table of contents - Research and Innovative Technology ...

Geography partly explains the scale of
the U.S. transportation system. For
example, the two largest metropolitan
regions—New York and
Los Angeles—are 2,800
miles apart by the most
direct Interstate highway
route. Our nation’s capital
is 4,800 air-miles away
from the most distant
state capital in Honolulu,
Hawaii. One National Park
Service ranger travels more than 4,400
miles by road each spring and fall
between seasonal assignments in Denali
C H A P T E R O N E
TRAVEL, THE
MOVEMENT OF
FREIGHT, AND THE
TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEM
AN ENORMOUS AND DIVERSIFIED TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
SERVES 260 MILLION PEOPLE, 6 MILLION BUSINESS ESTABLISH-
MENTS, AND 87,000 GOVERNMENTAL UNITS SCATTERED OVER THE 3.7
MILLION SQUARE MILES OF THE UNITED STATES. IN 1994, THE SYSTEM
CARRIED MORE THAN 4.2 TRILLION PASSENGER-MILES OF TRAVEL
AND 3.7 TRILLION TON-MILES OF FREIGHT. (USDOT BTS 1995)
The quantity of
passenger travel
and goods movement
continues to increase
faster than the
U.S. population
3
National Park, Alaska, and Everglades
National Park, Florida.
To bridge such distances, the United
States developed an extensive
interconnected network
of public roads,
railroads, pipelines, public
transit systems, commercially
navigable waterways
and ports, and the
airports and other facilities
that make up the aviation
system (see table 1-1). This network
is supported by a multifaceted transportation
industry. When broadly defined, it