3. Shift trips to other modes where possible

Public Transportation’s Role

Public transportation, including buses, light rail, fixed rail or other common carriers, plays a vital role in efforts to mitigate traffic congestion, conserve fuel, enhance the efficiency of highway transportation, improve air quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In some of the nation’s largest cities, public transportation carries a significant share of work trips destined for central business districts: Minneapolis, 12 percent; Seattle, 15 percent; Washington, D.C., 33 percent; and New York City, 53 percent. In 2008, 10.7 billion passenger trips were provided on the nation’s public transportation systems, most of these in urban areas.

AASHTO supports increasing federal transit assistance by 89 percent in the next authorization to $100 billion over six years, with a goal to double transit ridership by 2030, and double it again by 2050. To meet these goals, existing transit service must be expanded; where not yet available, transit service needs to be to be provided, as determined by states and their local partners.

Many states are adding transit options as part of Interstate rehabilitation and expansion projects, including commuter rail, dedicated bus lanes, carpooling and ridesharing.

Transit’s share of overall travel

In 2007, the number of passenger miles traveled on America’s public transportation systems reached 53.4 billion. Over the last decade transit ridership rose from 9.4 billion in 2000 to 10.7 billion in 2008, and then declined by 3.8 percent in 2009 to 10.2 billion due to the economic downturn.*



According to Commuting in America III,the percentage of commuters traveling to work by transit dropped from 6 percent in 1980 to approximately 4 percent by 2000. If the United States can double transit ridership by 2030 as AASHTO has proposed, transit’s share of commuters nationally can be restored to levels seen in 1980. If transit can double its ridership again by 2050, its share of commuters can increase still further.

Significantly increasing transit service will be an important component in ensuring affordable transportation and access to jobs and other services in communities all across America. Increased transit use can help reduce congestion as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Critical to improving metropolitan mobility, it will also become increasingly important to serve the rising number of older persons, especially in rural America. What our analysis shows, however, is that even massive investments in transit capacity and a quadrupling of transit ridership cannot substitute for additional increases in Interstate highway capacity needed to accommodate longer-distance passenger and freight movements and the through-trips that continue to grow.

More bicycle and walking trips

Biking and walking are also part of the equation for future mobility. In the 2001 National Household Travel Survey Summary of Travel Trends, just under one percent of workers commuted by bike; another 2.8 percent walked to work. As metropolitan areas grow and options for greater pedestrian and bike use expand, these percentages are likely to increase as well.

AASHTO supports the continuation of the Transportation Enhancement Program, which supports new bike and pedestrian facilities. If the overall highway program is increased to $375 billion as AASHTO has proposed, this should make available between $500 million and $1 billion each year for bicycle and pedestrian improvements funded through the Transportation Enhancement Program.

Shift Freight from Trucks to Rail

Another piece of the congestion puzzle is shifting as much long-haul freight as possible to rail. Studies show that intermodal shipping by rail will grow at an annual rate of close to four percent over the next 25 years. Because of this, trucking’s share of freight ton-miles is expected to drop from 62 percent to 59 percent during this time.

Even with this three percent shift from long-haul trucks to rail intermodal service, the volume of freight on our highways is expected to more than double by 2050. The percentage of tons carried by trucks overall is expected to increase from 73 percent today to 75 percent by 2050. The Interstates are the primary routes for these trucks—on average, every mile of the Interstate system sees 10,500 trucks a day. Given current rates of congestion in urban areas, more capacity must be a priority to keep the flow of goods and services moving while keeping costs in check for the American consumer.

Shift Trips to Intercity Passenger Rail

Amtrak is the nation’s intercity passenger rail operator, operating 300 trains and more than 78,000 passengers a day to 500 destinations in 46 states and the District of Columbia. In 2007, 5.8 billion passenger miles were carried by Intercity Passenger Rail. By 2008, 14 states had partnered with Amtrak and have spent millions of dollars to implement new service, improve on-time performance and improve safety and reliability.

Congress has recognized the critical importance of a robust and reliable intercity passenger rail system and enacted the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act in 2008 to begin the planning process for such a system. In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) included $8 billion for intercity rail. High-speed rail and intercity passenger rail proposals in 31 states and the District of Columbia received grants to advance projects. Congress appropriated an additional $2.5 billion for intercity passenger rail in FY 2010, and the President’s FY 2011 Budget calls for spending an additional $1 billion.

Through these measures, the U.S. is beginning to address the need for a healthy intercity passenger rail network comparable to world-class systems in other countries. AASHTO supports the provision of an additional $50 billion in federal assistance over the next six years to fund intercity passenger rail projects.

Such initiatives can dramatically expand intercity passenger rail service and high-speed rail service
in this country. This can help relieve pressure on aviation in busy markets like New York and Los Angeles for intermediate travel distances of 200 to 400 miles. It can also help reduce highway travel in corridors such as the I-95 corridor on the East Coast, whether in Florida or in the Northeast Corridor, and the I-35 corridor from Texas to Minneapolis.

California’s High-Speed Rail Initiative Shows How Connections between Metropolitan Regions can be improved.

On November 4, 2008 California voters approved a ballot measure to fund construction of the initial segment of the California High-Speed Rail network. The measure provided $9 billion for the construction of the segment between San Francisco and Los Angeles/Anaheim, and an additional $950 million for improvements to local rail systems, which will serve as feeder systems to the planned high-speed rail line. Financing plans include support from federal and local governments, as well as the private sector. Construction costs for the initial segment are projected to be in the range of $40 billion. Securing a grant of 2.3 billion in federal Economic Recovery funding set aside for intercity passenger rail has greatly advanced the prospects for this program to achieve success.

When the High-Speed Rail Authority was asked why building a high-speed rail network was so important to California’s future, they responded as follows: “To serve the same number of travelers as the 220 mph high-speed rail system, California would have to build nearly 3,000 lane-miles of freeway plus five airport runways and 90 airport departure gates by 2020. Building the high-speed rail system proposed will cost half as much as these alternatives and at the same time increase mobility, while cutting air pollution and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.”

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