The Right Structure for the Right Incentives: Multimodal Transportation in America’s Growing Megaregions

Most models suggest that American megaregions occupy less than a quarter of its land area, but account for over two thirds of the population and seventy-five percent of the national gross domestic product. In addition, projections show that future population increases and economic growth will be focused within these regions. Current transportation policy remains focused on road building, which harkens back to a decentralized rural America, which no longer reflects developing transportation realities. To account for increasingly dense population within urbanized areas, more frequent intercity travel along megaregion corridors, and disparities in transportation access, state and federal transportation policy and funding criteria should be adapted to encourage innovative, multimodal solutions. To address these issues, this project will conduct a multidisciplinary analysis of transportation policies in the United States and abroad. The project will combine economic, historical, and legal analysis to generate a model of transportation policy which allows different modes of transportation to compete on an even playing field. In doing so, the project seeks to reduce inefficiencies created by policies which favor one mode of transportation over another through an imbalance of subsidies, taxation, or regulation and instead promote flexibility in addressing megaregion transportation issues.

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $ 38304
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551747135

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Department of Transportation

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  Department of Transportation
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  University Transportation Centers Program

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Department of Transportation

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  Department of Transportation
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  University Transportation Centers Program

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Stearns, Amy

• Performing Organizations:

  Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions (CM2)

  University of Texas at Austin
  Austin, TX  United States  78712
• Principal Investigators:

  Loftus-Otway, Lisa

• Start Date: 20170901
• Expected Completion Date: 20180531
• Actual Completion Date: 20180531
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economic analysis; Intercity travel; Large cities; Multimodal transportation; Networks; Regions; Transportation policy; Urbanization
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Economics; Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01651000
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions (CM2)
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747135
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 16 2017 10:24PM