US-German transport liaison
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• The West German and United States governments have agreed to draw up lists of transport projects which they feel are ripe for joint development, to avoid duplicating research work. In particular, this is expected to cover highways, air transport and mass urban transit systems.
This joint approach was discussed recently in Bonn between Herr Georg Leber, German Minister for Transportation, and Mr. John A. Volpe, US Secretary of Transportation. Mr. Volpe said the USA had done more than Germany in air traffic safety, for instance, but the Germans were ahead in subway rapid-transit for cities. A definitive list of projects roe joint research will be drawn up when Herr Leber visits Washington later this year or early in 1970.
Mr. Volpe revealed in Bonn that two US dy groups had recently returned to Washington with highway research information that could save America at least $100,000. He felt that joint working with Britain, France and perhaps Holland could result in such things as interchangeable railway equipment, providing for quantity prcduction to reduce prices.
New subway travel systems were now being built in five German cities, said Mr. Volpe, while—except for San Francisco— virtually no work of this type had been done in the USA for 25 years.
The American Government had an imbalance in its transport investment, he considered. The Federal government had been spending $5,000,000,000 a year on highways and $175,000,000 on mass transportation; he had put a bill to Congress to raise the latter into the $ 1,000,000,000 category.