Transportation in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (September 2008)

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (August 2007)

To comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, this article is in need of reorganization. There is good information here, but it is poorly organized. Please discuss this issue on the talk page and help improve this article.

Transportation in the United States is facilitated by well-developed road, air, rail, and water networks. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT): "Transportation’s vital importance to the U.S. economy is underscored by the fact that more than $1 out of every $10 produced in the U.S. gross domestic product is related to transportation activity. This includes all aspects of transportation, including the movement of goods and the purchase of all transportation-related products and services as well as the movement of people." ^[3] Employment in the transportation and material moving industry accounted for 7.4% of all employment, and was the 5th largest employment group in the United States.^[4]

Passenger transportation is dominated by a network of over 3.9 million miles of highways^[5] which is pervasive and highly developed by global standards. Passenger transportation is dominated by passenger vehicles (including cars, trucks, vans, and motorcycles), which account for 86% of passenger-miles traveled. The remaining 14% was handled by planes, trains, and buses.^{[1] [6]}

By contrast, freight transportation is handled by a variety of networks including truck, rail, air, ship, and pipeline. The largest carriers of freight, by weight, are trucks (60%), followed by pipelines (18%), rail (10%), ship (8%), and air (0.01%).^[7] Other modes of transportation such as parcel and intermodal accounted for about 3% of the remainder.

As of 2003, there were 759 automobiles per 1,000 Americans, compared to 472 per 1,000 inhabitants of the European Union the following year.^[8] The U.S. intercity passenger rail system is relatively weak.^[9] Only 9% of total U.S. work trips employ mass transit, compared to 38.8% in Europe.^[10] Bicycle usage is minimal, well below European levels.^[11]

Two-thirds of U.S. oil consumption is due to the transportation sector.^[12][13] The “Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007” has a significant impact on U.S. Energy Policy.^[14] The US - an important export country for food stocks - will convert 18% of its grain output to ethanol in 2008. Across the US, 25% of the whole corn crop went to ethanol in 2007.^[15] The percentage of corn going to biofuel is expected to go up.^[16] In 2006, U.S. Senators introduced the BioFuels Security Act.^[17]

Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Road transportation 1.2 Air transportion 1.3 Rail lines 1.4 Mass transit 1.4.1 Legislation 1.5 Water transportation 1.6 Military 1.7 General 2 History 3 Rail 3.1 Railway links with adjacent countries 4 Road transport 4.1 Roadway links with adjacent countries and non-contiguous parts of the US 5 Water 5.1 Waterways 5.2 Ports and harbors 5.3 Merchant marine 6 Air 7 Other 8 Ownership 9 Funding 10 See also 10.1 Location-specific 10.2 Funding 10.2.1 All modes 10.2.2 Mass transportation 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Overview

[edit] Road transportation

In comparison to most of the Western world, the United States relies much more heavily on its roads both for commercial and personal transit. Car ownership is nearly universal except in the largest cities where extensive mass transit systems have been built.

With the creation of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System in the 1950s, both long-distance trips and daily commutes became dominated by private automobile usage. This network of freeways meets federal standards and receives substantial federal funding. The entire system, as of 2004^[update], has a total length of 46,837 miles (75,376 km),^[18] making it both the largest expressway system in the world and the largest public works project in US history.^[19]

The Interstate system is a part of a larger National Highway System, comprising 160,000 miles (256,000 kilometers) of roadway, a fraction of the total mileage of roads. The system serves nearly all major US cities. Many Interstates pass, sometimes with controversy, through downtown areas. The distribution of virtually all goods and services involves Interstate highways at some point.^[20] Residents of American cities commonly use urban Interstates to travel to their places of work. The vast majority of long-distance travel, whether for vacation or business, uses the national road network;^[21] of these trips, about one-third (by the total number of miles driven in the country in 2003) utilize the Interstate system.^[22]

In addition to the routes of the Interstate system, there are those of the US Highway system, not to be confused with the the above mentioned National Highway System. These networks are further supplemented by the individual networks of State Highways, and other jurisdictional highways such as those of counties, municipal streets, or federal agencies like the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Altogether there are more than 4,000,000 kilometers of paved roads in the US.

