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Highway Transportation

Infrastructure Finance
commentary
The Road Ahead: Rebuilding the Country's Infrastructure in the Trump Administration Era
Liisa Ecola
Nov 14, 2016
The RAND Blog
Policymakers generally agree on the need to rebuild America's infrastructure. But the country is far behind in this area. Why? Transportation projects take time and money. And it's hard to predict how a project will affect its surroundings.
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Transportation Economics
commentary
Pay as You Go
Liisa Ecola
Jul 22, 2015
Politico
Using vehicle miles traveled as a means of distributing the cost of maintaining America's roads and bridges may not be the only answer, but it represents the kind of innovative thinking that is necessary at a time when this sector of the American transportation infrastructure is desperately in need of a fix.
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Transportation Funding
commentary
How to Improve Oregon's Mileage-Fee Experiment
Liisa Ecola, Laura Patton
Jul 7, 2015
The Oregonian
Oregon is rolling out the nation's first large-scale pilot to examine switching to a mileage fee instead of the gas tax. The trial is a welcome next step toward understanding how mileage fees can be deployed.
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Parenting
commentary
Take Charge with Teens' Auto Safety
Jeffrey Wasserman
Apr 21, 2014
Orange County Register
Driving is a risk that virtually all of us take on a daily basis. But we can do much to mitigate risks and protect our children, our community, and ourselves.
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Sleep
commentary
Deadly Aftermath of 'Microsleep'
Wendy M. Troxel @wendytroxel
Dec 12, 2013
Newsday
Though “microsleep,” commonly referred to as “highway hypnosis,” may enter the public discourse most often when it's cited as the possible cause of a disaster like the Metro-North train wreck, it is responsible for fatal accidents on American highways every day.
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Gasoline
commentary
Paying for Infrastructure, a Taxing Issue
Liisa Ecola
May 16, 2013
The RAND Blog
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.
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Transportation Economics
commentary
Consider Taxing Miles Traveled
Keith Crane
Apr 19, 2013
Wall Street Journal Online
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.
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Highway Transportation
commentary
Lessons of 1st Carmageddon in L.A. by the Numbers
Martin Wachs, Brian D. Taylor
Aug 3, 2012
LA Daily News
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.
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Infrastructure Finance
commentary
Getting Over the Privacy Hurdle to Mileage-Based Road Fees
Liisa Ecola
Jun 6, 2012
DC.STREETSBLOG.org
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.
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Transportation Economics
commentary
No Data? Big Problem.
Mortimer Downey, Joseph Schofer, Johanna Zmud
Mar 20, 2012
DC.STREETSBLOG.org
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.
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Highway Transportation
commentary
A System Under Strain
Johanna Zmud
Sep 30, 2011
Innovation America, Aug/Sept 2011
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.
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Gasoline
commentary
Among Potential Deficit Remedies, Don't Rule Out Raising Gas Tax
Martin Wachs
Dec 25, 2010
Detroit Free Press
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, write Martin Wachs.
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commentary
The Future of Transportation Finance: A New Generation of User Fees
Martin Wachs
May 14, 2010
Resources for the Future
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.
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commentary
Paying for Our Transportation Needs
Martin Wachs
Oct 25, 2006
San Diego Union-Tribune
Published commentary by RAND staff: Paying for Our Transportation Needs, in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
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commentary
Tighten Up Mass-Transit Security
Peter Chalk
Aug 22, 2006
Newsday
Published commentary by RAND staff: Tighten Up Mass-Transit Security, in Newsday.
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commentary
Trains, Buses and Terror
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
May 3, 2004
Mercury News
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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