ABSTRACT
After nearly two decades of neglect, the infrastructure supporting the surface transportation system in the United States is about to receive massive amounts of new investment. Had such infusion occurred a few years ago, the investment would have been primarily for highways and, primarily to support the seemingly insatiable demand for vehicle miles travelled, and total number of trips by single occupant vehicles (SOVs). But, that is not to be the case now. The legislation supporting this new infusion of resources, the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), is the result of great deliberation among not only legislators and the usual transportation proponents (e.g. motor vehicle representatives) but those concerned with environmental issues and air quality; those concerned with energy use; those concerned with suburban sprawl and high levels of suburban congestion-said to be the US transportation problem; those concerned with the ever increasing cost of moving goods; transit supporters and citizens who believe that deterioration of their transportation systems reflects a deterioration of their quality of life.
