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Energy Flow, 2011. Petroleum Flow, 2011. Transportation Policy. Moving people, goods, and services from one place to another in the United States. Governments Influence the Production of All Goods and the Provision of All Services. Public – from land owned by governments
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Transportation Policy Moving people, goods, and services from one place to another in the United States
Governments Influence the Production of All Goods and the Provision of All Services • Public – from land owned by governments • Private – from lands not owned by governments • Under coercion • Regulation – big stick • Financial Incentive – taxation, loans, grants, infrastructure construction (water treatments, sewers, roads) – carrot • Usable/Accessible information – carrot/big stick • Without any coercion – “free market”?
The Production Spectrum Information – statistics, public records
Transportation • Public – Transportation Infrastructure • Roads • Airports, airways, telecommunications • Waterways • Control • Safety • Signage • Energy efficiency • Accidents • Finances • Private • Cars, Trucks • Planes • Ships, Barges • Railroads • Energy – gasoline • Signage • Finances
Standard Industrial Classification(Stakeholders in Transportation) • Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas, And Sanitary Services • Major Group 40: Railroad Transportation • Major Group 41: Local And Suburban Transit And Interurban Highway Passenger Transportation • Major Group 42: Motor Freight Transportation And Warehousing • Major Group 43: United States Postal Service • Major Group 44: Water Transportation • Major Group 45: Transportation By Air • Major Group 46: Pipelines, Except Natural Gas • Major Group 47: Transportation Services • Major Group 48: Communications • Major Group 49: Electric, Gas, And Sanitary Services
Some National Statistics • Public roads46,769 miles of Interstate highway • 115,032 miles of other National Highway System roads • 3,828,046 miles of other roads • Public-use airports5,286 airports • Miles of railroad operated98,944 miles by Class I freight railroads • 15,648 miles by regional freight railroads • 26,347 miles by local freight railroads • Pipeline Oil Crude lines: 64,336 miles of pipe • Product lines: 75,565 miles of pipe • Gas Transmission: 309,503 miles of pipe • Distribution: 1,079,565 miles of pipe
General Resources • US Department of Transportation • Minnesota Transportation Profile (RITA, 2003) • Minnesota Department of Transportation • Transportation Research Board (National Academy of Sciences) • American Public Transportation Association • The Geography of Transport Systems (Hofstra University) • Transportation in the United States (Wikipedia)
Most cargo transportation in the United States is by water, road, rail, and pipelines • Planes are commonly used only for perishables and premium express shipments • Usually cargo, apart from petroleum and other bulk commodities, is imported in containers through seaports, then distributed by road and rail • The quasi-governmental United States Postal Service has a monopoly on letter delivery (except for express services) but several large private companies such as FedEx and UPS compete in the package and cargo delivery market
Freight in America (RITA, 2006) • Whether measured by value, weight, or ton-miles of the composite estimates, trucking moves an estimated 70% of the total value, 60% of the weight, and 34% of the overall ton-miles • Trucking dominated shipment distances of less than 500 miles • Rail dominated the longer distance shipments • National Transportation Statistics
Conventionally, each mode has sought to exploit its own advantages in terms of cost, service, reliability, and safety • Competition between the modes has tended to produce a transport system that is segmented and un-integrated • The lack of integration between the modes has been accentuated by public policy that has frequently barred companies from owning firms in other modes • Thus, a modal perspective about transportation endured even if many transport companies perceived transportation in terms of markets instead of modes
Intermodalism • Since the 1960s major efforts have been made to integrate separate transport systems through intermodalism, which took place is several stages • This involves the use of at least two different modes in a trip from origin to destination through an intermodal transport chain • Intermodality enhances the economic performance of a transport chain by using modes in the most productive manner • Thus, the line-haul economies of rail may be exploited for long distances, with the efficiencies of trucks providing flexible local pick up and delivery • The key is that the entire trip is seen as a whole, rather than as a series of legs, each marked by an individual operation with separate sets of documentation and rates
Legislation • United States federal transportation legislation (Wikipedia) • House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, Transportation
Legislation • 23 USC Highways • 49 USC Transportation • General and Intermodal Programs • Motor Vehicle and Driver Programs • Regulation • 23 CFR Highways (Legal Information Institute) • 49 CFR Transportation • 49 CFR 565 Vehicle Identification Number Requirements • Tips To Decoding your Car’s VIN Number
Transportation Financing • Department of Transportation Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Highlights (Ports-To-Plains Blog) • National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission with analyzing future highway and transit needs and the finances of the Highway Trust Fund and making recommendations regarding alternative approaches to financing transportation infrastructure • Improving Efficiency and Equity in Transportation Finance (Brookings Institution) • The Future of Transportation Finance: A New Generation of User Fees (Rand Corp) • Transportation Finance (Cambridge Systematics) • Commercial Truck &Transportation Financing (GE Capital)
49 USC 101 Purpose • The national objectives of general welfare, economic growth and stability, and security of the United States require the development of transportation policies and programs that contribute to providing fast, safe, efficient, and convenient transportation at the lowest cost consistent with those and other national objectives, including the efficient use and conservation of the resources of the United States • (Pub. L. 97–449, Jan. 12 1983, 96 Stat. 2414; Pub. L. 102–240, title VI, §6018, Dec. 18 1991, 105 Stat. 2183)
Passenger transportation is dominated by a network of approximately 2 million miles of paved roads, the bulk of which is constructed and maintained by state and local governments • 97% of passenger trips in the U.S. are by personal automobile • Road Function Classifications (Federal Highway Administration) • Toll Roads in the United States (Federal Highway Administration)
General Resources • The United States Highway System (Info Please) • Creating the Interstate System (Federal Highway Administration) • Public Roads (FWHA) • Highway history (FHWA) • History of the U.S. Highway System (Casey Cooper) • Good Roads and the Automobile in the United States 1880-1929(Hugill,1982) • US Highways: From US 1 to (US 830) (Robert V. Droz) • Minnesota Highways Page (Steve Riner) • United States Numbered Highways (Wikipedia) • ISTEA, A poisonous brew for American cities (Cato Institute) • American Highways Users Alliance - nonprofit 501 (c)(6) advocacy organization serving as the united voice of the transportation community promoting safe, uncongested highways and enhanced freedom of mobility.
