Policy Report
Transportation Policies for America’s Future
In 2010, SAFE and the ESLC examined a long-neglected element of oil dependence: the fuel wasted due to inefficient, outdated transportation infrastructure, and the steps needed to reroute our transportation future.
Transportation infrastructure and energy policy have historically been debated in two entirely separate spheres in American politics, and a coherent, unified strategy for the federal surface transportation system has largely been absent since the construction of the interstate highway system. Characterized by indirect fees, misaligned incentives, overburdening regulations, and inefficient capital investments, today the system faces major funding, decision-making, and performance challenges. Road congestion in particular severely threatens the potential gains associated with more efficient vehicles and alternative fuels.
Transportation Policies for America’s Future proposes reforms designed to transform the nation’s transportation policy, introducing a more market-oriented model and instituting oil consumption as a key metric by which decisions are made and evaluated. Policies to promote more stable road speed conditions in particular are crucial to lowering sectoral oil consumption. Reforms are also required to promote smarter capital investments in highways, transit systems, and advanced technologies that encourage higher operating efficiency. Successful measures can empower users by giving clear signals of the cost of travel decisions, and expand the menu of travel options. The result is a U.S. transportation system in which assets are allocated based on needs and costs are aligned with use, helping to restore the mobility upon which our dynamic economy depends.
To download a PDF of this report, click on the image above. To request a hard copy, please email us at info@secureenergy.org, including your name, organization, and mailing address.
