Transportation in the United States

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Transportation in the United States is facilitated by well-developed road, air, rail, and water networks.

Passenger transportation is dominated by a network of over 4.1 million kilometers of paved roads (almost entirely constructed and maintained by state and local governments) which is pervasive and highly developed by global standards. 97% of passenger trips in the U.S. are by personal automobile.[citation needed] By contrast, the transportation of freight is performed over a larger variety of networks, with the highest percentage (roughly 40%) transported by rail, much larger than the global average. [1] [2] As of 2003, there were 759 automobiles per 1,000 Americans, compared to 472 per 1,000 inhabitants of the European Union the following year.[1] The U.S. intercity passenger rail system is relatively weak.[2] Only 9% of total U.S. work trips employ mass transit, compared to 38.8% in Europe.[3] Bicycle usage is minimal, well below European levels.[4]

Contents

[edit] Overview

[edit] Air Transport

An advanced air transportation network utilizes includes 5,000 paved runways. Public airports are usually operated by local governments. There are over 200 domestic passenger and cargo airlines and a number of international carriers. Private aircraft are also used for medical emergencies, government agencies, large businesses, and individuals. (See general aviation.) Air travel is the mode of choice for the majority of trips over 300 miles. In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). In terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport, a superhub of Federal Express. The airlines are privately owned, but most airports are owned by local governments.

[edit] Rail Lines

The intercity rail network is smaller than its historical peak, and has shifted emphasis toward cargo as faster air transport has come to dominate long-distance passenger travel. Intercity passenger rail is sparser than in other developed countries, and has been taken over by the quasi-governmental National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak).

[edit] Mass Transit

Most medium-cities have some sort of local public transportation. Larger cities tend to have mass-transit systems, usually including subways or light rail. New York City is the country's largest metropolis and operates one of the world's most heavily used rapid transit systems. The regional rail and bus networks that extend into the suburbs are also among the most heavily used in the world. (See Transportation in New York City.)

[edit] Water Transportation

Water transport is largely used for freight. Fishing and pleasure boats are numerous, and passenger service connects many of the nation's islands and remote coastal areas, crosses lakes, rivers, and harbors, and provides alternative access to Alaska which bypasses Canada. Several major seaports in the United States include New York to the east, Houston and New Orleans on the gulf coast, Los Angeles to the west.[5] The interior of the U.S. also has major shipping channels, via the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Mississippi River. The first water link between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic, the Erie Canal, allowed the rapid expansion of agriculture and industry in the Midwest and made New York City the economic center of the country.

[edit] Military

The federal military has a dedicated system of bases with runways, aircraft, watercraft, conventional cars and trucks, and armored and special-purpose vehicles. During times of war, it may commandeer private infrastructure and vehicles as authorized by Congress and the President.

[edit] General

Most cargo transportation in the United States is by water, road, rail and pipeline; planes are commonly used only for perishables and premium express shipments. Usually cargo, apart from petroleum and other bulk commodities, is imported in containers through seaports, then distributed by road and rail. The quasi-governmental United States Postal Service has a monopoly on letter delivery (except for express services) but several large private companies such as FedEx and UPS compete in the package and cargo delivery market.

[edit] History

As with any transportation choice, speed to destination is an important factor in generating utiliztion of any particular type of infrastrucutre. Overland transportation in the late 18th century was by horse and water and river transportation was primarily by sailing vessel. The United States population was centered on its Atlantic coast, with all major populations centers being located on a natural harbor or navigable waterway. Its low population density between these population centers meant that the quickest way to travel depended heavily on coastwise and riverboat shipping. The first government expenditures on highway transportation were funded to speed the delivery of overland mail, such as the Boston Post Road between New York City and Boston MA. Due to the distance between these population centers and the cost to maintain the road, many highways in the late 18th century and early 19th century were private (i.e Plank roads and other turnpikes). Most highways, however, were unimproved and impassable at least some of the year by wagon. To speed goods to market, a canal boom occurred in the late 18th century to early 19th century. Railroads brought the canal boom to a quick end, providing a quick, scheduled and year round method of transportation which quickly spread to interconnect the states by the end of the 19th century. The transcontinental rail system was built in the 1860s.

The advent of the automobile signaled the end of railroad as the predominant transportation for people and began an era of mobility in the United States that added greatly to its economic output. The early 20th century Lincoln Highway and other auto trails gave way in the 1920s to an early national highway system making the automobile a preferable way to travel for most Americans. Interurban rail service declined, followed by trolley cars. In the 1950s, the United States renewed building a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways to link its vast territory. The most important element is the Interstate Highway system, first commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn system.

With the advent of commercial airline industry, intercity rail began to suffer a loss of ridership. As the civil air transportation network of airports and other infrastructure expanded, and as the cost and time of travel dropped while capacity increased in the jet age, the severely decreased number of passengers could no longer support long distance intercity rail travel. By the early 1970s all passenger rail transportation had been taken over by various municipal, state and Federal agencies. Rail transportation in the United States remains heavily subsidized as a percentage of cost of the ticket.

