Recently in Transportation Category

Source: William Eggers, Deloitte LLP, September 2008

Traffic is overwhelming a growing number of America's cities. From Los Angeles to Chicago to Miami, Americans spend hours each week caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Urban residents and commuters are confronted with the challenges that jammed roadways cause on a daily basis. The Urban Mobility Report estimated that in the United States in 2007, congestion caused 4.2 billion hours of travel delay and 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel, for a total cost of $78.2 billion.

At the same time, governments facing increasing demands and reduced budgets may consider creating a market in which people are charged for their use of a given roadway to help raise additional funds for transportation projects. The National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that about 18 percent of the more than 912,000 miles of America's roads and highways are in poor or mediocre condition, and about 27 percent of the nearly 594,000 U.S. bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

How can America's cities and states reduce congestion, raise necessary funds for infrastructure improvements and reduce the environmental impact of congested roads? A new study from Deloitte highlights the benefits of road user pricing to reduce gridlock and raise significant revenues in the process.
See also:
- Press Release: Deloitte Study Recommends a Better Approach to Dealing with Congested Roadways in the United States
- Research: Closing America's Infrastructure Gap: The Role of Public-Private Partnerships
- Podcast: Bridging the Gap: How Private Investment Can Reduce the Infrastructure Deficit
- Resources: Serving the Public Sector: Transportation
- Resources: Private Investment in Public Infrastructure
- Overview: U.S. State Government

Source: American Public Transportation Association, 2008

From the press release:
With ridership on public transportation surging and high fuel prices severely impacting public transportation systems' budgets across the nation, 85 percent of public transit systems report capacity problems, according to a new nationwide survey of transit systems released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

The survey, titled Rising Fuel Costs: Impacts on Transit Ridership and Agency Operations, reveals that of the public transit systems that report capacity problems, six out of ten (63 percent) are experiencing capacity problems during the peak period. According to the survey, almost all agencies responding (91 percent) report they are facing limitations in their ability to add service to meet increased ridership demands. The survey reveals the most common limitation is budgetary, with 65 percent reporting insufficient revenue to operate additional service. More than half of all agencies reported declining or stable local and state financial assistance over the last year, due to the economic downturn.

Additionally, survey results indicate that due to the high cost of fuel, more than 60 percent of the public transportation systems responding to the survey said they are considering fare increases and 35 percent are considering service cuts, some for the second time in less than a year.

Source: Government Accountability Office, GAO-08-1043, September 10, 2008

The August 1, 2007, collapse of a Minnesota bridge raised nationwide questions about bridge safety and the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) ability to prioritize resources for bridges. The Highway Bridge Program (HBP), the primary source of federal funding for bridges, provided over $4 billion to states in fiscal year 2007. This requested study examines (1) how the HBP addresses bridge conditions, (2) how states use HBP funds and select bridge projects for funding, (3) what data indicate about bridge conditions and the HBP's impact, and (4) the extent to which the HBP aligns with principles GAO developed, based on prior work and federal laws and regulations, for re-examining surface transportation programs. GAO reviewed program documents; analyzed bridge data; and met with transportation officials in states that have high levels of HBP funding and large bridge inventories, including California, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

Source: American Public Transportation Association, September 2008

From the press release:
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced today that Americans took more than 2.8 billion trips on public transportation in the second quarter of 2008. This is almost 140 million more trips than last year for the same time period.

In 2007, 10.3 billion trips were taken on public transportation - the highest number of trips taken on U.S. public transportation in 50 years. In the second quarter of 2008, public transportation continued to climb and rose by 5.2 percent. In contrast, the Federal Highway Administration has reported that the vehicle miles traveled on our nation's roads declined by 3.3 percent in the second quarter.

Source: Billy Hamilton, State Tax Notes, August 26, 2008

"Congestion pricing will come, in New York and lots of other cities, because it is the only way where you were going to do the two things that you need to do: reduce people driving and find money for mass transit," Bloomberg told reporters at the National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Summit in New Orleans in late July.

Source: Pollution Online, August 19, 2008

One in three U.S. public schools are in the "air pollution danger zone," according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC).

UC researchers have found that more than 30 percent of American public schools are within 400 meters, or a quarter mile, of major highways that consistently serve as main truck and traffic routes.

Research has shown that proximity to major highways--and thus environmental pollutants, such as aerosolizing diesel exhaust particles--can leave school-age children more susceptible to respiratory diseases later in life.

Source: Citizens for Tax Justice, Tax Justice Digest, August 15, 2008

A number of states are considering funding transportation infrastructure with "direct pricing" on the use of roads -- e.g. by increasing the prevalence of tolling and instituting taxes on "vehicle miles traveled". If coupled with relief for low-income drivers, direct pricing has the potential to adequately and fairly fund transportation while at the same time creating incentives to reduce driving and its corresponding ills (e.g. traffic congestion, environmental damage, and excessive wear-and-tear on the roads). But a new development in the already drawn-out debate over Pennsylvania's plan to institute "direct pricing" (i.e. tolls) on its Interstate 80 highlights some serious equity issues involved in making the transition to this form of transportation finance.

Source: American City & County, August 15, 2008

Americans over 50 are trying to drive less, but their efforts to go "green" are hindered by poor sidewalks and a lack of sufficient public transportation, according to a poll by the Washington-based AARP. What's more, nearly half of the survey respondents said they did not feel safe crossing the main roads in their communities.

Source: Stephen C. Fehr, Stateline.org, July 23, 2008

The two main sources of state transportation money are falling precipitously this summer as Americans cut back on driving, threatening to delay or halt crucial work on roads, rails and bridges and breeding an election-year issue for Congress and the presidential candidates.

Both the federal Highway Trust Fund and state road funds rely on federal and state taxes collected on each gallon of gasoline, but revenues are dropping because people are not buying as much gas now that prices top $4 a gallon. The slippage exacerbates a looming crisis with the $40 billion federal highway fund, already projected to run out of money before the start of the next budget year Oct. 1.
Includes graphs.

Source: Michael Lewyn, Florida Coastal School of Law, August 2008

From the abstract:
This article shows how zoning and street design regulations in Jacksonville, Florida contribute to automobile dependence.