Interregional Travel A New Perspective for Policy Making (2016) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 10-22
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From page 10... ...
In large urbanized areas, one-way trips covering distances of 25, 50, and even 100 miles may be considered local if they are confined to a single metropolitan region.1 Local travel has been the subject of considerable study and is relatively well understood by planners and public officials concerned with urban and intrametropolitan transportation. Another important component of personal travel is the long-distance trip, which is generally defined as a one-way trip that exceeds about 100 miles.2 Most long-distance trips are shorter than 500 miles, but some cross-country and international journeys extend for thousands of miles.3 To save time, the latter trips are usually made in airplanes.
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From page 11... ...
Passenger rail service, which is missing or skeletal in most interregional corridors, is frequently the subject of these proposals. The proposals sometimes involve the inauguration of a new conventional or high-speed rail service or the enhancement of an existing service with faster and more frequent trains.4 Passenger trains have been the recipient of billions of dollars in federal aid over more than 40 years since the creation of Amtrak in 1971.5 During the past two decades, many state governments have increased funding for passenger rail, which has been supported in recent years by the availability of 4 Trains that have top speeds of 125 miles per hour represent an upgrade over conventional intercity rail and are usually characterized as "higher speed." California's planned trains would have top speeds of more than 200 miles per hour and a goal of being capable of traveling between metro politan Los Angeles and metropolitan San Francisco in less than 3 hours (http://www.hsr.ca.gov/)
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From page 12... ...
, increasingly automated small airplanes offering on-demand passenger service from general aviation airports,9 and even "hyperloop" systems that would transport passengers long distances in reduced-pressure tubes (Bilton 2013) .10 Public officials face uncertainty with regard to how to invest public resources in transportation systems intended to serve travelers decades into the future.
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From page 13... ...
Today, the industry is rejuvenated by bus companies providing fast, nonstop service between the downtowns of major cities. On the one hand, public officials considering whether to invest in passenger rail cannot help but notice the renaissance in bus service, and they might wonder whether capital-intensive rail investments are needed or will be competitive with the private bus.
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From page 14... ...
When trip lengths approach about 300 miles, airline use increases more generally, and use of buses and trains drops off. While the automobile and airplane dominate interregional travel, there is notable variability in the use and availability of the other transporta 12 http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb12-50.html; http://www .census.gov/population/censusdata/urpop0090.txt.
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Most of the rail infrastructure used by intercity passenger trains is owned and operated by private railroads 15 For example, the Amtrak trains operating on the Northeast Corridor routes average about 220 passenger miles per train mile, with some portions of the corridor exceeding this average. See Federal Railroad Administration Rail Service Metrics and Performance: Quarter Ended June 2015, Table 5 (https://www.fra.dot.gov/eLib/Details/L17088)
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More generally, the coalition has served as a forum for members of the transportation community in exchanging best practices, promoting professional capacity building, and identifying issues where a broader interregional perspective is needed. Similar public–private coalitions have been created by governments and industry in other parts of the country, such as the West Coast Corridor Coalition, the I-81 Corridor Coalition, and the I-80 Coalition.17 Several multistate partnerships help to sustain passenger train service on a number of interregional routes.
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Long-standing interests such as improving transportation safety, curbing congestion, and reducing energy consumption are now accompanied by an interest in controlling greenhouse gas emissions and making transportation services more accessible and convenient, especially for those lacking access to an automobile. STUDY CHARGE AND APPROACH The TRB Executive Committee noted the Obama administration's proposal to spend more than $8 billion of stimulus funds on state rail projects and California's initiative to pursue high-speed rail.
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From page 18... ...
In reviewing the transportation literature, the committee found a large number of studies pertaining to long-distance and intercity travel generally but relatively little information specific to the shorter-haul, interregional segment and to its transportation planning and decision-making processes. Consequently, the committee spent much time at the outset of the study meeting with individuals knowledgeable about interregional travel markets, including service providers, transportation analysts and planners, modal experts, and representatives of government agencies.
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The study will also consider the physical condition, structure, and capacity of transportation networks. The study will assess future travel markets and potential mixes of services to meet the demand for short-haul intercity passenger transportation.
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The committee was not in a position to project interregional travel trends given the many uncertainties about future demand and supply and their variability from one corridor to the next. The committee reasoned that decision makers considering investments in interregional transportation do not need speculative forecasts of demand; they need access to travel behavior data and forecasting tools that can be applied to their individual circumstances.
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Chapter 6 describes the kinds of data and analytical tools needed to inform investments in interregional transportation. Among the topics discussed are more up-to-date travel surveys, models for forecasting traveler demand, and methods for assessing and conveying uncertainty.
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From page 22... ...
2015. NCRRP Report 1: Alternative Funding and Financing Mechanisms for Passenger and Freight Rail Projects.
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