The National Highway System - Minnesota • Approximately 160,000 miles of roadway important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility • Developed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in cooperation with states, local governments, and metropolitan planning organizations • Interstate Highway System accounts for almost 30% of the system • 21 congressionally designated high-priority corridors as identified in ISTEA • Non-interstate portion of the Strategic Highway Corridor Network (STRAHNET) identified by the Department of Defense in cooperation with DOT - critical strategic links allowing move troops and equipment to airports, ports, rail terminals, and other bases for rapid deployment is essential to our national defense • Strategic Highway Corridor Network connectors that link major military installations and other defense-related facilities to the STRAHNET corridors
Automobiles - 2006 - 250,844,644 registered passenger vehicles • Bureau of Transportation Statistics • 56.13% were classified as cars • 37.79% were classified as "Other 2 axle, 4 tire vehicles,“ SUVs and pick-up trucks • 2.53% were classified as vehicles with 2 axles and 6 tires and • 2,010,335 (0.82%) were classified as "Truck, combination" • 5,780,870 motorcycles 2.37% of all registered passenger vehicles • Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ - NHTSA) • Fuel Economy (fueleconomy.gov - DOE) • Car Safety (safercar.gov - NHTSA)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) “to improve mobility on our Nation's highways through national leadership, innovation, and program delivery” • Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) coordinates the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) research programs and is charged with advancing the deployment of cross-cutting technologies to improve our Nation’s transportation system • National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) • National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) • Collapse of I-35W Highway Bridge Minneapolis, Minnesota August 1, 2007 Nov 2008
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) • Surface Transportation Board (STB) • Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Mass Transit • Most medium-cities have some sort of local public transportation • Larger cities tend to have mass-transit systems, usually including subways or light rail • New York City is the country's largest metropolis - operates one of the world's most heavily used rapid transit systems • The regional rail and bus networks that extend into the suburbs are also among the most heavily used in the world • Metropolitan Council • Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
Metro Transit Hiawatha Line • Construction funding (millions $) • Federal 334.3 • State of Minnesota 100.0 • Metropolitan Airports Commission 87.0 • Hennepin County 84.2 • Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality grant 49.8 • Transit capital grant 39.9 • Minnesota Dept of Transportation 20.1 • Total 715.3
Financing Roads • Approximately 56% of the construction and maintenance costs of the Interstates are funded through user fees, primarily gasoline taxes, collected by states and the federal government, and tolls, collected on toll roads and bridges • The rest of the costs are appropriated by Congress • In the eastern United States, large sections of some Interstate Highways planned or built prior to 1956 are operated as toll roads • As American suburbs grew, the costs incurred in maintaining freeway infrastructure have grown, leaving little in the way of funds for new interstate construction • This has led to the proliferation of toll roads (turnpikes) as the new method of building limited-access highways in suburban areas • Adding toll HOV/HOT lanes in certain cities like San Diego, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Washington, D.C
The dominant role of the federal government in road finance has enabled it to achieve legislative goals that fall outside its power to regulate interstate commerce as enumerated in the federal Constitution • By threatening to withhold highway funds, the federal government has been able to stimulate state legislatures to pass a variety of laws • Though some object on the ground that this infringes on states' rights the Supreme Court has upheld the practice as a permissible use of the Constitution's Commerce Clause • introduction of the 55 mph national speed limit in 1974 - its purpose was to save fuel in the wake of the 1973 energy crisis, • speed controls stayed in effect for 21 years
Acceptance of the national speed limit emboldened various presidents and Congresses to enact additional pieces of legislation, some of which have little to do with highways or transportation • Increasing the legal drinking age to 21 • Megan's Law legislation, requiring states to disclose identities of sex offenders • Lowering the legal intoxication level to 0.08% (the issue in Minnesota) • Requiring the use of carpool (HOV) lanes • States must also meet minimum enforcement standards for all federally-mandated legislation (for example, minimum penalties for violation of these laws and a minimum number of per capita underage drinking convictions or a compelling explanation regarding why this number is not met) • Loss of federal highway funding would lead deteriorating infrastructure, fiscal impoverishment, or both • Of course, a state that lost federal highway funding could theoretically threaten to stop maintaining its highways