[edit] Air transportion

The United States has advanced air transportation infrastructure which utilizes approximately 5,000 paved runways. Public airports are usually operated by local governments. There are over 200 domestic passenger and cargo airlines and a number of international carriers. Like rail and highway systems, the federal government subsidizes air travel with $14 billion federal dollars in 2002 going to airport operations.^[23]

Private aircraft are also used for medical emergencies, government agencies, large businesses, and individuals, see general aviation). Air travel is the mode of choice for the majority of trips over 300 miles. In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). In terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport, a superhub of FedEx. The airlines are privately owned, but most airports are owned by local governments.

[edit] 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. Intercity passenger rail is sparser than in other developed countries, and has been taken over by the quasi-governmental National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), which the federal government subsidizes by a half billion dollars.^[23]

[edit] Mass transit

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article entitled Mass transit in the United States. (Discuss)

Most medium-cities have some sort of local public transportation. Larger cities tend to have mass-transit systems, usually including subways or light rail. About one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation's rail riders live in New York City and its suburbs.^[24][25] (See Transportation in New York City.)

[edit] Legislation

On June 26, the House passed the Saving Energy Through Public Transporation Act (H.R. 6052), ^[26], which gives grants to mass transit authorities to lower fares for commuters pinched at the pump and expand transit services. The bill also:

• Requires that all Federal agencies offer their employees transit pass transportation fringe benefits. Federal agencies within the National Capital Region have successful transit pass benefits programs.
• Increases the Federal cost-share of grants for construction of additional parking facilities at the end of subway lines from 80 to 100 percent to cover an increase in the number of people taking mass transit.
• Creates a pilot program for vanpool demonstration projects in urban and rural areas.
• Increases federal help for local governments to purchase alternative fuel buses, locomotives and ferries from 90 to 100 percent.

[edit] Water transportation

Water transport is largely used for freight. Fishing and pleasure boats are numerous, and passenger service 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. Several 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.^[27] The interior of the U.S. also has major shipping channels, via the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Mississippi River. The first water link between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic, the Erie Canal, allowed the rapid expansion of agriculture and industry in the Midwest and made New York City the economic center of the country.

[edit] Military

The federal military has a dedicated system of bases with runways, aircraft, watercraft, conventional cars and trucks, and armored and special-purpose vehicles. During times of war, it may commandeer private infrastructure and vehicles as authorized by Congress and the President.

[edit] General

Most cargo transportation in the United States is by water, road, rail and pipeline; 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.

[edit] History

With any transportation decision, speed to destination is an important factor in choosing any particular type of infrastructure. Overland transportation in the late 18th century was by horse, and water and river transportation was primarily by sailing vessel. The United States population was centered on its Atlantic coast, with all major population centers located on a natural harbor or navigable waterway. Low population density between these centers resulted in heavily reliance on coastwise and riverboat shipping. The first government expenditures on highway transportation were funded to speed the delivery of overland mail, such as the Boston Post Road between New York City and Boston MA. Due to the distance between these population centers and the cost to maintain the road, many highways in the late 18th century and early 19th century were private (i.e Plank roads and other turnpikes). Most highways, however, were unimproved and impassable at least some of the year by wagon. Economic expansion in the late 18th century to early 19th century spurred the building of canals to speed goods to market, of which the most prominently successful example was the Erie Canal.

