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Transportation Funding

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Federal, state, and local governments are finding it increasingly difficult to raise sufficient revenue to build and maintain roads and transit systems. RAND researchers evaluate new and existing transportation funding mechanisms and policies including fuel taxes, mileage-based user fees, congestion pricing, and more.

Commentary
Navigating Speed Bumps to a Possible Federal Vehicle Miles Traveled Fee
It's been clear for years that the gas tax has been losing its ability to pay for America's existing roads and bridges, let alone improvements and new construction. A vehicle miles traveled fee could provide a potential option for a 21st-century transportation funding system.
Mar 26, 2021
Report
U.S. Airport Infrastructure Funding and Financing
Passenger air travel is at an all-time high, and demand for it is expected to rise. Will current levels of spending under existing federal policies be sufficient to enable commercial airports to make the infrastructure investments needed to meet that demand?
Jan 14, 2020

Explore Transportation Funding

Report
Implementing Variable Cost Pricing in the Transportation Working Capital Fund
In this companion report, researchers identify next steps toward implementing variable cost pricing for selected business lines funded by the Transportation Working Capital Fund.
Dec 16, 2021
Testimony
U.S. Airport Funding and Finance
Billions of dollars are spent every year on infrastructure at U.S. airports to help aviation connect the country. Where does this funding come from? And how do needs, resources, and pandemic effects vary across different types of airports?
Jun 23, 2021
Blog
Understanding Violent Extremism, 'Blockships,' VMT Fee: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on firsthand accounts of violent extremism, lessons from the recent blockage in the Suez Canal, and if a federal Vehicle Miles Travel fee could replace the gas tax.
Apr 2, 2021
Report
Independent Evaluation of the Transportation Working Capital Fund: Assessment and Recommendations to Improve Effectiveness and Efficiency
The authors assess the financial viability and current structure of the Transportation Working Capital Fund, which funds U.S. Transportation Command operations, and recommend ways to restructure the fund to improve its effectiveness and efficiency.
Mar 25, 2021
Commentary
COVID-19: The Questions Ahead for Future Travel and Transport
COVID-19 could have lasting effects on future travel patterns. Future scenarios, a method for visualizing different possible futures, can help inform decisions in deeply uncertain situations and can be used to think about policies that are important for people's quality of life regardless of how the future unfolds.
Apr 15, 2020
Report
U.S. Airport Infrastructure Funding and Financing: Issues and Policy Options Pursuant to Section 122 of the 2018 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act: Executive Summary
Passenger air travel is at an all-time high, and airports are investing in the infrastructure needed to meet demand. This document summarizes the full report's review of the federal government's role in airport infrastructure funding and financing.
Jan 14, 2020
News Release
Changes in Funding, Finance Policies Could Help U.S. Airports Prepare for Future Demand
Changes in federal policies could help ensure U.S. commercial airports are able to draw on sufficient and stable sources of revenue to maintain existing capacity, accommodate growth and support a safe, sustainable national airspace system in the coming decades.
Jan 14, 2020
Blog
Hospital Prices, Border Solutions, Sri Lanka: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on hospital prices, common-sense solutions to the border crisis, myths about the Sri Lanka attacks, and more.
May 10, 2019
Commentary
The Long Game on Infrastructure
The Trump administration recently announced its Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America. With its lack of new federal funding, the plan may not be the best path to fixing America's most serious regional, national, and long-term problems.
Feb 20, 2018
Research Brief
Fixing U.S. Infrastructure's Ills Requires an Accurate Diagnosis
This brief examines how the federal government can better promote investment in and maintenance of U.S. transportation and water infrastructure.
Dec 5, 2017
Report
Not Everything Is Broken with U.S. Transportation and Water Infrastructure
Transportation and water infrastructure funding and finance in the United States are not nearly as dire as some believe. But a national consensus on infrastructure priorities, accompanied by targeted spending and selected policy changes, is needed.
Dec 5, 2017
News Release
Not Everything Is Broken with U.S. Transportation and Water Infrastructure; Improved Targeted Strategies Needed to Fix ...
Transportation and water infrastructure funding and finance in the United States are not nearly as dire as some believe, but a national consensus on infrastructure priorities, accompanied by targeted spending and selected policy changes, is needed.
Dec 5, 2017
Commentary
Regulating Infrastructures in the Tropics
Regulation helps address the demands of investors who are seeking assurances that their investments are safe, while also reassuring democratically elected governments. Regulatory reform could help Brazil attract more private investment in its infrastructure.
May 26, 2017
Report
Regulation of logistics infrastructure in Brazil
This report deals with the regulation of logistics infrastructures in Brazil, focusing in particular on the federal level. Brazil, one of the key emerging economies in the world, has a particular need for developing logistics infrastructures.
May 8, 2017
Commentary
Rebuilding America's Infrastructure in the Trump Era
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.
Nov 14, 2016
Commentary
Why Selling Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Is a Bad Idea
Some lawmakers are proposing a sell-off of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to finance highway and bridge work. This is a shortsighted strategy.
Sep 15, 2015
Blog
The 2015 Summer Reading List for Congress
With Capitol Hill slowing for August recess, this list of must-read research and commentaries will help ensure that policymakers are ready to dive right back in this fall.
Aug 5, 2015
Commentary
Pay as You Go
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 when this sector of the American transportation infrastructure is desperately in need of a fix.
Jul 22, 2015

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