Railroads continued to decline as motor freight captured a significant portion of the less-than-carload business, forcing many railroads into receivership and the nationalization of several critical carriers. The increase of foreign trade and intermodal shipping containers led to a revival of the freight railroads, which have effectively consolidated into two eastern and two western private transportation networks.

Wartime expediency encouraged long distance pipeline transport, which was greatly expanded in the middle 20th century.

[edit] Rail

Main article: Rail transport in the United States
Image:Grand Central Board.jpg
Grand Central Terminal, NYC

Passenger trains were formerly a dominant mode of transportation, up until the mid-twentieth century. The introduction of jet airplanes on major U.S. routes and the completion of the Interstate Highway system accelerated a decline in intercity rail passenger demand during the 1960s, resulting in the sharp curtailment of passenger service by private railroads. This led to the creation of Amtrak by the Federal Government in 1971 to maintain limited intercity rail passenger service in most parts of the country. Amtrak serves most major cities but, especially in parts of the west, often by only one or two trains per day. (It does not, however, send any trains to Las Vegas, Nevada or Phoenix, Arizona.) More frequent service is available in regional corridors between major cities, particularly the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston, between New York City and Albany, around Chicago, and in parts of California and the Pacific Northwest. About one in every three users of mass transit in the United States and two-thirds of the nation's rail riders live in New York.

Image:Thirty St Station.jpg
30th Street Station, Philadelphia

The US makes extensive use of its rail system for freight, according to the American Association of Railroads: "U.S. freight railroads are the world's busiest, moving more freight than any rail system in any other country. In fact, U.S. railroads move more than four times as much freight as do all of Western Europe's freight railroads combined."[3]

Nearly all railroad corridors (not including local transit rail systems) are owned by private companies, which provide freight service. Amtrak pays these companies for the rights to use the tracks for passenger service. There are approximately 240,000 km (150,000 mi.) of mainline rail routes in the United States - the world's longest national railroad network (although not its densest, a position belonging to Central European countries). See List of United States railroads

Many cities use metro rail systems (also known as heavy rail in the U.S.) and/or light rail systems for high-capacity passenger service within the urban area. These include:

Some railroads, such as the Long Island Rail Road in earlier times, maintained a separate fleet of specially configured electric railway cars to provide a rapid transit service on designated routes that was distinct from its regular passenger operations.[citation needed]

[edit] Railway links with adjacent countries

The rail gauge is standard gauge 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm), except for Russia, which is broad gauge 1520 mm (4 ft 115⁄6 in). Another exception is the 3 ft (914 mm) gauge White Pass and Yukon Route from Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon by way of Bennett, British Columbia.

[edit] Road transport

Greyhound Lines is the largest intercity bus company in the United States, with routes in all parts of the continental U.S.. There are also many smaller regional bus companies, many of which use the terminal and booking facilities provided by Greyhound. The bus is, in most cases, the least expensive way to travel long distances in the United States.

Image:Santamonicafreewaynearrobertson.jpg
A traffic jam on a typical American freeway, the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles.
Highways:

total: 6,430,366 km
paved: 4,165,110 km (including 75,009 km of expressways)
unpaved: 2,265,256 km (2005 est.)

All highways are maintained by state governments, although they receive federal aid to build and maintain freeways signed as part of the 46,000 mile (75,000 km) nationwide Interstate highway network. A large number of expressways are actually government-operated toll roads in most East Coast and Midwest states. West Coast freeways are generally free to users (no toll charged per use), although since the 1990s there have been some small experiments with toll roads operated by private companies.

Further information: numbered highways in the United States

[edit] Roadway links with adjacent countries and non-contiguous parts of the US

[edit] Water

[edit] Waterways

The United States has 41,009 km of navigable inland channels (rivers and canals), exclusive of the Great Lakes.

[edit] Ports and harbors

United States ports and harbors include: Anacortes, Washington, Anchorage, Alaska, Baltimore, Maryland, Boston, Massachusetts, Charleston, South Carolina, Chicago, Illinois, Duluth, Minnesota, Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Hawaii, Houston, Texas, Jacksonville, Florida, Long Beach, California, Los Angeles, California, Miami, Florida, Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans, Louisiana, New York City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,Port Canaveral, Florida, Portland, Oregon, Oakland, California, San Diego, California, Savannah, Georgia, Seattle, Washington, Tacoma, Washington, Tampa, Florida, Toledo, Ohio, Valdez, Alaska

[edit] Merchant marine

For more details on this topic, see United States Merchant Marine.

Most US exports and imports are on foreign ships. The Jones Act bars foreign ships from US internal trade, thus creating this "Jones Act fleet".

Ferry service is available in many parts of the country, including the Great Lakes region, Washington state, and the New York City area. Alaska is served by long-distance ferry routes that connect it to the rest of the country, and connect remote areas not connected by roads.

Template:Portal:Nautical/Fleet/United States

[edit] Air

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There is no single national flag airline; aviation in the United States is completely privatized. There is currently no direct government regulation of ticket pricing, although the federal government retains jurisdiction over aircraft safety, pilot training, and accident investigations (through the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board). Airports are usually constructed and operated by local governments (the main exceptions are federal military bases).