Railroads brought the canal boom to a sudden end, providing a quick, scheduled and year round transport which quickly spread to interconnect the states by the end of the 19th century. As part of the industrialization of the United States after the Civil War, railroads, led by the transcontinental rail system in the 1860s, expanded quickly across the United States to serve industries and the growing cities. During the late 19th century, railroads often built redundant routes to a competitor’s road or built through sparsely populated regions that generated little traffic. These marginal rail routes survived the pricing pressures of competition, or the lack of revenue generated by low traffic, as long as railroads provided the only efficient economical way to move goods and people across the United States. In addition to the intercity passenger network running on Class I and II railroads, a large network of interurban (trolly or "street running") rail lines extended out from the cities and interchanged passenger and freight traffic with the railroads and also provided competition.

The advent of the automobile signaled the end of railroads as the predominant transportation for people and began an era of mobility in the United States that added greatly to its economic output. The early 20th century Lincoln Highway and other auto trails gave way in the 1920s to an early national highway system making the automobile a preferable way to travel for most Americans. Interurban rail service declined, followed by trolley cars due in part to the advent of motorized busses and the lack of dedicated right-of-ways. In the 1950s, the United States renewed building a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways to link its vast territory. The most important element is the Interstate Highway system, first commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn system.

With the advent of commercial airline industry, intercity rail began to suffer a loss of ridership. As the civil air transportation network of airports and other infrastructure expanded, air travel became more accessible to the general population of the United States. Technological advances ushered in the jet age, which increased airline capacity, while decreasing travel times and the cost of flights. The economical efficiency of flying severely decreased the intercity rail ridership by the late 1960s to a point where railroads could no longer profitably operate their network of passenger trains. By the early 1970s all passenger rail operation and ownership had been transferred to various municipal, state and Federal agencies. Rail transportation in the United States remains heavily subsidized as a percentage of cost of the ticket.

Railroads continued to decline as motor freight captured a significant portion of the less-than-carload business. This loss of business, when combined the highly regulated operating environment and constrained pricing power, forced many railroads into receivership and the nationalization of several critical carriers into the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail). Deregulation of the railroad industry with the Staggers Act in 1980 created a regulatory environment more favorable to the economics of the railroad industry. In the 1990s, the increase in foreign trade and intermodal shipping containers led to a revival of the freight railroads, which have effectively consolidated into two eastern and two western private transportation networks: Union Pacific and BNSF in the west, and CSX and Norfolk Southern in the east.

Wartime expediency encouraged long distance pipeline transport, which was greatly expanded in the middle 20th century to take over most of the domestic long-haul market.

[edit] Rail

Main article: Rail transport in the United States

Passenger trains were formerly a dominant mode of transportation, up until the mid-twentieth century. The introduction of jet airplanes on major U.S. routes and the completion of the Interstate Highway system accelerated a decline in intercity rail passenger demand during the 1960s, resulting in the sharp curtailment of passenger service by private railroads. This led to the creation of Amtrak by the Federal Government in 1971 to maintain limited intercity rail passenger service in most parts of the country. Amtrak serves most major cities but, especially in parts of the west, often by only one or two trains per day. (It does not, however, send any trains to Las Vegas, Nevada or Phoenix, Arizona.) More frequent service is available in regional corridors between major cities, particularly the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston, between New York City and Albany, around Chicago, and in parts of California and the Pacific Northwest. About one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation's rail riders live in New York.

The US makes extensive use of its rail system for freight, according to the American Association of Railroads: "U.S. freight railroads are the world's busiest, moving more freight than any rail system in any other country. In fact, U.S. railroads move more than four times as much freight as do all of Western Europe's freight railroads combined."[1]

Nearly all railroad corridors (not including local transit rail systems) are owned by private companies, which provide freight service. Amtrak pays these companies for the rights to use the tracks for passenger service. There are approximately 240,000 km (150,000 mi.) of mainline rail routes in the United States - the world's longest national railroad network (although not its densest, a position belonging to Central European countries). See List of United States railroads

Many cities use metro rail systems (also known as heavy rail in the U.S.) and/or light rail systems for high-capacity passenger service within the urban area. These include:

