High Reliability Organizational (HRO) research suggest that some organizations and systems are that routinely conduct complex operations with little or no error share certain characteristics. A 76-year longitudinal case study of the evolution of error-intolerance of the FAA’s air traffic control services produced a set of specific structural and behavioral actions that, if implemented, promise to achieve high reliability and safe operations within transportation systems. A conceptual systems model has been constructed to demonstrate how legislative oversight, agency regulatory programs, and industry processes combine into a highly redundant and effective operational structure. A scale has been created for measuring and improving performance at the policy and agency levels of government and at operational transportation levels. It is proposed that adoption of this model will deliver quantifiable improvement in both service provision and safety of public and private transportation networks.