Federal Highway Trust Fund User-supported fund - taxes paid by the users of highways dedicated to the HTF Principle is still in effect, but the tax structure has changed since 1956
Highway Trust Fund (the layered solution) • The Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) of 1982 and the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 increased the motor-fuel taxes • The 1982 STAA also established a special Mass Transit Account in the HTF to receive part of the motor-fuel tax • Another increase of 5 cents per gallon was established as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA 90) [One-half of the revenues derived from the 5-cent increase went to the General Fund of the Treasury for deficit reduction expired on October 1, 1995] • Another increase of 4.3 cents per gallon was enacted effective October 1, 1993, by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 all to go to the General Fund of the Treasury for deficit reduction (gasoline tax 18.4 cents per gallon) no expiration date • The legislation also provided that the temporary General Fund fuel tax imposed by OBRA 90 would be extended and that it would be directed to the HTF effective October 1, 1995, except in the case of certain alcohol fuels • The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 redirected the 4.3-cents General Fund tax to the HTF effective October 1, 1997 • The TEA-21 extended the HTF taxes through September 30, 2005, thus extending the fiscal "life" of the HTF
Highway Finances (FHWA) • Highway Trust Fund (FHWA) • Highway Financing (GAO) • Will Increased Highway Funding Help Rural Areas? (USDA Economic Research Service) • Financing Federal-aid Highways (FHWA) • Highway Trust Fund: Overview of Highway Trust Fund ... (GAO) • Minnesota Highway Financing (Minnesota House Research, November 2000) • Gas Tax (Taxfoundation.org)
Alternative Fuels (DOE) • Energy Outlook 2011 (DOE) • Ethanol • American Coalition for Ethanol • National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition • Ethanol Producers and Consumers
Railroads Railroad blog
Rail Lines • The intercity rail network is smaller than its historical peak, and has shifted emphasis toward cargo as faster air transport has come to dominate long-distance passenger travel – when did passenger trains cease? • Intercity passenger rail is sparser than in other developed countries and has been taken over by the quasi-governmental National Railroad Passenger Corporation • Amtrak • The main disadvantage of rail freight is its lack of flexibility and so rail has lost much of the freight business to road transport • Freight and railroads – bulk (ore, coal, cement, grain), containers (intermodal)
Freight transportation uses a variety of transport modes – ca. 40% is transported by rail – larger than the global average
General Resources • Trains, the Magazine of Railroading • Rail Transport (Wikipedia) • U.S. Railroads (Wikipedia) • History of Rail Transport in the United States (Wikipedia) • History of Railroads and Maps (Library of Congress) • Railroad History (Richard Jensen, Montana State University) • Association of American Railroads members include the major freight railroads in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as Amtrak • About Railroads in Minnesota (Minnesota Department of Transportation) • Transcontinental Railroad (PBS American Experience) • Transcontinental Railroad Maps(Central Pacific Railroad)
Federal Railroad Administration • created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966 (49 U.S.C. 103, Section 3(e)(1)) • promulgate and enforce rail safety regulations • administer railroad assistance programs • conduct research and development in support of improved railroad safety and national rail transportation policy • rehabilitate the Northeast Corridor rail passenger service • consolidate government support of rail transportation activities
U.S. Railroad Retirement Board • Independent agency in the executive branch of the Federal Government. • Primary function – to administer comprehensive retirement-survivor and unemployment-sickness benefit programs for the nation's railroad workers and their families, under the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts • In connection with the retirement program, the RRB has administrative responsibilities under the Social Security Act for certain benefit payments and railroad workers' Medicare coverage • Railroad Retirement Handbook
45 US Code Railroads (Legal Information Institute) • Staggers Act of 1980 (Wikipedia) • The Success of the Staggers Railroad Act of 1980 (Brookings Institute) • Efficiency and Adjustment: The Impact of Railroad Deregulation (Cato Institute) • 49 CFR Transportation
Amtrak (Wikipedia) • Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation • National facts • Minnesota facts 2011 • Long distance train facts • Corridor trains • Northeast corridor • High speed rail. A national perspective (2008)