• Atlanta, Georgia (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) - heavy rail
• Baltimore, Maryland (Maryland Transit Administration) - heavy and light rail
• Boston, Massachusetts ("MBTA subway" or Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority or just "the T") - heavy and light rail
• Buffalo, New York (Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Metro Rail) - light rail
• Camden - Trenton, New Jersey (New Jersey Transit River Line) - light rail
• Charlotte, North Carolina (LYNX, operated by CATS) - light rail
• Chicago, Illinois (The CTA Subway or the 'L'; Metra Commuter Rail) - heavy rail
• Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland Rapid Transit or "The Rapid") - heavy and light rail
• Dallas, Texas (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) - light rail
• Denver, Colorado (Light rail operated by the Regional Transportation District) See also T-REX - light rail
• Houston, Texas (METRORail, operated by METRO) - light rail
• Jersey City, New Jersey - New Jersey Gold Coast area (Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, New Jersey Transit) - light rail
• Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) - heavy and light rail
• Miami, Florida (Miami-Dade Transit) - heavy and light rail
• Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hiawatha Line, operated by the Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit) - light rail
• New Orleans, Louisiana (Regional Transit Authority) - light rail
• Newark, New Jersey (Newark City Subway, New Jersey Transit) - light rail
• New York City (the New York City Subway and Staten Island Railway operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)) - heavy rail
• New York City - Newark, New Jersey (Port Authority Trans-Hudson or PATH) - heavy rail
• Phoenix, Arizona - (Valley Metro Rail) operated by Valley Metro (under construction opening 2008)
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority or SEPTA and the PATCO Speedline) - heavy and light rail
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Port Authority of Allegheny County or "the T") - light rail
• Portland, Oregon (MAX Light Rail, operated by TriMet) - light rail
• Sacramento, California (Sacramento Regional Transit District) - light rail
• St. Louis, Missouri (MetroLink) - light rail
• Salt Lake City, Utah (TRAX operated by the Utah Transit Authority) - light rail
• San Diego, California (San Diego Trolley operated by the Metropolitan Transit System [2]) - light rail
• San Francisco Bay Area ("BART" or Bay Area Rapid Transit and "MUNI" or San Francisco Municipal Railway) - heavy and light rail
• San Jose, California (Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority or VTA) - light rail
• Washington, D.C. (Washington Metro, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) - heavy rail

Some railroads, such as the Long Island Rail Road in earlier times, maintained a separate fleet of specially configured electric railway cars to provide a rapid transit service on designated routes that was distinct from its regular passenger operations.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Railway links with adjacent countries

• Canada - Yes. Amtrak connections run daily between New York City and Montreal, New York City and Toronto, and Seattle and Vancouver. Alaska is currently only rail-accessible by train ferry from Seattle. A proposed link to the Continental United States would link Alaska and Canada via the Yukon and British Columbia.^[28]
• Mexico - Yes. Several private firms run touristic trains from near El Paso, Texas through Chihuahua, Chihuahua and the Copper Canyon to El Fuerte, Sinaloa. Such trains also run from Nogales, Sonora, but no US passenger trains run near Nogales, Arizona, on the other side of the border. Another touristic train runs occasional trains between Campo, California and Tecate, Baja California.
• Cuba - No. Since the United States embargo against Cuba, train ferry service from Florida and New Orleans to Havana has ceased.
• Russia - No. But proposed tunnel or bridge under or over Bering Straits to connect with Trans-Siberian Railway^{[citation needed]}.

The rail gauge is standard gauge 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm), except for Russia, which is broad gauge 1520 mm (4 ft 11⁵⁄₆ in). Another exception is the 3 ft (914 mm) gauge White Pass and Yukon Route from Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon by way of Bennett, British Columbia.

[edit] Road transport

See also: Trucking industry in the United States

The trucking industry provides an essential service to the American economy by transporting large quantities of raw materials, works in process, and finished goods over land, typically from manufacturing plants to retail distribution centers. Trucks are also vitally important to the construction industry, as dump trucks and portable concrete mixers are necessary to move the large amounts of rocks, dirt, concrete, and other building materials used in construction.

