Smart Growth America and SSTI recently helped the Washington State Department of Transportation take a groundbreaking step to align its transportation investments with statewide policy goals. WSDOT is seeking to bring the state’s transportation policy goals directly into its decision making at every level, from statewide planning down to roadway design. The new framework will help WSDOT determine which transportation problems are most critical and which potential investments will move the state toward its vision for the future.
transportation policy
The ACEEE international Energy Efficiency Scorecard (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, 2012)
This report analyzed the energy efficiency of 12 of the world’s largest economies in four areas including the transportation sector. They used 27 metrics roughly divided between evaluation of quantifiable results and policies. Download the …
ACEEE finds U.S. ranks last in energy efficiency in transportation
A new report from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy finds that, among 12 major world economies analyzed for the report, the U.S. ranks dead last in the energy efficiency of its transportation sector. Improving transportation’s energy efficiency hinges on supporting multiple modes of transportation and can be accomplished by dramatically improving the accessibility of other transportation modes such as rail, carpooling, bus, biking, and walking. Without adoption of new policies and standards, the U.S. transportation system will continue drag on the economy, wasting energy and limiting opportunities for economic development. The ACEE graph below shows how the U.S. transportation sector energy consumption far outstrips that of the other countries evaluated as part of the study.
The bus stigma: Why it exists, and should we care?
Why are buses so maligned? And what can we do about it? How can we get “choice riders” – those that do not have to use transit, but choose to – to take the bus? And should we care whether people with transportation choices ride the bus?
Transportation and the New Generation: Why Young People are Driving Less and What it Means for Transportation Policy (Frontier Group and U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 2012)
A new report released today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund and the Frontier Group demonstrates that Americans have been driving less since the middle of last decade. This trend away from …
Interactive Chart Tracks Obama’s Transportation Policy Changes in 2011
Transportation Nation has created an interactive graph showing how President Obama’s focus on transportation policy shifted in 2011—from expanding and building upon the existing infrastructure to simply maintaining it. The graph shows, month-to-month, how many …