Transportation Policy

1. Transportation Policy Moving people, goods, and services from one place to another in the United States

2. Petroleum Flow, 2011

3. Restrictions on Individual Rights • Every man, when he enters into a society gives up part of his natural liberty, as the price of so valuable a purchase  … obliges himself to conform to those laws which the community has thought proper to establish (William  Blackstone. Commentaries of the Law of England. A Facsimile of the First Edition of 1765-1769 (1979) vol. 1 p. 121)

4. A Paradigm for Landscape Activity Goods Service Artifacts Legislation Regulation Judicial Opinions Organization of Space Organization of Behavior Law Public Policy Landscape Evaluation

5. Activities, Goods, Services, Artifacts • Bundle of Rights of Legal Entities – Individuals, Corporations, • Governments (including agencies) • Organization of Space • Organization of Behavior • Law

6. Activities, Goods, Services, Artifacts • Bundle of Rights of Legal Entities – Individuals, Corporations, • Governments (including agencies) • Organization of Space • Organization of Behavior • Law • A social construct for effecting behaviorand achieving national goals • Defines goals, establishes a reasons for behavior • Defines, promotes, and rewards certain types of behavior – carrots • Defines, prohibits, and penalizes – implicitly or explicitly – big sticks

7. Activities, Goods, Services, Artifacts • Behavior • Bundle of Rights of Legal Entities – Individuals, Corporations, • Governments (including agencies) • Carrots and Big Sticks • Organization of Space • Organization of Behavior • Law • A social construct for effecting behaviorand achieving national goals • Defines goals, establishes a reasons for behavior • Defines, promotes, and rewards certain types of behavior – carrots • Defines, prohibits, and penalizes – implicitly or explicitly – big sticks

8. “Shopping Bag of Rights” Paradigm • Governments decide how to control behavior – how to produce the goods and services demanded by society • Corporations decide how to exercise the rights they possess – how to behave – e.g. what goods and services to produce • Individuals decide how to exercise the rights they possess – how to behave – e.g. what goods and services to buy

9. What are the methods used by the federal government to organize (=coerce) behaviors?

10. What are the methods used by the federal government to organize (=coerce) behaviors? What are carrots and big sticks?

11. Governments Influence the Production of All Goods and the Provision of All Services • Produced by governments using resources owned by governments • Government employees and contracted employees • Usable/Accessible information – research, data collection, public records • Produced by governments using resources owned by non-governments • Under coercion • Regulation – big stick • Financial Incentive – taxation, loan, infrastructure construction (water treatment, sewers, roads) • Usable/Accessible information – research, data collection, public records • 2. Without any coercion – “free market”

12. Governments Influence the Production of All Goods and the Provision of All Services • Produced by governments using resources owned by governments • Government employees and contracted employees • Usable/Accessible information – research, data collection, public records • Produced by governments using resources owned by non-governments • Under coercion • Regulation – big stick • Financial Incentive – taxation, loan, infrastructure construction (water treatment, sewers, roads) • Usable/Accessible information – research, data collection, public records • 2. Without any coercion – “free market” • There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch

14. U S Constitution Statutes Rules Judicial Opinions Public Private Administration Education Public Safety Agriculture Mining Manufacturing Transportation Health & Welfare Environmental Protection Outdoor Recreation

15. Minnesota Recreation

16. Restrictions on Individual Rights • Every man, when he enters into a society gives up part of his natural liberty, as the price of so valuable a purchase  … obliges himself to conform to those laws which the community has thought proper to establish (William  Blackstone. Commentaries of the Law of England. A Facsimile of the First Edition of 1765-1769 (1979) vol. 1 p. 121) • Our legal problem arises at the point where capitalist economy and activist state collide. No longer a night-watchman, the state surveys the outcome of market processes and find them wanting. Armed with a prodigious array of legal tools, it sets about improving upon the invisible hand - taxing here, subsidizing there, regulating everywhere. The results of all this motion may well be something that clearly redounds to the public good - a cleaner environment, a safer workplace, a decent home. Nonetheless, these welfare gains can rarely be purchased without social cost - though many gain, some will lose as a result of the new government initiative (Bruce A. Ackerman Private Property and the Constitution, 1977 p.1) 

17. A Basic Question • What is the appropriate role and responsibility of the federal government? • How much government have we got? • How much government do we want? • What are we willing to pay for? • What are we not willing to pay for?