In modern times, railroads are primarily used to haul bulk quantities of cargo over long distances. Unless a manufacturing facility has a direct connection to the railroad, the remainder of the trip must be handled by truck. With today's demand for "just in time" freight, shipment by rail cannot meet the rapid and flexible demands of America's modern industry.

Greyhound Lines is the largest intercity bus company in the United States, with routes in all parts of the continental U.S.. There are also many smaller regional bus companies, many of which use the terminal and booking facilities provided by Greyhound. The bus is, in most cases, the least expensive way to travel long distances in the United States.

Highways:

total: 6,430,366 km
paved: 4,165,110 km (including 75,009 km of expressways)
unpaved: 2,265,256 km (2005 est.)

All highways are maintained by state governments, although they receive federal aid to build and maintain freeways signed as part of the 46,000 mile (75,000 km) nationwide Interstate highway network. A large number of expressways are actually government-operated toll roads in most East Coast and Midwest states. West Coast freeways are generally free to users (no toll charged per use), although since the 1990s there have been some small experiments with toll roads operated by private companies.

Further information: numbered highways in the United States

[edit] Roadway links with adjacent countries and non-contiguous parts of the US

• Canada - Yes.
• Mexico - Yes.
• Alaska - Yes, via Canada and the Alaska Marine Highway in Washington
• Russia - No, but proposed.
• Cuba - No. Since the American embargo against Cuba, car ferry service from Florida and New Orleans to Havana has ceased.

[edit] Water

[edit] Waterways

The United States has 41,009 km of navigable inland channels (rivers and canals), exclusive of the Great Lakes.

[edit] Ports and harbors

Main article: List of ports in the United States

United States ports and harbors include: Anchorage, Alaska, Baltimore, Maryland, Boston, Massachusetts, Charleston, South Carolina, Chicago, Illinois, Duluth, Minnesota, Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Hawaii, Houston, Texas, Jacksonville, Florida, Long Beach, California, Los Angeles, California, Miami, Florida, Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans, Louisiana, New York City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,Port Canaveral, Florida, Portland, Oregon, Oakland, California, San Diego, California, Savannah, Georgia, Seattle, Washington, Tacoma, Washington, Tampa, Florida, Toledo, Ohio, Valdez, Alaska

[edit] Merchant marine

For more details on this topic, see United States Merchant Marine.

Most US exports and imports are on foreign ships. The Jones Act bars foreign ships from US internal trade, thus creating this "Jones Act fleet".

Ferry service is available in many parts of the country, including the Great Lakes region, Washington state, and the New York City area. Alaska is served by long-distance ferry routes that connect it to the rest of the country, and connect remote areas not connected by roads.

Statistics for the Shipping Industry of United States
Total: 465 ships (1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over)
Totalling: 10,590,325 GRT/13,273,133 metric tons of deadweight (DWT)
Cargo ships
Bulk ships	67
Barge carrier	7
Cargo ship	91
Container ships	76
Roll-on/Roll-off ships	27
Refrigerated cargo ships	3
Vehicle carrier	20
Tanker ships
Chemical tanker ships	20
Specialized tanker ships	1
Petroleum tanker ships	76
Passenger ships
General passenger ships	19
Combined passenger/cargo	58
Foreign Ownership and Documentation Note: Of these, 51 are foreign-owned: Australia 2, Canada 4, Denmark 24, Germany 2, Greece 1, Malaysia 4, Netherlands 4, Norway 2, Singapore 2, Sweden 5, Taiwan 1. 700 United States ships are registered in other countries: Antigua and Barbuda 7, Australia 3, Bahamas 121, Belize 5, Bermuda 27, Cambodia 8, Canada 2, Cayman Islands 41, Comoros 2, Cyprus 7, Greece 1, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 21, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 3, Italy 15, North Korea 3, South Korea 7, Liberia 93, Luxembourg 3, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 143, Netherlands 13, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 13, Panama 94, Peru 1, Philippines 8, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 3, Qatar 1, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 21, Sierra Leone 1, Singapore 7, Spain 7, Sweden 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, United Kingdom 6, Vanuatu 1, Wallis and Futuna 1. 2006 estimates.
Source: This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.