Further information: List of airlines#United_States

In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport.

Due to the size of the United States and the generally large distance between major cities, Air Passenger Transportation is the preferred method of travel for the business traveler and for long distance vacation traveler. Where the cities are closer together, such as Boston & New York, New York and Washington DC, Philadelphia and DC, air travel does not carry a majority of intercity traffic.

Passenger Airlines in the United States are private entities, with American Airlines being the largest carrier. With numerous airlines competing for traffic on the same intercity pairs (routes), ticket prices tend to be very competitive between carries resulting in low industry profit margins. This has made the airline industry prone to bankruptcy due to ridership declines precipitated by economic recessions or other events such as the September 11th Terrorist attacks. The industry primarily operates on a "Hub and Spoke" system. In the hub and spoke model, a given airline has a predominate operating position out of a given airport, and feeds passengers into to and out of the hub as a way of maximizing the number of passengers on a given flight. Examples of Airline hubs include Delta in Atlanta, US Airways in Charlotte or American Airlines in Dallas.

Air Cargo comprises a large number of daily flights in the United States and are operated by private parcel companies such as Fedex and United Parcel. These organizations operate some of the largest fleets of air craft in the world. Most of the air cargo moved by these organizations is time sensitive overnight and 2nd day parcels. The US Mail also moves much of its letters and time sensitive parcels via the Air, but on regularly scheduled passenger flights. At one time the US Mail charged a premium for letters sent by mail, but no longer does (excepting time sensitive parcels).

Image:American.airlines.b777.arp.jpg
An American Airlines aircraft landing at London Heathrow Airport. Traveling by air is the most popular means of travel in the United States over long distances.

Airports: 14,893 (2005 est.) According to CIA

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5,174
over 3,047 m: 180
2,438 to 3,047 m: 221
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,310
914 to 1,523 m: 2,448
under 914 m: 1,015 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 9,398
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 155
914 to 1,523 m: 1,661
under 914 m: 7,574 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 118 (1999 est.)

[edit] Other

Pipelines:
petroleum products 276,000 km;
natural gas 331,000 km (1991)

[edit] Ownership

Roads accessible to the public are generally government owned and maintained, though there are some private highways. There are both public and private owners of the country's many passenger and freight rail systems, water ferries, and bus systems. Civilian airlines are all privately owned and financed. (With some exceptions, such as after the September 11, 2001 attacks.) Many airports are owned and operated by local governments, but all are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration and subject to federal law. Transportation Security Administration provides security at airports.

[edit] Funding

Most roads are free to drive on in a privately purchased or rented automobile or in a hired taxicab, but there are also some toll roads and toll bridges. Most other forms of transportation charge a fee for use.

Government funding of transportation exists at many levels.

Federal funding for highway, rail, bus, water, air, and other forms of transportation is allocated by Congress for several years at a time. Though earmarks are often made for specific projects, the allocation of most federal dollars is controlled by Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and state governments. Usually "matching" funds are required from local sources. All projects have a sponsoring agency that will receive the funding from the various federal and local sources, and be responsible for implementing the project directly or through contracts. Large projects require a Major Investment Study and a both a Draft and a Final Environmental Impact Review. A patchwork of federal laws and accounts govern the allocation of federal transportation dollars, most of which is reserved for capital projects, not operating expenses. Some roads are federally designated as part of the National Highway System and get preferential funding as a result, but outside of Washington D.C., are not owned by the federal government.

State governments are sovereign entities which use their powers of taxation both to match federal grants, and provide for local transportation needs. Different states have different systems for dividing responsibility for funding and maintaining road and transit networks between the state department of transportation, counties, municipalities, and other entities. Typically large cities are responsible for local roads, finances with block grants and local property taxes, and the state is responsible for major roads that receive state and federally designations. Many mass transit agencies are quasi-independent and subsidized branches of a state, county, or city government.

[edit] See also

<imagemap> Image:US blank.svg

[edit] Location-specific

[edit] Funding

[edit] All modes

[edit] Mass transportation

[edit] References

  1. ^ Car Free Day 2006: Nearly One Car per Two Inhabitants in the EU25 in 2004. Europa, Eurostat Press Office (2006-09-19). Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
  2. ^ Intercity Passenger Rail: National Policy and Strategies Needed to Maximize Public Benefits from Federal Expenditures. U.S. Government Accountability Office (2006-11-13). Retrieved on 2007-06-20.
  3. ^ Renne, John L., and Jan S. Wells (2003). Emerging European-Style Planning in the United States: Transit-Oriented Development (p. 2). Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
  4. ^ Pucher, John, and Lewis Dijkstra (February 2000). Making Walking and Cycling Safer: Lessons from Europe. Transportation Quarterly. Transportation Alternatives. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
  5. ^ Rank Order - Seaports. Infoplease.com
  6. ^ AlaskaCanadaRail.org

[edit] External links


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