIA
                Information Quality
                No FEAR Act
                Office of Inspector General
                Privacy Policy
                USA.gov
                Web Policies and Notices
                Web StandardsNews & Events
  

        
              Newsroom
                Press Releases
                Speeches & Testimony
                Media Contacts
                Connect with Us