[edit] Air

There is no single national flag airline; aviation in the United States is completely privatized. There is currently no direct government regulation of ticket pricing, although the federal government retains jurisdiction over aircraft safety, pilot training, and accident investigations (through the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board). Airports are usually constructed and operated by local governments (the main exceptions are federal military bases).

Further information: List of airlines#United_States

In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport.

Due to the size of the United States and the generally large distance between major cities, air transportation is the preferred method of travel for business travelers and long distance vacation travelers. For cities closer together, such as Boston & New York, New York and Washington DC, Philadelphia and DC, air travel does not carry a majority of intercity traffic.

Passenger airlines in the United States are private entities, with American Airlines being the largest carrier. With numerous airlines competing for traffic on the same intercity pairs (routes), ticket prices tend to be very competitive between carriers resulting in low industry profit margins. This has made the airline industry prone to bankruptcy due to ridership declines precipitated by economic recessions or other events such as the September 11th Terrorist attacks. The industry primarily operates on a "Hub and Spoke" system. In the hub and spoke model, a given airline has a predominate operating position out of a given airport, and feeds passengers to and from the hub as a way of maximizing the number of passengers on a given flight. Examples of Airline hubs include Delta in Atlanta, US Airways in Charlotte or American Airlines in Dallas.

Air cargo comprises a large number of daily flights in the United States and are operated by private parcel companies such as Fedex and United Parcel. These organizations operate some of the largest fleets in the world. Most air cargo moved by these organizations is time sensitive overnight and 2nd day parcels. The US Postal Service also moves much of its letters and time sensitive parcels via the Air, but on regularly scheduled passenger flights. At one time the US Mail charged a premium for letters sent by airmail, but no longer does (excepting time sensitive parcels).

Airports: 14,893 (2005 est.) According to CIA

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5,174
over 3,047 m: 180
2,438 to 3,047 m: 221
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,310
914 to 1,523 m: 2,448
under 914 m: 1,015 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 9,398
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 155
914 to 1,523 m: 1,661
under 914 m: 7,574 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 118 (1999 est.)

[edit] Other

Pipelines:
petroleum products 276,000 km;
natural gas 331,000 km (1991)

[edit] Ownership

Roads accessible to the public are generally government owned and maintained, though there are some private highways. There are both public and private owners of the country's many passenger and freight rail systems, water ferries, and bus systems. Civilian airlines are all privately owned and financed. (With some exceptions, such as after the September 11, 2001 attacks.) Many airports are owned and operated by local governments, but all are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration and subject to federal law. Transportation Security Administration provides security at airports.

[edit] Funding

Most roads are free to drive on in a privately purchased or rented automobile or in a hired taxicab, but there are also some toll roads and toll bridges. Most other forms of transportation charge a fee for use.

Government funding of transportation exists at many levels.

Federal funding for highway, rail, bus, water, air, and other forms of transportation is allocated by Congress for several years at a time. Though earmarks are often made for specific projects, the allocation of most federal dollars is controlled by Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and state governments. Usually "matching" funds are required from local sources. All projects have a sponsoring agency that will receive the funding from the various federal and local sources, and be responsible for implementing the project directly or through contracts. Large projects require a Major Investment Study and a both a Draft and a Final Environmental Impact Review. A patchwork of federal laws and accounts govern the allocation of federal transportation dollars, most of which is reserved for capital projects, not operating expenses. Some roads are federally designated as part of the National Highway System and get preferential funding as a result, but outside of Washington D.C., are not owned by the federal government.

