Transcript WWW.TRANSPORTATION.ORG 28 CONCLUSION “Together, the …

THE CONDITION OF OUR
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION
INFRASTRUCTURE
How Do We Adequately
Finance Our System?
The 2013 Infrastructure
Report Card prepared by
the American Society Of
Civil Engineers (ASCE)
evaluates all infrastructure
including bridges, roads and
transit.
Continued Deterioration of
Infrastructure Conditions
25%
42%
45%
(151,497)
of major urban highways are
of Americans
CONGESTED
LACK ACCESS TO
TRANSIT
of America’s bridges are
DEFICIENT
11%
(66,749)
of bridges are
STRUCTURALLY
DEFICIENT
32%
of roads are in
POOR OR MEDIOCRE
CONDITION
$90B
Economic loss
in 2010 due to
DEFICIENT TRANSIT
SYSTEMS
Average age
of bridges
42 YEARS
Source: American Society of Civil Engineers
Continued Deterioration of
Infrastructure Conditions
Source: American Society of Civil Engineers
Current Revenue Picture
 The major source of funding is from user
fees from the sale of gasoline.
 The funding issue must be looked at
retrospectively and prospectively.
Funding Issues
 Vehicle miles traveled are not increasing.
 Gas user fees have lost 37 percent of its
purchasing power in the last 30 years.
 There has been a decline in national
transportation investment as a percentage
of Gross Domestic Product. (GDP)
Funding Issues
 The increasing use of alternate fuel
vehicles
 Increases in the “CAFE” standards
requiring more efficient vehicle engines
This will require the use of alternate funding
methods in the future.
Highway Trust Fund Headwinds: Vehicle Miles
Traveled (VMT) Growth Has Stabilized
VMT: July 1993 to July 2013
(Moving 12 Month Total)
Gradual Decline In National Transportation
Investment
U.S. National Investment in Infrastructure Lowest
Among Developed Countries
WEC: Western
European Counties
CEEC: Central & Eastern
European Countries
Highway Trust Fund Headwinds:
Gas Tax Has Lost Its Purchasing Power
52%
Purchasing
Power Loss by
2023
37%
Purchasing
Power Loss by
2012
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
OR
Where do we go from here?
Available Options
RAISE GASOLINE USER FEES
(“GAS TAXES”)
There is always great resistance to raising gas taxes.
Option One (Con’t)
The gas tax is really a user fee exactly
like utility bills, telephone and cell
phone service, internet service, etc.
Raising the gas user fee 10 cents per
gallon is a small amount as show in the
following example.
Gas Tax Example
The following example is based on Ohio
residency. The numbers can be adjusted for
your own locality.
 Assume driving 15,000 miles/year
 Assume 25 miles per gallon
 Gas usage is then 800 gallons/year
 Federal Tax is 18.4 cents per gallon
 Ohio tax is 28 cents per gallon
If You Viewed Transportation as a Utility
The total of user
fees in the pie
chart are $8,302.
It reflects
services for
which we are
charged by the
amount we use
the service.
Assume gasoline price of $3.40/gallon. Annual calculation
based on 800 gallons/year. Annual cell phone fee based
on $65/month.
Transportation as a Utility (Cont’d)
If state and federal gas user fees were raised
20 cents, it would increase costs by
$160/year or $13.33 per month – less than
two percent of annual user fees.
Increased Indirect Costs to the Traveling Public
Source: American Society of Civil Engineers
Increased Indirect Costs to the Traveling Public
While $160/year for additional gasoline
revenue may seem high, consider that
transportation improvements will reduce
traffic congestion and vehicle repairs by
several hundred dollars per year for
drivers resulting in a net savings for
motorists.
Other Options Are Needed
Assuming that user fees are raised to
address the current funding problems, there
is still concern for future funding caused by
the reduced use of gas.
New Funding Measures
 New measures could include:
 Charge by the mile traveled.
 Alternate revenue sources as a sales tax
(Commonwealth of Virginia).
 Increase vehicle registration fees.
 Import and export fees on transportation
energy, vehicles, and products.
 Expand the use of user fees such as tolling.
 Public/private partnerships (P3).
New Funding Measures
All methods of funding transportation should
include automatic annual increases to
adjust for inflation.
If this is not done then we will again face an
annual loss in purchasing power for
infrastructure maintenance and construction.
THE LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION
Communication Is Critical
As engineers, it is our responsibility to
bring the critical state of our
infrastructure to legislators and to the
public.
Radio, TV, and Newspapers
 Contact the media to discuss the state of
infrastructure.
 Take a TV reporter to examine the
underside of a bridge in need of
maintenance.
 Social media methods such as YouTube
videos to visually describe conditions.
 Prepare letters to the editor.
State and Federal Legislators
 Educate your legislators.
 Use the phone, e-mail or letters.
 Even small campaign contributions can “open”
the door to face to face meetings.
 Host informal coffees at your home.
Develop Relationships
~40%
of federal
senators and
representative
s were once
state and local
officials.
By establishing a relationship
with state and local elected
officials, you will have a readymade relationship at the
federal level. This approach
requires a long-term
commitment.
Presentations to Local Groups
 Make presentations to local groups such
as Optimist or Rotary.
 Prepare handouts of important points and
a list of legislators with addresses and
phone numbers.
 Bring a local public official with you if
possible.
Key Message
A modern and well maintained national
transportation infrastructure is critical to our
economy and standard of living.
“Together, the united forces of our
communication and transportation
systems are dynamic elements in the
very name we bear—United States.
Without them, we would be a mere
alliance of many separate parts.”
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
February 22, 1955
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