Introduction
Introduction
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century1 charged the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) with compiling, analyzing, and publishing a comprehensive set of transportation statistics, including information on:
- productivity in various parts of the transportation sector;
- traffic flows;
- travel times;
- vehicle weights;
- variables influencing traveling behavior, including choice of transportation mode;
- travel costs of intracity commuting and intercity trips;
- availability of mass transit and the number of passengers served by each mass transit authority;
- frequency of vehicle and transportation facility repairs and other interruptions of transportation service;
- accidents;
- collateral damage to the human and natural environment;
- the condition of the transportation system; and
- transportation-related variables that influence global competitiveness.
For this report, BTS has added three additional topics: transportation and economic growth, government transportation finance, and transportation energy. Each of these topics is represented by a series of key indicators. Data tables supporting all the indicators are in appendix B at the end of the report. Appendix table numbers correspond to the figures numbers in this chapter.
See box for About the Data in this Report
1 49 U.S. Code 111(c)(1).