Despite an improving economy, motor vehicle travel declined markedly in 2011, continuing a downward trend with major implications both for infrastructure revenue and infrastructure needs.
VMT
The Case for Moderate Growth in Vehicle Miles of Travel: A Critical Juncture in U.S. Travel Behavior Trends (Center for Urban Transportation Research, 2006)
Prepared for the USDOT, this report hypothesizes that the United States has reached a critical juncture in terms of national mobility trends and underlying socio-demographic conditions and travel behavior that will result in more moderate rates of annual vehicle miles of travel (VMT) growth in the future. However, slower VMT growth may not portend lower rates of congestion growth.
Potential Impact of Gasoline Price Increases on U.S. Public Transportation Ridership, 2011-2012 (APTA, 2011)
Price increases in gasoline cause related increases in transit ridership. This report provides a model that projects future increases in transit ridership that will accompany rises in gasoline prices. Download the full report here.
Report of Minnesota’s Mileage-Based User Fee Policy Task Force (Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 2011)
Over a period of six months, the Task Force, appointed by Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Sorel, discussed and evaluated the overall MBUF concept and related issues, determined benefits and concerns, considered potential system …
Transit funding shrinks despite increasing ridership
A recent New York Times article notes that, since 1995, transit ridership in the U.S. has grown by 31 percent, outstripping both VMT and population. This is true even in cities that lack good transit systems. The …
Neither roads nor public transit will help?
In the October 2011 issue of the American Economic Review, authors Gilles Duranton and Matthew A. Turner review traffic data from the years 1983 to 2003. Their article, “The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion: Evidence …
As gas tax yields less revenue, renewed focus is placed on a mileage tax
Higher fuel efficiency standards and a weak economy have made the motor-fuel tax—the principal fundraiser for road costs in the US for 80 years—increasingly less viable. As better mileage becomes the norm in the American …
As gas tax yields less revenue, renewed focus is placed on a mileage tax
Higher fuel efficiency standards and a weak economy have made the motor-fuel tax—the principal fundraiser for road costs in the US for 80 years—increasingly less viable. As better mileage becomes the norm in the American …
Road pricing: public perceptions and program development
As state and local governments grapple with reduced revenue from traditional sources, deferred maintenance needs, and traffic congestion, many are searching for ways to generate revenue and reduce congestion without making major capital investments. An …
How do you get there from here?
Fuel taxes are no longer a good way of funding the transportation system. With increasing fuel efficiency and new fuels powering transportation, the fuel tax as we know it is not sustainable. Two national commissions …