Bill would establish specific national transportation objectives

Lays out precise targets

Steve Hawley, Jun 12, 09.

A newly-introduced bill, the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 (HR 2724), would set a series of specific goals to reduce driving and air pollution while increasing access to alternative transportation and reducing housing and transportation costs, according to Transportation for America. The bill was introduced by Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey, Rep. Russ Carnahan of Missouri, and Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington.

According to the bill’s text:

The national transportation objectives are established and prioritized, as follows:
`(1) Promote energy efficiency and achieve energy security.
`(2) Ensure environmental protection, restore climate stability, and resolve persistent environmental justice issues.
`(3) Improve economic competitiveness, system efficiency, and workplace development opportunities.
`(4) Ensure safety for all transportation users and improved public health outcomes.
`(5) Improve transportation system conditions and connectivity.
`(6) Provide equal and equitable access to transportation options in urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Furthermore, the bill would establish a set of precise targets to measure progress toward those goals. Within 20 years of passage, the bill aims to:

`(1) Reduce per capita vehicle miles traveled by 16 percent.
`(2) Triple walking, biking, and public transportation usage.
`(3) Reduce transportation-generated carbon dioxide level by 40 percent.
`(4) Reduce delay per capita by 10 percent.
`(5) Increase proportion of freight transportation provided by railroad and intermodal services by 20 percent.
`(6) Achieve 0 percent population exposure to at-risk levels of air pollution.
`(7) Improve public safety and lower congestion costs by reducing traffic crashes by 50 percent.
`(8) Increase share of major highways, regional transit fleets and facilities, and bicycling/pedestrian infrastructure in good state of repair condition by 20 percent.
`(9) Reduce average household combined housing plus transportation costs by 25 percent, using 2000 as a base year.
`(10) Increase by 50 percent the number of essential destinations (work and non-work) accessible within 30 minutes by public transportation or 15 minutes by walking, for low-income, senior, and disabled populations.

The bill was referred to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Transportation for America and 140 other organizations, including the Association of American Railroads, American Public Health Association, and CEOs for Cities, signed a letter of support for the bill.

Transportation for America says that these objectives “[set] the stage for the upcoming [transportation] authorization bill by outlining achievable objectives for our largest program of infrastructure investments.” The current transportation bill expires on September 30, and the new legislation will include $450 billion in spending over the next five years, a significant increase over the current bill. House leaders hope to introduce the reauthorization bill this month and obtain passage by the time the current bill expires.