Economies that rely heavily on motor freight and passenger vehicles can be threatened by environmental, energy, and logistical concerns such as bottlenecks, aging infrastructure, and vulnerability to disruptions. RAND research on highway transportation recommends best practices to improve capacity, modernize infrastructure while recognizing resource limitations, and establish sustainable priorities for funding long-term improvements that address energy and environmental concerns.
Commentary
If the “user pays” idea is worth saving, the United States needs a different calculation, writes Liisa Ecola. Some states are looking at mileage fees. With mileage fees, you pay based on the number of miles you drive, rather than the number of gallons of gas used.
Commentary
Mileage-fee rates could be structured to reduce congestion, harmful emissions and excessive road wear, and the enabling technology could support a range of value-added services offering greater convenience and safety for motorists, writes Keith Crane.
Tool
An illustrated guide provides state and local decisionmakers with a high-level synopsis of mileage fee issues: policy motivations, technical options, key challenges, and emerging strategies to address those challenges.
Commentary
Rather than threatening that the closure will be a mess, messages appealing to citizens' public spirit that Los Angeles can pull together again to make the closure go smoothly are more likely to resonate because they are consistent with past experience, write Martin Wachs and Brian D. Taylor.
Commentary
There is no need for privacy concerns to halt all discussion of new technologies to help address America's mounting transportation funding crisis, writes Liisa Ecola.
Commentary
Good data can inform decision makers about what really works—how best to relieve congestion and improve supply-chain connectivity to make freight transportation—and hence the U.S. economy—more competitive, write Mortimer Downey, Joseph Schofer, and Johanna Zmud.
Commentary
Our transportation future will be multi-layered and complex—bounded by transportation infrastructure that is under-funded on the one hand and ever-expanding congestion and capacity constraints on the other, writes Johanna Zmud.
Report
To inform debate on a new transportation bill being considered, an analysis of literature on the effects of highway infrastructure spending on the economy offers principles for reforming federal policy and programs, as well as ideas for future research.
Commentary
A proposed 15-cents-a-gallon gas tax is worth a second look. Among various painful options put forward in the Deficit Reduction Commission's draft report, this tax hike may be well justified, writes Martin Wachs.
Commentary
The principle of paying for roads and transit by charging those who use the system has served our nation well, but in its current form it will soon outlive its usefulness, writes Martin Wachs.
Report
How can planners anticipate new choices by road users? RAND Europe examines induced traffic effects.
Multimedia
In this March 8, 2010, Congressional Briefing, Martin Wachs and Paul Sorensen discuss alternative funding streams for highway and public transportation improvements that Congress can consider as it focuses on the pending reauthorization of the federal transportation bill.
News Release
The long-term efficiency and effectiveness of the U.S. freight transportation system is threatened by bottlenecks, inefficient use of some parts of the infrastructure components, vulnerability to disruptions, and crucial environmental and energy concerns.
News Release
Policymakers need to address equity concerns early when implementing congestion pricing to improve traffic flow, as each situation is unique and must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
News Release
Western Riverside County's Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan -- a sweeping effort to protect endangered and threatened species while accelerating the approval of transportation improvements -- has made significant progress, but needs modifying to reach its goals in Southern California's changing economy.
Report
This paper summarizes the findings and policy implications of a study estimating the relative riskiness of older drivers, concluding that stricter licensing policies targeting that group would likely not improve traffic safety substantially.
News Release
May 9, 2007 news release: RAND Supply Chain Policy Center to Research Critical Issues in Freight Transportation.
Commentary
Published commentary by RAND staff: Paying for Our Transportation Needs, in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Commentary
Published commentary by RAND staff: Tighten Up Mass-Transit Security, in Newsday.
Commentary
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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