US Transportation Infrastructure: Buying the Future From Point A to Point B: Fixing US Transportation Systems Steve Heminger, Executive Director, SF Regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission John Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials Michael J. Scanlon, General Manager and CEO, San Mateo County Transit District; Executive Director, Caltrain Asha Weinstein Agrawal, MTI National Transportation Center Finance Director Polly Trottenberg, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the US Department of Transportation – Keynote Speaker Mortimer Downey, Chair of the MTI Board of Trustees; Former Deputy Secretary, US Department of Transportation – Moderator If you have ever been stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge, late to meetings, or have had a ruined weekend because you couldn’t make it to a destination in time, you know that California suffers from a major transportation infrastructure problem. From pot holes jarring people’s necks and backs, to bridges collapsing nationwide, thousands of commuters are being affected every day by America’s inadequate and faltering transportation infrastructure system. At the upcoming FREE Commonwealth Club transportation infrastructure summit, experts will examine what can and must be done to ameliorate this dire situation. US Department of Transportation Undersecretary for Policy Trottenberg will headline a panel of national transportation leaders to explore solutions to this …
Tags: 6/24/11, Infrastructure, panel, Transportation
@MT2R – I do pay. The private sector is much more heavily invested in transportation in Japan than the US private sector is. The US highway system would be “adequate” if it wasn’t in need of repairs to bridges, etc. Then there are issues of sustainability of the energy used to power the transport (oil, ethanol, etc.) that need to be included into the efficiency equation.
@MiranUT Based on US population density and previous large investments in the highway system, the passenger train system in the US is quite adequate. The US leads the world in freight rail efficiency. Don’t ask others to pay for high tech toys for yourself.
Wow… sad to watch those that want to aggress against others. Voluntary transactions please! Don’t have 51%, 60%, 80%, 98% or whatever be allowed to take the resources of others for what they think the world ’should’ look like. Besides, infrastructure is an old idea and a waste when you account for how it destroyed the american family, contributed to obesity and smaller lifespans, and kills 36k+ Americans every year over the past 50. Awful old ideas from people that want everyone else to pay.
I watched part of this video on my train commute home from Central Tokyo to Yokohama. Most Americans do not understand how far behind the country is. The last couple times I visited the US and used the trains, I felt like I had gone back in time: Boston, 50 years; Chicago, 30 years. I wonder when (if?) the US public will trade their high tech weapons for infrastructure of real value – like transportation.
Surely the gas tax debate is outdated.
As vehicles are mandated to become more fuel efficient the tax revenue is no longer sufficient to meet the funding demands.
Is it inevitable that we move toward some type of mileage based system?