Skip to main content

Coalition to address deterioration in US transportation system

The American Crisis in Transportation Coalition (ACT) has been formed to expand national understanding of the serious deterioration of America’s transportation system, and to educate the public and Congress on the funding needed to save the system from continued decline.
April 25, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSThe American Crisis in Transportation Coalition (ACT) has been formed to expand national understanding of the serious deterioration of America’s transportation system, and to educate the public and Congress on the funding needed to save the system from continued decline.

The founders of ACT are former Wisconsin Secretary of Transportation Frank Busalacchi, who also served as a member of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, and John Boffa, owner of two marketing and research firms in Washington, DC which have a heavy concentration in transportation issues. Busalacchi also chaired the States for Passenger Rail Coalition.

ACT will use as its guiding document the final report of the surface transportation commission, which identified a $225 billion annual shortfall in transportation funding.

“Roads and bridges are deteriorating at an alarming rate,” Busalacchi said. “Transit systems on which millions of Americans depend to get to work are experiencing funding shortfalls. 2008 Amtrak trains travel through tunnels and bridges built in the 1800s. The federal gasoline tax has not been increased since 1993.”

ACT will call for funding increases for all modes of transportation, including a 40-cent increase in the federal gasoline tax, to be phased in over a few years to ease the impact on motorists.

“The highly respected American Society of Civil Engineers recently rated America’s roads with a D minus,” Busalacchi said. “That is just a notch above a failing grade. And they rated our transit systems with a D. People drive over bridges, or travel over railroad bridges, everyday without incident. But if they looked at the condition of the structures underneath, they would be horrified.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Double awards for Cubic and TfL’s contactless payment system
    March 19, 2015
    Cubic Transportation Systems and Transport for London’s (TfL) contactless bankcard payment system are the proud recipients of two prestigious awards for Outstanding Project at the 2015 UK Rail Industry Awards, followed by Most Innovative Transport Project at the London Transport Awards. Launched in 2012, the contactless bankcard system was extended in 2014 to cover London’s entire transit network – including Tube, rail, and bus and tram services. The success of the contactless payment project in London is b
  • Peer-to-peer car sharing expected to become the next big thing in the market
    October 22, 2013
    Frost & Sullivan’s recent customer research study on car sharing in select European cities reveals that the market is fast gaining ground. Residents in a number of cities in France, Germany as well as in the UK are currently multi-modal transport users. While only one out of four claim familiarity with the car sharing concept, once familiar, the interest levels in these services zip to 38 per cent.
  • Europe’s public transport ITS market expected to exceed US$1.9 billion by 2017
    November 18, 2013
    According to new research from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the market value for public transport intelligent transport systems (ITS) in Europe was US$1.3 billion in 2012. Growing at a compound annual growth rate of nine per cent, the market is expected to reach US$1.9 billion by 2017. Berg Insight suggests that the European market for ITS for public transport is in a growth phase which will continue throughout the forecasted period. The fluctuating economic climate has in most countries had little eff
  • Transport strategy must deliver fully, says FTA
    July 5, 2017
    UK transport trade body the Freight Transport Association (FTA) says the Government’s new transport investment plan is good news for the sector but more investment is needed to upgrade the road network.