Thriving Communities / News & Views / CHART: Does Federal Transportation Spending Reflect Shifting Trends?
CHART: Does Federal Transportation Spending Reflect Shifting Trends?
Passenger rail makes up very small share of funding
All Aboard, Choices | September 4, 2013 | By James Bruckbauer
About the Author
James Bruckbauer is the Michigan Land Use Institute’s transportation policy specialist. Follow him on Twitter at @jimbruckb. Reach him at james@mlui.org.
Recent Comments
- Pete Farmer: Nice to read about the big picture of music around here. I am sure the scene will only get bigger as TC grows. We plan on helping in our own little way with a small venue at our workshop. All procee...
- Pat Weber: The music tradition in Traverse City begins in its schools- the feeder system as it were. Traverse City Area Public Schools has had a long and rich music legacy in both vocal and instrumental instruct...
- Mario: Great article Hans Well written and an important message....
- Cory Johnston: Your reasons to vote NO are reason enough for me. This is 1960's mentality being used to fix 2015 and beyond problems. While mentioned, is there any guarantee that alternatives to one driver/one car w...
- Gerald Wilgus: Much of this is disingenuous rationalization in support of a "lesser of two evils" argument. This is how privatizing profit and socializing risk is maintained. We all agree that transportation inf...
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The chart above give you snapshot into just how much of our federal transportation dollars are split between highway, air, transit and intercity passenger rail. *
Do our transportation investments reflect the rapidly increasing demand for buses and trains?
Here are the trends:
- The amount of driving per person in the U.S. has fallen 7.5 percent since 2004, according to a new report by USPIRG:
- Train ridership continues to break records, according to Amtrak.
- Bus ridership is at its second highest level since 1957, even with little-to-no service in some areas, according to the U.S. Public Transportation Association.
James Bruckbauer is the Michigan Land Use Institute’s transportation policy specialist. Follow him on Twitter at @jimbruckb. Reach him at james@mlui.org.
*Amtrak
