GPS may change the way we live more than cellular phones, or fax machines, or copier machines have. I recently announced a national goal that 75 of our largest metropolitan areas will have high-tech highways in 10 years. This is to relieve congestion, and save commuters time. Today's announcement will help us get there. Because now that we have a stable, assured national policy, American entrepreneurs can stretch their imagination.
Nobody knows the real potential in a generation.
But the industry is already here because today you can go to your local K-Mart and buy a GPS receiver. In January, I turned on a Coast Guard System that allows ships and boats with GPS receivers to navigate their way into America's harbors more accurately, more safely, more efficiently. It should cut the number of navigational-related accidents in half. Recently, the Coast Guard used GPS in Prince William Sound Alaska to detect a tanker in trouble in a storm, averting a potential disaster. There are 60,000 buses in this country, and roughly 11,000 now or will soon have GPS receivers in them.