State governments are sovereign entities which use their powers of taxation both to match federal grants, and provide for local transportation needs. Different states have different systems for dividing responsibility for funding and maintaining road and transit networks between the state department of transportation, counties, municipalities, and other entities. Typically large cities are responsible for local roads, finances with block grants and local property taxes, and the state is responsible for major roads that receive state and federally designations. Many mass transit agencies are quasi-independent and subsidized branches of a state, county, or city government.

[edit] See also

• United States Department of Transportation
• Transportation in Canada
• List of U.S. cities with high transit ridership
• List of countries by vehicles per capita
• Biofuel in the United States
• Food vs fuel
• Energy policy of the United States

[edit] Location-specific

• Transportation in Alaska
• Boston Transportation
• Transportation in New York City
• Transportation in Puerto Rico
• Transportation in Washington, D.C.

[edit] Funding

[edit] All modes

• Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act
• Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
• Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
• Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users

[edit] Mass transportation

• Urban Mass Transportation Act
• National Mass Transportation Assistance Act

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S. Department of Transportation
• National Transit Database - Statistics on U.S. public transportation systems from the Federal Transit Administration, part of DOT
• American Public Transportation Association
• Transportation companies in the USA

v • d • e United States topics History Timeline Pre-Columbian · Colonial era (Thirteen Colonies) · Declaration of Independence · American Revolution · Westward expansion · Civil War · Reconstruction · World War I · Great Depression · World War II · Cold War · Korean War · Civil rights movement · Vietnam War · War on Terrorism By topic Demographic · Industrial · Military · Postal Government     Law Constitution Bill of Rights Separation of powers Enforcement Department of Justice (DoJ) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Legislature House of Representatives Senate Executive Cabinet Federal agencies Policies Judiciary Supreme Court Appeals Intelligence Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) National Security Agency (NSA) Military Army Marine Corps Navy Air Force Coast Guard Politics Political divisions · Political parties (Democratic · Republican · Other) · Elections (Electoral College) · Ideologies · Scandals · Red states and blue states · Uncle Sam · Political status of Puerto Rico Geography Territory · States · Cities · Counties · Regions (New England · Mid-Atlantic · Southern · Midwest · Great Plains · Northwest · Southwest) · Mountains (Appalachian · Rocky) · Rivers (Mississippi · Missouri · Colorado) · Islands · Extreme points · National Park System · Water supply and sanitation Economy United States dollar · Companies · Wall Street · Federal Reserve · Banking · Insurance · Standard of living (Personal / household income · Income inequality · Homeownership) · Communications · Transportation (Cars · Trucks · Interstates · Highways · Airports · Railroads) · Tourism Society Demographics · Languages (English · Spanish) · People · Religion · Social class (American Dream · Affluence · Middle class · Poverty · Educational attainment · Professional and working class conflict) · Media · Sports · Education · Holidays · Crime · Prisons · Healthcare · Health insurance Culture Music (Classical · Folk · Popular · Jazz) · Television / Film (Hollywood) · Radio · Literature (Folklore · Poetry · Transcendentalism · Harlem Renaissance · Beat Generation) · Visual arts (Abstract expressionism) · Cuisine · Dance · Architecture · Fashion · Flag Issues Abortion · Adolescent sexuality · Affirmative action · American exceptionalism · Anti-Americanism · Capital punishment · Drug policy / Prohibition · Energy policy · Environmentalism · Gun politics · Healthcare reform · Human rights · Immigration (United States–Mexico barrier) · Third Border Initiative · Obesity · Racism · Same-sex marriage · Sexism in the United States Portal

v • d • e Transportation in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama1 · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago1 · United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla · Aruba1 · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Greenland · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Montserrat · Netherlands Antilles1 · Puerto Rico · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Martin · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Turks and Caicos Islands · United States Virgin Islands 1 Territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas (South America).