table of contents - Research and Innovative Technology ...

STATEMENT
OF THE DIRECTOR
AS DIRECTED BY THE INTERMODAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION
EFFICIENCY ACT (ISTEA), THE BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION
STATISTICS (BTS) PREPARES AN ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE ASSESS-
MENT OF THE NATION’S TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AND THE STATE OF
TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS. THIS DOCUMENT IS THE THIRD SUCH
ANNUAL REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS.
Transportation, by moving goods to
where they are required and people to
where they wish to go, is a vital component
of all products and services produced
in an economy. By expanding the
markets for goods and labor, transportation
promotes regional specialization,
large-scale production, interregional and
international trade, personal mobility,
and social interactions. Consequently, in
a large and affluent industrialized country
such as the United States, transportation
is a vast enterprise.
The U.S. transportation system comprises
an extensive physical network of
highways, railroads, transit systems,
pipelines, waterways, ports, and airports,
in addition to the industries that produce
and maintain the vehicles (e.g., motor
vehicles, ships, planes, bicycles) that use
the physical network; the providers and
arrangers of for-hire transportation services;
and the agencies that administer
transportation programs. Transportation
is thus a broad and important economic
sector, accounting for about 11 percent
of the gross domestic product (GDP) in
1994, roughly comparable to health (14
percent), food (12 percent), and education
(7 percent).
Part I of this report surveys the state
of the transportation system in the
United States. It opens with an assessment
of the nature, patterns, and trends
in the use of the transport system for
passenger and freight movements, as
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