18. A Basic Question • What is the appropriate role and responsibility of the federal government? • How much government have we got? • How much government do we want? • What are we willing to pay for? • What are we not willing to pay for? How many restrictions on our behaviors are we willing to accept?

19. Transportation • Public - Infrastructure • Roads • Airports – airways, telecommunications • Waterways • Control • Safety • Signage • Energy efficiency • Accidents • Finances • “Private” • Cars, Trucks • Planes • Ships, Barges • Railroads • Pipelines • Energy – gasoline • Signage • Finances

20. Standard Industrial Classification(Corporate Stakeholders in Transportation Policy) • 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

21. GAO-11-290 Intercity Passenger and Freight Rail: (Feb, 2011)

22. GAO-11-290 Intercity Passenger and Freight Rail: (Feb, 2011)

23. GAO-11-290 Intercity Passenger and Freight Rail: (Feb, 2011)

24. “air cargo industry is responsible for transporting approximately 29.9 percent of all international trade” (THE IMPACT OF THE AIR CARGO INDUSTRY ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY 2006)

25. Air Transport • An advanced air transportation network using 5,000 paved runways • Public airports are usually operated by local governments (Metropolitan Airports Commission) • Domestic commercial air carriers and a number of international carriers – public companies • General aviation – aircraft owned by public companies and individuals – are used for medical emergencies, government agencies, large businesses, and individuals • Air travel is the mode of choice for the majority of trips over 300 miles • Many of the world's busiest airports for passengers are in the U.S. • 12 of the world's thirty busiest cargo airports are also in the U.S.

26. Airports

28. 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)

29. On the Mississippi Trail (Worldnews.com)

30. Freight transportation uses a variety of transport modes – ca. 40% is transported by rail – larger than the global average

32. Water Transportation • Largely used for freight • Fishing and pleasure boats are numerous, and passenger ferry services connects many of the nation's islands and remote coastal areas, crosses lakes, rivers, and harbors, and provides alternative access to Alaska which bypasses Canada • Major seaports in the United States include New York to the east, Houston and New Orleans on the Gulf coast, Los Angeles to the west • Interior waterways of the U.S. have shipping channels, via the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Mississippi River • Minneapolis port

34. 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

35. The MVTA is funded with a portion of the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) - the sales tax paid when new cars are purchased

36. 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

37. Pipelines

38. 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

39. 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 • The Geography of Transport Systems (Hofstra University) • Transportation in the United States (Wikipedia)

40. 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

43. Legislation • United States federal transportation legislation (Wikipedia) • House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee • Jurisdiction over all modes of transportation: aviation, maritime and waterborne transportation, roads, bridges, mass transit, and railroads  • Jurisdiction over other aspects of our national infrastructure, such as clean water and waste management, the transport of resources by pipeline, flood damage reduction, the economic development of depressed rural and urban areas, disaster preparedness and response, activities of the Army Corps of Engineers and the various missions of the Coast Guard • Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, Transportation • Jurisdiction • Featured legislation

44. 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) • Transportation Financing (GE Capital)

45. 23 USC Highways (Legal Information Institute) • 49 USC Transportation (Legal Information Institute) • General and Intermodal Programs • Motor Vehicle and Driver Programs • 23 CFR Highways (Legal Information Institute) • 49 CFR Transportation (Legal Information Institute) • Tips To Decoding your Car’s VIN Number (Autoinsurancetips.com) • 49 CFR 565 Vehicle Identification Number Requirements

46. U S Department of Transportation

47. 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)

48. 49 USC 101 Purpose • A Department of Transportation is necessary in the public interest • To ensure the coordinated and effective administration of the transportation programs of the United States Government • To make easier the development and improvement of coordinated transportation service to be provided by private enterprise to the greatest extent feasible • To encourage cooperation of Federal, State, and local governments, carriers, labor, and other interested persons to achieve transportation objectives • To stimulate technological advances in transportation, through research and development or otherwise • To provide general leadership in identifying and solving transportation problems  • To develop and recommend to the President and Congress transportation policies and programs to achieve transportation objectives considering the needs of the public, users, carriers, industry, labor, and national defense

49. RoadsThe Transportationist.org: Bridge Archives

50. 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